Petrol dealers will submit memorandum to PMO, seeking increase in margins

Petroleum dealers from across Punjab are set to submit a memorandum to the PMO, Petroleum Minister, Petroleum Secretary, and chairmen of oil companies. This will be done through the State Level Coordinator’s Office at Indian Oil Bhawan, Sector-19, on January 18.

Monty Sehgal, spokesperson for the Petrol Pump Dealers Association Punjab, stated on Monday that dealers of PSU Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in Punjab are disheartened by the continuous neglect of their demand for increased margins. Despite the recommendations of the Committee on RO Dealer Commission-2012 (Apoorva Chandra Committee), constituted by the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the OMCs are not implementing the suggested revisions.

Sehgal emphasized that the dealer margin was supposed to be revised twice every year, as approved in a meeting held on November 4, 2016, between oil marketing companies and dealer representatives. However, these revisions have not taken place for six years, affecting the dealers’ ability to cope with financial difficulties and rising expenses.

Association president Paramjit Singh Doaba highlighted that the financial condition of dealers has worsened after Covid-19 due to inflation and rising operating expenses. Despite almost doubling retail prices of petrol and diesel since 2016, dealer margins have not seen an increase. “We expect a reasonable margin that will provide us and our employees a good livelihood and a good return on our investment,” he stated.

The General Secretary of the Association, Dr. Manjeet Singh, added that their demand is for an immediate interim relief – an increase of Rs 4 per liter in dealer margins. Without such relief, and given capital losses and increasing debt, many petrol pumps are at risk of closure. The association also plans to seek slab-wise increases in the future to support dealers with low sales.