ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet which is scheduled to meet on Tuesday( December 9,2025) will accord approval to revise the margins of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and petroleum dealers based on the annual National CPI for 2023-24 and 2024-25, with a floor of 5 percent and a ceiling of 15 percent. The proposed adjustment will increase margins by Rs1.63 per litre for OMCs and Rs1.79 per litre for dealers.
According to the sources in Petroleum Division , the ECC had earlier considered a summary submitted by the Petroleum Division on revising margins for OMCs and dealers on Motor Spirit (MS) and High Speed Diesel (HSD). On September 6, 2025, the ECC decided that, going forward, margins would be determined by OGRA under a systematic mechanism based on Pakistan State Oil’s (PSO’s) operating cost structure for both OMCs and dealers.
Following the ECC’s direction, OGRA proposed for FY 2024-25 an increase of Rs1.35 per litre in OMC margins and Rs1.40 per litre in dealer margins, calculated from data provided by PSO. After reviewing the proposal, the Petroleum Division submitted a summary to the ECC on May 10, 2025, recommending a lower increase of Rs1.13 per litre for OMCs and Rs1.12 per litre for dealers.
During the ECC meeting held on May 13, 2025, the Finance Division was asked to further review the matter with the Petroleum Division and OGRA to develop a consensus-based proposal for margin revision.
Meanwhile, the Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) has been demanding an increase of Rs2.13 per litre in their current margin of Rs7.87 per litre, taking it to Rs10 per litre. The Oil Marketing Association of Pakistan (OMAP) has sought a much steeper increase of Rs8.13 per litre, pushing the margin to Rs16 per litre.
Sources added that the mechanism for revising margins was extensively discussed in a meeting held on July 16, 2025, co-chaired by the Petroleum and Finance Ministers and attended by the OGRA Chairman and Additional Secretaries of both ministries. It was agreed that margins should be revised based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Accordingly, on August 29, 2025, OGRA presented two options for margin revision. Further deliberations in a meeting between OGRA, the Finance Division, and the Petroleum Division on September 17, 2025 led to the development of three options:
Option 1:
Margins revised based on annual National CPI for 2023-24 and 2024-25, with a floor of 5% and ceiling of 10%, resulting in an increase of Rs1.22 per litre for OMCs and Rs1.34 per litre for dealers.
Option 2:
Margins revised based on annual National CPI for 2023-24 and 2024-25, with a floor of 5% and ceiling of 15%, resulting in an increase of Rs1.63 per litre for OMCs and Rs1.79 per litre for dealers.
Option 3:
Margins revised based on annual National CPI for 2023-24 and 2024-25, with a floor of 3% and ceiling of 10%, resulting in an increase of Rs1.05 per litre for OMCs and Rs1.15 per litre for dealers.
The summary was circulated to OGRA and the Finance Division for comments. OGRA has endorsed Option II and recommended that margins for OMCs and dealers on MS and HSD be revised annually, effective September 1, 2025, in line with the proposed CPI-based methodology.
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