The government has submitted a plan to the IMF to eliminate the gas circular debt, including a proposal for a new levy

The circular debt of the gas sector in Pakistan has reached Rs 3400 billion and to reduce it, the government has submitted a detailed Gas Circular Debt Management Plan to the IMF. The IMF has raised several questions on this plan and sought further clarification.

Several sources have been included in this plan to increase revenue. It is proposed to impose a new Levy of Rs 5 on gas, which will directly impact the pockets of consumers. The target is to earn about Rs 160 billion by selling 35 LNG Cargoes in the global market annually. There is a plan to collect an additional Rs 61 billion from better recovery of Sui Northern and Sui Southern and the proposal to reduce the circular debt from dividends of government companies is also part of the plan.

OGDCL, PPL and other companies also owe about Rs 150 billion, which is further increasing the financial pressure on the energy sector. The IMF has called this debt the biggest problem of the energy sector and is pressing for an effective solution. But until this plan is implemented, the common consumer will have to bear another burden in the form of a new levy.