ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has called upon the Cabinet Division to withdraw amendments made in the Ogra Ordinance in order to restore its financial autonomy and to enable it to carry out day to day functions.

Terming the amendments contrary to the Supreme Court`s orders and the Ogra Ordinance, the authority raised its concerns pertaining to shortage of funds.

The request was made through a letter written to the cabinet division`s secretary, a copy of which is with DawnNews.

The regulator stated that the federal government had made a number of amendments in the Ogra Ordinance of 2002 through the Finance Act of 2012. In section 17, after sub-section (3), the following new subsection was added:`(4) Any surplus of receipts over the actual expenditure in a year, after payment of tax, shall be remitted to the Federal Consolidated Fund and any deficit from the actual expenditure shall be made up by the Federal Government.

Sub section (2), added in section 28 of Ogra Ordinance, reads: `All penalties and fines recovered by the Authority shall be credited to the Federal Consolidated Fund` The regulatory authority recalled that the Establishment Division had had declared in a letter of Nov 2002 that Ogra had a distinct `mission statement`, special powers and was independent in the performance of its functions without any administrative control by the government.

However, for the sake of coordination with the federal and provincial governments, it was placed under the Cabinet Division.

Ogra also referred to an important section of the 2002 ordinance: section 3(2) of Ogra Ordinance lays down that the authority shall be independent in the performance of its functions.

Section 18 of the Ordinance reads: `There shall be a fund, to be known asthe Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority fund, which shall vest in the Authority and shall be utilised by the Authority to meet its expenses and charges properly incurred in connection with the carrying out of its functions and duties imposed or transferred to it under this Ordinance, including without limitation the payment of salaries and other remuneration to the Chairman, members, employees, experts, consultants and advisers of the Authority.

Moreover, the Supreme Court in its Order of Dec 21 of last year had made it clear that Ogra was independent of the federal government.

If the amendment in the Ogra Ordinance were implemented, it will become almost impossible for the regulator to carry out its day today functions due to shortage of funds, the authority contended.

Officials at Ogra were of the view that financial autonomy was necessary for an independent regulator to protect the rights of consumers.

That`s why the government had given a written assurance about the sovereignty of Ogra in 2002, one of them observed.