ISLAMABAD: The national exchequer has lost billions owing to delayed approval of Final Revenue Requirement (FRR) of SNGPL & SSGCL for the financial year (FY) 2012-13 by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), it was learnt.
FRR for each FY are statutorily required to be issued by OGRA in the third week of September of that FY, enabling both the gas utilities (SNGPL & SSGCL) to call their AGM’s to declare the net profit, taxation, sales tax, GDS (gas development surcharge) and dividends payable to the national exchequer.
Accordingly, the FRR 2012-13 was to be finalised by the third week of September 2013. Surprisingly enough, the said determination was issued on November 05, 2015; thereby causing loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer as is evident from the annual reports of FY 2014-15 of SNGPL.
Though OGRA had held a meeting on September 23, 2013, in which FRR 2012-13 could have been finalised, however, the said FRR was not even touched and was delayed for another two years for arcane reasons.
Asking the prime minister who also occupies the portfolio of energy ministry, Shahid Khaqqan Abbasi, an ex-Member (Finance) OGRA, Mir Kamal Marri has requested that OGRA chairperson be directed to hold an independent and impartial inquiry to ascertain as to why the FRR for FY 2012-13 was not issued in the third week of September 2013 and instead a meeting was held for personal gain.
“A Regulator (OGRA) not only violated its own law, but it has also violated the SECP Act; loss to national exchequer and commitment to NAB notwithstanding,” said Marri’s letter.
Marri further said, what is extremely disconcerting is that OGRA had no qualms in holding an authority meeting on September 23, 2013, despite the knowledge of lack of quorum and verdict of Lahore High Court (LHC) dated August 05, 2013.
This gross, blatant and criminal violation/contempt of court was pointed out in Marri letter dated January 17, 2017. It seems that self-interest of OGRA employees had trumped over national interest, Marri added.
