24 states demand higher commission, says won't buy fuel on Tuesday

NEW DELHI: A petrol pump dealers' association has announced that as a protest against Oil Marketing Companies (OMC) not increasing the commission of petrol pumps, they will not be purchasing petrol or diesel from OMCs on Tuesday.

The Association has assured that even with petrol dealers joining in the protest in 24 states, it will not affect the supply, as there is ample stock in fuel bunks.

The president of Delhi Petrol Dealers Association said, "In 24 states in the country, we will not purchase petrol and diesel from oil marketing companies (OMC) on Tuesday, 31 May in protest of no revision in their commissions despite the rise in petrol and diesel prices".

The dealer margins, according to the Association, should be revised every six months, but since 2017 there has not been changed despite there being an increase in fuel prices and operational costs. They added that the reduction of petrol and diesel prices by the central government through excise duty cuts has furthered that strain on petrol pumps thereby leading to losses, according to the New Indian Express.

The Central government in a bid to provide relief to people from extremely high fuel prices announced a reduction in excise duty earlier this month, reducing the cost of petrol by Rs 8 per litre and diesel by Rs 6 per litre.

The 24 states that have joined in the protest include Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim and West Bengal.