# Govt to Gradually Restore Petroleum Levy to Rs80 per Litre
**ISLAMABAD:** The government is set to gradually restore the **petroleum levy (PL) on petrol and diesel to the budgeted rate of Rs80 per litre**, arguing that maintaining the temporary reduction despite easing international oil prices could create a significant revenue shortfall, widen the fiscal deficit and undermine fiscal stability.
The development was confirmed by **Adviser to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad** on Friday.
In a statement posted on X, Schehzad said the petroleum levy on diesel remained lower than its level before the recent Gulf crisis. The levy had been temporarily reduced to protect consumers from a sharp rise in international diesel prices and prevent the entire increase from being passed on to transporters, farmers and other diesel users.
He noted that the federal budget for the current fiscal year, approved by the National Assembly, was based on an average petroleum levy of **Rs80 per litre on both petrol and diesel**.
According to the adviser, achieving the budgeted revenue target is essential to finance planned government expenditures and maintain fiscal stability.
He said that with international oil prices now easing, it would be prudent and fiscally responsible to gradually restore the petroleum levy towards its budgeted level rather than maintain the emergency reduction indefinitely.
“Any prolonged reduction in the levy would result in a revenue shortfall, widen the fiscal deficit and ultimately impose greater costs on the economy and the public,” he maintained.
Schehzad said the latest adjustments should therefore be viewed as a **phased normalisation of a temporarily reduced levy**, rather than an arbitrary or unexpected increase in taxation.
The government’s move is aimed at balancing consumer relief from international oil price volatility with the need to meet its revenue commitments and maintain overall fiscal stability.
Story by Tahir Amin
