Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has filed a petition in the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) challenging the government’s petroleum levy regime, arguing that it grants excessive taxation powers through executive notifications without adequate parliamentary oversight.
Image: Dawn
The petition, submitted through senior counsel Imran Shafeeq on Monday, seeks a declaration that the existing petroleum levy framework under the Petroleum Products (Petroleum Levy and Climate Support Levy) Ordinance, 1961—along with amendments introduced through Section 3 of the Finance Act, 2025—is unconstitutional and beyond legal authority.
The plea contends that the levy mechanism violates multiple constitutional provisions, including Articles relating to due process, dignity, equality, taxation through law, federal authority, and financial distribution.
It further requests the court to suspend or restrict any further increase in the petroleum levy and climate support levy through executive notifications unless proper legislative safeguards and parliamentary approval mechanisms are introduced.
The petition comes in the backdrop of JI-led nationwide protests against rising petroleum levies, inflation, and elevated electricity tariffs.
