Hafiz Naeem demands removal of levy from petroleum price

ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief, Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, on Saturday said that the petroleum prices should be slashed by Rs 122, “what the levy has to do with the layman”.

In a statement JI chief said that 3,000 billion have been collected from the poor people.

“I have asked the prime minister to shed the burden of the levy from the people,” he said. “Petroleum price should be brought down to Rs 250 per litre and should be locked the price for three years,” he suggested.

“You don’t have the need of any levy, the economy would remain on its track,” he said. “If the economy not allowed to run smoothly, nothing would happen, the people will suffer,” he added.

Constitutional Court challenge

Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, has recently challenged the increase in petrol prices and levies in the Federal Constitutional Court, calling them an unbearable burden on the public.

The JI filed a constitutional petition against the government’s Petroleum Levy mechanism and the newly introduced Climate Support Levy (CSL), arguing that both measures violate the Constitution, parliamentary supremacy, the federal system, and fundamental rights.

According to the petition, the Petroleum Levy is no longer a limited regulatory surcharge and has effectively become a major source of government revenue. JI stated that the levy is being imposed through executive notifications and SROs instead of parliamentary legislation.

The petition claimed that the levy on petrol has reached to a historic high of approximately Rs117.41 per litre, accounting for nearly 43 percent of the ex-refinery price of petrol.

It further stated that the government is expected to collect Rs1.47 trillion under the Petroleum Levy during fiscal year 2025-26, while total collections have already exceeded Rs6.3 trillion.

JI argued that the continuous increase in levies has raised the cost of daily life for ordinary citizens. The petition also challenged the Finance Act 2025, under which the legal cap on the Petroleum Levy was removed.

According to Hafiz Naeem’s petition, the Petroleum Levy is being forcibly collected from the public without providing any specific service or benefit in return. The petition argued that the government has labeled it a “levy” merely to avoid constitutional requirements applicable to taxation.

Hafiz Naeem pleaded the Constitutional Court to exercise its authority to protect citizens from economic exploitation and restore parliamentary oversight and legal limits on the Petroleum Levy.

The petition further urged the court to declare Section 3 of the Finance Act 2025 and the unlimited executive powers unconstitutional, and declare the Petroleum Levy invalid as an unconstitutional tax.