The petrol pump dealers across Punjab observed a 30-minute strike on Sunday as a mark of tribute to their fellow businessman GS Chawla, who had committed suicide at a hotel in Panchkula on July 22.

A Mohali-based fuel pump owner Chawla had allegedly succumbed to the pressure of loss of volume due to disparity in fuel prices in Punjab and its neighbouring states and huge revenue loss by low sales due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fuel pump owners in Punjab on Sunday said that they will keep their petrol pumps shut on July 29 in protest against the high rate of taxes on petrol and diesel that is adversely affecting their business.

Petrol Pump Dealers Association president Paramjit Singh said that the fuel in Punjab is costlier than in Chandigarh and Haryana because of disparity in tax rates. “We will shut our fuel pumps on July 29 from 8 am till 5 pm against high rate of taxes,” he said.

The Association said that GS Chawla had allegedly “succumbed to the pressure of loss of volume due to disparity in fuel prices in Punjab and neighbouring states, and revenue loss amid the Covid-19 pandemic”.

Singh said that Chawala had fought against the high rate of taxes on petrol and diesel.

The retail price of petrol in Punjab is Rs 82.35 a litre as compared to Rs 77.41 in Chandigarh and Rs 78.46 in Panchkula, according to a fuel pump owner. Similarly, the rate of diesel in Punjab is Rs 75.54 in comparison to Rs 72.91 in Chandigarh and Rs 73.54 in Panchkula.

Punjab imposes 33.40 per cent taxes on petrol and 19.77 per cent on diesel. However, VAT rate in Chandigarh is 22.45 per cent on petrol and 14.02 per cent on diesel, fuel pump owners said.

“The border area dealers of Mohali, Fathehgarh Sahib and Rupnagar are the worst hit as they have lost up to 80 percent of their sales to Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana,” said a fuel pump owner Ashwinder Mongia said.

There are 3,450 fuel pumps in Punjab and of them, 800 are located in the border districts which are losing sales because of the high rate of value added tax on fuel.

Fuel pump owners have urged the State Government to bring the tax rates on par with neighbouring states, submitting that it would revive petroleum trade in the State and would also generate revenue to the state exchequer.

“The protest will be to press the State Government to bring parity in the tax rates. It will also be a tribute to our member GS Chawla,” said the Association president Singh.