Petrol’s customs duty rose from Rs 17.28 a litre on 21 July to Rs 26.31 on 23 October 2026. Diesel’s stayed at Rs 15.68 throughout.
Both figures come from the daily price sheet of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA). The sheet gives both duties the same explanation.
Many people think customs duty is a percentage of the oil price. The sheet ties it to cargoes imported by Pakistan State Oil (PSO).
So petrol’s duty moves with PSO’s cargo lines, not with the daily world price. Diesel’s has not moved once in this record.
What does the sheet say customs duty is?
Each sheet builds up a litre’s price line by line. Customs duty is line K on petrol and line M on diesel.
Before 20 August, diesel’s duty was line K too. OGRA rebuilt the diesel sheet that day, and the duty became line M.
Both lines carry the same words. This is the sheet’s explanation, unchanged:
“Charged under Customs Act, 1969, based on PSO cargos imported during last seven working days or in case of no imports, average of cargos imported since January 2026.”
So the sheet allows 2 rules. It uses PSO’s cargoes from the last 7 working days or, with no recent imports, the average since January.
The sheet does not say which rule applied on a given day. So I cannot tell you either.
It also prints the duty in rupees a litre, not as a rate. So this note gives no tariff percentage.
Where does customs duty sit in the price?
Customs duty is added after the fuel lands in Karachi. With the exchange rate adjustment, it makes the ex-refinery or import price.
| Line on 23 October 2026, Rs a litre | Petrol | Diesel |
|---|---|---|
| Cost at Karachi port | 240.48 (I) | 268.51 (K) |
| Exchange rate adjustment | 0.18 (J) | 0.00 (L) |
| Customs duty | 26.31 (K) | 15.68 (M) |
| Ex-refinery or import price | 266.97 (L) | 284.19 (N) |
| Pump price | 377.71 (T) | 391.75 (W) |
The sheet explains that total in 1 line: “Cost of import also considered as price of refinery product.”
In plain words, fuel from a Pakistani refinery is priced at the import price, customs line included.
How has petrol’s customs duty changed since July?
Line K was Rs 17.28 on 21 July, the first sheet in this record.
It reached Rs 26.31 on 21 October, its highest in this record. It was the same on 22 and 23 October.
Counted to 2 decimals, it changed on 22 of the 65 sheets after 21 July. It went up 14 times and down 8 times.
Line A, the world price for finished petrol, changed on all 65. So the duty does not follow the daily world price.
On each of the 22 sheets, line B or line G changed too. B is the premium; G is incidentals, such as port charges.
Both lines carry the same PSO-cargo wording as customs duty. So line K moved only on sheets where a cargo line moved.
The reverse is not true. Line B changed on 19 and 26 September, and line G on 10 October, with no change in line K.
The petrol premium note explains line B and how it has risen.
Is customs duty a fixed share of the oil price?
No. The sheet for 22 September shows this most clearly.
| Petrol line | 19 September | 22 September | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| World price, $ a barrel (A) | 132.57 | 133.27 | +0.70 |
| Premium, $ a barrel (B) | 15.46 | 14.12 | −1.34 |
| Cost and freight, $ a barrel (C) | 148.03 | 147.39 | −0.64 |
| Cost and freight, Rs a litre (F) | 258.33 | 257.20 | −1.13 |
| Incidentals, Rs a litre (G) | 0.66 | 0.42 | −0.24 |
| Customs duty, Rs a litre (K) | 19.59 | 23.68 | +4.09 |
| Petrol, Rs a litre (T) | 389.14 | 393.75 | +4.61 |
The premium fell by $1.34 a barrel, and the dollar cost by $0.64. Customs duty rose by Rs 4.09 a litre.
That was line K’s biggest change from one sheet to the next in this record.
It went the other way on 18 September. Line B did not change, yet line K fell by Rs 1.74.
So line K is not a fixed share of line B or line A. It rests on PSO’s cargoes, which the sheet does not list.
The record holds no cargo data: no ship, no cargo value, no tariff rate. So I do not divide the duty by any cost.
Why has diesel’s customs duty stayed at Rs 15.68?
Diesel’s duty was Rs 15.68 on all 66 sheets, from 21 July to 23 October 2026.
On the 8 sheets from 22 to 31 July, OGRA printed 5 decimals. There the line read 15.68038.
Over the same dates, diesel’s own cost moved a lot.
Its cost and freight ranged from Rs 241.73 a litre on 20 August to Rs 302.16 on 18 September.
