PM Shehbaz forms committee to review Rs72b oil sector windfall gains

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted a high-powered committee headed by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to review the country’s cross-subsidy framework and examine the recovery of an alleged 72 billion rupees in windfall profits earned by oil marketing companies.

The committee, formed ahead of the upcoming federal budget, will also evaluate broader fiscal and economic priorities, including expenditure rationalization, development spending allocation, energy sector reforms and the implementation of rightsizing measures across ministries and divisions.

Officials said the panel will be responsible for reviewing key financial planning areas for the next budget cycle, particularly efforts aimed at improving efficiency in public spending and reducing the fiscal deficit.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb will chair the committee, while the ministers for economic affairs, planning and law will serve as members.

Former bureaucrat Musharraf Rasool has been appointed as chief technical adviser, while the additional secretary for budget will also be part of the committee.

The panel is expected to submit its recommendations to the prime minister after completing a comprehensive review of economic and administrative reforms.

Meanwhile, government is preparing to recover an estimated 72 billion rupees in windfall profits from oil marketing companies (OMCs) in the upcoming fiscal year 2026-27, according to official sources.

Finance Ministry sources said a windfall gain tax could be imposed on OMCs after companies earned extraordinary profits on petroleum products during recent regional tensions.

Officials said the recovered amount may be used to provide petroleum subsidies, reduce electricity tariffs and help narrow the fiscal deficit.

Sources added that the government is examining legal and financial mechanisms to reclaim the extraordinary profits earned by the oil marketing sector.