Controversial tax drives fuel dealers to strike

A divided house of the Pakistan Petro­leum Dealers Association (PPDA) on Tuesday annou­nced a countrywide strike for July 5 to protest the imposition of 0.5 per cent advance turnover tax in the budget, although the government has conceded its mistake and assured withdrawal of the controversial tax. As a precautionary measure, however, the government on Tuesday directed oil marketing companies (OMCs) to ensure the availability of sufficient stocks of petroleum products at company-owned or company-operated and other sites associated with the OMCs to avoid any disruption of the supply chain and inconvenience to the general public and industry in case of strike. On Tuesday, two separate PPDA delegations — one led by Abdul Sami Khan from Karachi and another coordinated by Hassan Shah from Lahore — met Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Amjed Zubair Tiwana.