Suit against petrol price hike rejected

Manama : The Supreme Administrative Court yesterday rejected a lawsuit filed by Bahraini attorneys against the Government for “unlawfully” increasing gasoline prices on January 9, confirming the price hike decision was within the law and the constitutional framework.

The six lawyers lodged the complaints before the court against Oil Ministry and the National Oil and Gas Organisation (NOGA), alleging that the gasoline price hike decision was “unconstitutional”.

The lawyers stressed that “no authority should take a decision without following proper legal and constitutional measures” and clarifying to the local press back then that “the complaint isn’t against national economic strategies, but aims to ensure that legal procedures are followed and prevent future violations”.

The court studied the case and for over a month and issued its verdict yesterday rejecting the claim. The judges said, “The price of the sale of gasoline is one of the state’s financial resources, which is different from the concepts of taxes and fees such as other prices of products and services that are collected by the entities that manage state property and public utilities, including electricity and water utilities.”

They affirmed that “the price of the sale of gasoline is one of the financial resources of the state and is different from the concepts of taxes and fees” and decided to reject the claim terming it as “unserious”.

According to the January 9 decision of the NOGA, the price of Jayyid fuel (91-octane) was increased to 140fils/litre from 125fils/litre and Mumtaz fuel (95-octane) price was increased to 200fils/litre from 160fils/litre.  This is the second time gasoline prices are increased within two years after a similar decision was implemented in January 2016.