The federal government has unveiled a bonded bulk storage policy to end the illegal hoarding and shortages of petroleum products in the country, State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik announced on Wednesday.
Mailk said whenever fuel prices were going to be increased, hoarders stored petroleum products to make illegal gains on stocks which led to petrol and diesel shortages.
“Today I am presenting a solution to end the practice of hoarding,” he announced in a press conference in Lahore.
He said that bonded storage policy will ensure smooth supply of petroleum products and end the practice of illegal hoarding.
“Now the world’s biggest traders will not be able to [illegally] hoard oil in the country,” he remarked.
His statement comes as the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet approved “Bonded Bulk Storage Policy 2023” for petroleum products, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Wednesday.
Taking to Twitter, the finance minister said the federal government fulfilled another commitment with people of Pakistan that it made in the budget speech for the fiscal year 2023-24 on June 9 in National Assembly.
What is bonded storage policy?
Under the policy, the foreign suppliers will be allowed to procure crude and POL products from the international market and store them in bonded bulk storages in Pakistan ports.
A senior official from the Petroleum Division explained to The News that if Pakistan needs to procure crude or finished oil products from foreign suppliers, the country’s customs department will de-bond the stored products. This is how the oil products will be formally imported to Pakistan.
However, the policy, he said, will allow foreign suppliers to export the bonded products. If foreign suppliers use the country’s storage, they will pay for it. However, the products stored in the bonded bulk storage will not be considered imported products unless these products are de-bonded by the customs department.
This policy will help reduce the LCs and freight charges to a reasonable level and maintain the oil supply chain all the time in the country as in the past, the supply chain got disturbed. This policy will also help foreign suppliers build bonded bulk storages in Pakistan ports. The relevant officials said that the Port of Fujairah was developed initially by allowing foreign oil supplies to store their oil supplies in bonded storages. Then foreign fuel suppliers started developing the bonded storage at Fujairah port and this is how the said port was developed.
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