The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association is holding a nationwide strike today to protest the imposition of an advance tax in the 2024-25 budget.
These kinds of situations causing further problems for the current government which is already battling with the new IMF demands.
The strike comes after failed talks between the dealers and government officials. However, citizens in Lahore and other parts of the country have flocked to filling stations, fearing that the strike will disperse.
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The strike is likely to affect transportation services that use these fuels. Abdul Samad Khan expressed worry about the 0.5% advance turnover tax contained in the Finance Bill 2024-25, claiming that it would make operations at gas pumps unsustainable.
“We want the government to immediately abolish the tax,” he stated, emphasizing that they had no alternative but to suspend operations.
Khan said that after discussions with high authorities, including the Oil Marketing Companies’ Advisory Council, unsolved difficulties remained.
The PPDA intended to close 13,000 gas stations beginning at 6 a.m. on July 5, with the option of prolonging the strike if their demands were not satisfied swiftly.