Rs 100 off a litre: who gets petrol relief at Rs 384.34 and how to claim it on 9771

Updated 16 September, 11pm: the Petrol Pump Owners Association says its members will not apply the discount until the government guarantees how they will be repaid (details below). Token redemption outside Islamabad is due to start at midnight tonight. Petrol is Rs 384.34 and diesel Rs 415.83.

Petrol is now Rs 384.34 a litre and high-speed diesel Rs 415.83, after OGRA's 15 September notification added Rs 4.10 to petrol and Rs 6.41 to diesel for 16 September. A day earlier the rates were Rs 380.24 and Rs 409.42. Since daily pricing began, petrol is up Rs 73.04 a litre and diesel Rs 86.32.

To soften that for people on two wheels and in the smallest cars, the government has started a targeted relief scheme: Rs 100 off every litre, up to a monthly limit, claimed through SMS to 9771.

Pump owners push back on the eve of the national rollout

On 16 September the Petrol Pump Owners Association said it would not implement the Prime Minister's relief scheme in its current form. The association's Noman Butt told ARY News the subsidy itself was good, but dealers have reservations about the payment mechanism:

• dealers were not consulted before the scheme was launched;
• neither the ministry, the PM House nor OGRA briefed them;
• the process for paying pumps back for the Rs 100 discount has not been explained to them.

Butt said owners could consider the scheme if the government guarantees repayment. The government's stated plan, reported on 15 September, is that stations are paid for the discount within 24 hours through the State Bank. No official response to the association had been reported by 11pm.

IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja made surprise visits to petrol stations in Islamabad on consecutive days and ordered strict monitoring of stations that delay or refuse subsidised fuel, PhoneWorld reported.

What this means for you tomorrow: register now anyway, since registration is by SMS and does not depend on the pumps. If a station refuses a valid token, note the station name, location and time. Try a company-operated or larger station, and report the refusal to your district administration.

Who qualifies

• Motorcycles, rickshaws, chingchis and other two- and three-wheelers: Rs 100 off up to 20 litres a month, so a maximum of Rs 2,000.
• Cars up to 800cc (Mehran, Alto, Bolan class): Rs 100 off up to 30 litres a month, a maximum of Rs 3,000.
• The scheme covers only these two groups. Owners of larger cars pay the full price. No change to eligibility was announced on 15 September.

The Express Tribune reports the subsidy is planned for three months.

What changed on 15 September

• The SMS is free. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered that the registration SMS be provided free of charge, and asked local administrations and volunteers to help people register.
• Open-letter bikes are in. IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja said on 14 September that the ownership check has been "delinked" for two- and three-wheelers. A bike or rickshaw bought on an open transfer letter can still get the subsidy. A car must be registered in the applicant's own name.
• Official website: scheme details are on pmfuelrelief.pk (also in Urdu). Registration itself is still by SMS to 9771.
• Early numbers: by Monday afternoon Islamabad alone had sent more than 600,000 SMS, and 42,933 applicants had been registered.

How to register, step by step

1. Use a SIM registered in your own name. The CNIC on the SIM has to match the CNIC you register with. Not sure which SIMs are on your CNIC? See how to check the SIMs registered on your CNIC.
2. Send an SMS to 9771 in this format: REG <CNIC> <plate number> <province code> <registration date>.
3. Province codes: I Islamabad, P Punjab, S Sindh, K Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, B Balochistan, A Azad Kashmir, G Gilgit-Baltistan.
4. Your vehicle is checked against the provincial Excise record, so the plate and registration date must match your registration book or card exactly.
5. Before each fill, send TOK to 9771 to get a fuel token, and show it at a participating petrol station. The discount shows on the pump.

How the tokens work

• Bikes and rickshaws: a token covers 5 litres (Rs 500 off) and can be used once a week.
• 800cc cars: a token covers 10 litres (Rs 1,000 off) and can be used once every 10 days.

Plan your fills around this. A rider who tops up 2 litres at a time gets less out of each token than one who fills 5 litres in one go.

When it starts where you live

Islamabad went live on the night between Monday 14 and Tuesday 15 September. Registration is now open nationwide, and token redemption for the rest of the country, including Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, starts at midnight between Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 September. Information stalls are being set up to help people register. Fuel stations are to be paid for the discount within 24 hours through the State Bank. If you are in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar or Quetta, you can fill with a token from Thursday.

What it is worth

Anything above the quota is charged at the full pump price, Rs 384.34 today. A rider who fills 30 litres a month still pays full price on the last 10 litres (Rs 3,843.40). See what a full tank costs today. Work out your own monthly bill with the fuel cost calculator.

The mistakes that get people rejected

• Car not in your name. For cars, the Excise record must match your CNIC. If you bought a used car on open letter, transfer it first. (This no longer applies to bikes and rickshaws.)
• Wrong registration date. Copy it from your registration card, not from memory.
• Borrowed SIM. A family member's SIM will not match your CNIC.
• Paying anyone to "register" you. Registration is a free SMS to 9771. Ignore websites and agents charging a fee.

The politics around it

Jamaat-e-Islami chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman rejected the package as insufficient on 15 September. He puts the petroleum levy at Rs 135 a litre and says the relief is worth about Rs 25 billion against Rs 1,567 billion collected through the levy last year; JI plans a march on Islamabad on 20 September. The government said after briefing a JI delegation that the targeted relief is larger than the levy, a claim JI disputes. Reports of a fuel-saving "smart lockdown" were denied on 15 September by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry.

Prices now change almost every working day, so check the latest rate on our petrol price and diesel price pages before you fill up.