The price on this site is the most a pump may legally charge. Every tax and margin, including the pump’s own, is already inside it.
So if a pump charges Rs 350 or Rs 351 for petrol priced at Rs 349, that is not a lawful extra. It is overcharging.
The price is set by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA). OGRA announces 1 maximum price for each fuel, in an official notice.
2 things below are certain, from how the price is built. OGRA’s price is the maximum, and the dealer’s cut is inside it.
On 4 September 2026, the dealer’s cut was Rs 9.98 of the Rs 349.
How often pumps add an extra rupee, and which pumps, comes from press and enforcement reports. I say so each time.
What does OGRA’s price include?
OGRA sets 1 maximum price for each fuel, and it is the same across the country.
This is because of the Inland Freight Equalisation Margin (IFEM). It shares out the cost of moving fuel, so every region pays the same.
Every tax and every margin sits inside that price. The filling station’s cut, called the dealer margin, is one of them.
On 4 September 2026, the dealer margin on petrol was Rs 9.98. That is under 3% of the Rs 349 you pay.
What makes up the price of a litre? explains every line. The build-up shows the latest one in full.
So the pump is already paid, inside the price shown here. This is the price the regulator set.
It is not a wholesale price waiting for a shop markup. The markup, the dealer margin, is already in it.
Can a pump charge more than OGRA’s price?
No. A pump may charge OGRA’s price or less, but never more.
Say OGRA sets Rs 349 and the pump charges Rs 350 or Rs 351. That is charging above a legal maximum, which is overcharging.
Reports put the extra at about Rs 1 to Rs 2 a litre.
It is not only in the hour after a price change. Many pumps charge it for long periods.
District officials fine and seal pumps for it, and they can cancel a licence.
You can report it through the Pakistan Citizen’s Portal or to OGRA.
Why do pumps still charge more, and which ones?
The Government fixes the dealer margin, which OGRA prints. Dealers call it too low, and sometimes threaten to close for a higher one.
Checks on pumps are weak and uneven. So many pumps keep a small, steady markup.
This markup stays. It is not a short delay that ends when the meters are reset.
It also depends on who runs the pump. Almost every pump in Pakistan is run by a dealer, not by the oil company itself.
In Karachi, by one count, about 20 of some 500 pumps are run by the company.
Company-run pumps, including those of Pakistan State Oil (PSO), are reported to keep the official price more often.
The extra rupee shows up at the dealer-run pumps. That is why it appears across the country, not in one city.
What does not explain the extra rupee?
Not a price that changes by city. Petrol and high-speed diesel cost the same in Karachi and in Lahore, because of IFEM.
Only a few areas outside IFEM, such as Gilgit-Baltistan and some remote places, have a different notified price.
Not Hi-Octane. Hi-Octane is a separate, higher-priced grade, and OGRA does not set its price.
So a Hi-Octane price is not the figure shown here. It was never meant to match.
Not the meter delay. After a price cut, some pumps keep the old price for a while, saying their meters are not reset yet.
They reset quickly when prices rise, and slowly when they fall. That is real, but it does not last.
The steady extra rupee is different. It stays after a price rise as well as after a cut.
How else can a litre cost you more?
There is a second trick that costs you in the same way. It is easy to confuse with overcharging, so I name it here.
The meter shows a full litre but gives you less. This is called short measure.
You pay the right rate but get less fuel. So you pay more for each litre, though the price on the pump never changes.
Recent cases in Islamabad and Rawalpindi involved tampered pumps. They switched back to the honest measure when an inspector arrived.
Short measure is also an offence, though it works differently. It is why a receipt at the right price can still leave you short.
Why does this site show OGRA’s price?
Because it is the only price that is official, the same everywhere, and possible to check.
What one pump charged on one day is local and unwritten. Nobody can check it afterwards.
OGRA’s price is published, dated and the same for everyone. I trace it here to the document OGRA set it in.
This site records the price the regulator set, not the price a pump chose. How this record is read sets out the same rule.
If a figure cannot be checked, I do not publish it as if it could be.
Will OGRA keep setting this price at all? That is a separate, open question, covered in the June 2027 deregulation plan.
Common questions
Why is the price here different from what I paid at the pump?
The price here is OGRA’s legal maximum. If you paid more, the pump overcharged you; if you paid the same, you paid the correct price.
Is a pump allowed to charge more than the OGRA price?
No. Every tax and margin is inside the price, so charging more is an offence you can report to OGRA or the Pakistan Citizen’s Portal.
Why is the pump price often Rs 1 or Rs 2 more?
OGRA’s dealer margin is thin and checks are weak, so many dealer-run pumps add a markup. Company-run pumps more often keep the official price.
Does the petrol price change from city to city in Pakistan?
Not for petrol and high-speed diesel. IFEM keeps the price the same nationwide, except in a few areas such as Gilgit-Baltistan.
Is Hi-Octane the same as petrol?
No. Hi-Octane is a separate, higher-priced grade that OGRA does not set, so its price is not the one shown here.
I think I am getting less than a litre. Is that the same thing?
No, that is short measure, from a tampered meter. You pay the right rate but get less fuel, and it is also an offence.
Sources
- The Rs 349 price and the Rs 9.98 dealer margin, 4 September 2026OGRA’s price build-up for 4 September 2026, as this record holds itPrimary · SHA-256 archived
- How common overcharging is, and how pumps are runDawn’s reporting on petrol pump overchargingPress
- The dealer margin, and dealer-run against company-run pumpsProfit by Pakistan Today on how petrol pumps make moneyPress
That the notified price is a maximum, with all margins inside, is OGRA’s own rule. The reporting on pumps also draws on other press reports.