'Fertilizer bag may get Rs700 costlier'

Qamar said the party had also decided not to support legislation in any committee and called for the bills to be postponed. The committee chairman said the bills would first be discussed and members would be briefed on them before any decision was taken on their passage.

Officials of the Ministry of Petroleum Products said the proposed legislation sought to amend the GIDC law and expand the scope of where the collected cess could be utilised within the gas sector., the cess was originally meant to be spent on the TAPI and Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline projects.

The authorities said Rs294 billion collected under the cess was to be spent within six months in accordance with a Supreme Court order. Under the proposed amendment, however, the funds could be utilised for infrastructure anywhere in the gas sector.

Officials said the fertilizer sector was currently receiving gas from Mari and new pipelines costing $500 million were being laid to supply Mari gas to fertilizer factories. The Mari gas field is Pakistan's second-largest natural gas reservoir, located in District Ghotki, Sindh, and operated by Mari Energies Limited.

They said the cost of laying gas pipelines for the fertilizer sector would be passed on through a cess imposed on fertilizer bags, potentially increasing the price of a bag by up to Rs700. Qamar strongly opposed the proposal, saying the entire burden would ultimately fall on the public.

He also objected to passing the cost of companies purchasing ships on to consumers and farmers. He said fertilizer prices should be determined by the market and the government should not fix them. He warned that other sectors could also make similar demands in the future.

"Tomorrow, power companies will say that we have built infrastructure, now give us the money," he said, adding that he could not support the proposal under any circumstances. Petroleum Secretary Hamid Yaqoob said the proposed amendment would also cover other infrastructure in the gas sector.

He of the gas cess had remained suspended since 2021 following a court order. A representative of the Fertilizer Manufacturers Advisory Council said the fertilizer industry had itself developed the infrastructure in question and that its benefits would ultimately go to farmers.

He said the cost of the infrastructure would have to be passed on. The representative also complained that the gas being supplied to the fertilizer sector was of poor quality and that the industry was receiving no subsidy.

At the conclusion of the discussion, the committee chairman said the bills would not be taken up, citing the PPP's decision. The committee subsequently deferred both bills.