Photo: fileThe International Monetary Fund (IMF) has rejected Pakistan's requests to freeze the 15% additional gas levy on industry's in-house power plants and to exempt efficient plants from the levy. But these arguments could not convince the IMF to keep the levy rate at its current level. Sources said the IMF observed that the captive power plants levy should be seen as a punitive tool to discourage the use of gas in these inefficient in-house plants. There had been criticism in the past for providing expensive gas to less-efficient captive power plants with only 30% efficiency. The IMF stated that it would examine the feasibility of calculating the levy rate using average tariffs, but did not provide a final decision.

Source: The Express Tribune March 17, 2026 13:37 UTC