Diesel’s incidentals, its other PSO-cargo line, did not change either. They were Rs 0.20 a litre, printed as 0.20495 from 22 to 31 July.
The sheet does not explain why. It gives diesel the same 2 rules as petrol.
One reading fits the record. If PSO imported no diesel in those weeks, the second rule, an average since January, would not change.
That is my inference, not the sheet’s. The record holds no cargo data to confirm it.
Why diesel and petrol move differently compares the rest of the 2 sheets.
How much of each litre was customs duty on 23 October?
Customs duty belongs to the site’s Government group, with the petroleum levy, the climate support levy and sales tax.
| 23 October 2026, Rs a litre | Petrol | Diesel |
|---|---|---|
| Customs duty | 26.31 (6.97%) | 15.68 (4.00%) |
| Petroleum Levy | 80.00 (21.18%) | 80.00 (20.42%) |
| Climate Support Levy | 5.00 (1.32%) | 5.00 (1.28%) |
| Sales tax | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Government | 111.31 (29.47%) | 100.68 (25.70%) |
| Pump price | 377.71 | 391.75 |
Each share is of that day’s printed pump price. Every other Government line was the same on both fuels.
So the Rs 10.63 gap between the 2 Government parts is all customs duty.
How much of the petrol price is tax covers the other Government lines.
What changes for refineries on 15 November?
News reports describe a second duty on diesel, the “deemed duty” for refineries. OGRA’s sheet prints no line by that name.
On 7 September 2026, ProPakistani reported Cabinet changes to the 2023 policy for upgrading existing refineries.
“Refineries signing their agreements by October 1 will face a reduced deemed duty of 2.5 percent on high speed diesel, which will fall to zero by November 15, 2026.”
Refineries that missed the deadline must pay the deemed duty above 5% on diesel into an upgrade account, the report said.
The sheet prices refinery diesel at the import price, customs line included. It does not say how a deemed duty fits into that.
So I do not say what 15 November will do to the pump price. Each sheet after that date will show line M as printed.
You can see line K on the petrol build-up and line M on the diesel build-up.
Each day page links to the OGRA document it was read from. What makes up the petrol price explains the other lines.
Common questions
What is the customs duty on petrol and diesel in Pakistan?
A charge per litre under the Customs Act, 1969. On 23 October 2026 it was Rs 26.31 on petrol and Rs 15.68 on diesel.
Why does petrol’s customs duty change?
The sheet bases it on Pakistan State Oil’s recent cargoes. It changed on 22 sheets, each time with the premium or incidentals.
Does customs duty rise and fall with the oil price?
Not day by day. On 22 September, petrol’s dollar cost fell by $0.64 a barrel, but its customs duty rose by Rs 4.09 a litre.
Why has diesel’s customs duty not changed?
The sheet does not say. Its rule allows an average of cargoes since January; that would fit, but it is my inference.
How much of the pump price is customs duty?
On 23 October 2026, 6.97% of petrol’s Rs 377.71 and 4.00% of diesel’s Rs 391.75.
What is the customs duty rate on petrol?
The daily sheet prints rupees a litre, not a tariff rate. So this note gives the rupees only.
Sources
- Every daily petrol and diesel figure, 21 July to 23 October 2026OGRA’s daily price build-up, as this record holds itPrimary · SHA-256 archived
- The wording of lines K, M, G, I and L, and every figure for 23 October 2026OGRA price publication 17555, the 23 October 2026 build-upPrimary · SHA-256 archived
- Petrol’s duty at Rs 17.28 and diesel’s at Rs 15.68, 21 July 2026OGRA price publication 14672, the 21 July 2026 build-upPrimary · SHA-256 archived
- Diesel’s duty printed as 15.68038, 22 July 2026OGRA price publication 14673, the 22 July 2026 build-upPrimary · SHA-256 archived
- Diesel’s duty moved to line M; its cost and freight at Rs 241.73, 20 August 2026OGRA price publication 15453, the 20 August 2026 build-upPrimary · SHA-256 archived
- Petrol’s lines on 19 September 2026OGRA price publication 16460, the 19 September 2026 build-upPrimary · SHA-256 archived
- Petrol’s duty at Rs 23.68, 22 September 2026OGRA price publication 16507, the 22 September 2026 build-upPrimary · SHA-256 archived
- The deemed duty on diesel, and 15 November 2026ProPakistani report on refinery upgrade deals and penaltiesPress
Every amount is a line OGRA printed, a difference between 2 printed lines, or a share of 1 day’s printed pump price. Changes are counted to 2 decimals.