Esther Perez Ruiz, the resident representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Islamabad, stated on Tuesday that Pakistan has finished the final preparatory action necessary for the Fund’s combined seventh and eighth assessment by increasing the petroleum development levy (PDL).
She stated in a statement that the last preceding action for the combination eighth and seventh review had been satisfied with the rise in PDL on July 31. Once sufficient finance assurances are secured, the session is tentatively scheduled for late August.
To comply with a pending IMF requirement, the government raised the PDL rate on all products on Sunday.The price of gasoline was reduced by Rs3.05 per litre, while the costs of high-speed diesel (HSD) and paraffin increased by Rs8.95 and Rs4.62, respectively, according to a statement from the finance ministry. All products’ PDLs were equalised at Rs. 15 per litre.
The previous PTI administration pledged to the IMF in December 2021 to raise PDL by 4 rupees per litre on the first of every month, up to a maximum of 30 rupees a litre, but on February 28 they backtracked.
To guarantee a uniform pricing, the government had agreed with the IMF to raise PDL by Rs. 10 per litre on HSD, kerosene, and light diesel oil (LDO) and by Rs. 5 per litre on gasoline.
