Oil Corporation loses Rs 2 billion in 15 days

Kathmandu: The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has incurred a loss of nearly Rs 2 billion in the last 15 days alone as the government has levied taxes on petroleum products and the US dollar has appreciated.

According to the price list of petroleum products sent by the Indian Oil Corporation on December 3, the corporation will incur a loss of Rs 1.97 billion for 15 days from petrol, diesel and cooking gas, said Surendra Poudel, executive director of the corporation.According to him, most of the losses are due to cooking gas. In a period of 15 days, LP gas alone is causing a loss of Rs 1.26 billion. Similarly, the corporation will incur a loss of Rs 507.2 million from diesel and Rs 327.2 million from petrol, according to the projected half-monthly price statement.The biggest losses are from cooking gas
As per the Indian Oil Corporation price list on November 1, the purchase price of the corporation was Rs 1,614.31 per cylinder. As per the list on December 1, the purchase price of a cylinder has increased by Rs 95.20.

The total cost of the corporation including government revenue, seller’s commission and technical loss was Rs 2,333.25 per cylinder of gas. And, this will result in a loss of Rs 758.25 per cylinder to the corporation.

According to the corporation, 1,664,370 cylinders are consumed in 15 days across the country. The corporation has lost Rs 1.26 billion from gas alone. On top of that, gas is smuggled from the border area to Nepal (Birgunj) as it is cheaper by Rs 50.65 per cylinder compared to the Indian market (Raxaul). The government has been levying customs duty, customs service fee, price stabilization fund and value added tax on LP gas at Rs 278.86 per cylinder.