Hundreds of petroleum dealers from various parts of Punjab on Thursday come together to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Minister of Petroleum, Secretary of Petroleum, and chairpersons of oil companies. The move, facilitated through the state level coordinators' office at Indian Oil Bhavan in Chandigarh on Thursday, seeks to draw attention to the long-standing demand for an increase in dealers' margin.
Petrol Pump Dealers Association, Punjab, (PPDAP) spokesperson Monty Sehgal voiced the concerns of the petroleum dealers associated with Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in Punjab. He expressed deep dissatisfaction with the lack of response from OMCs regarding multiple representations made by the dealers seeking a revision in their margin.
Sehgal highlighted that the recommended margin revisions, proposed by the Apoorva Chandra Committee's 2012 Report on RO Dealer Commission, have been consistently withheld by the OMCs. According to these recommendations, dealer margins were supposed to be revised twice annually, in January and July. This commitment was reiterated in a meeting between Oil Marketing Companies and Dealer Representatives held on November 4, 2016.
“It is inexplicable that for six years now, we have been denied any revision despite financial hardship and escalating expenses, making it difficult for the majority of us dealers to survive. The fact that dealers continued to serve the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic, incurring significant capital losses without compensation from profit-making OMCs, is well-known,” he said.
PPDAP president Paramjit Singh Doaba pointed out that the post-COVID-19 scenario, coupled with inflation and rising operating expenses, has exacerbated the financial situation of dealers. While the retail prices of petrol and diesel have nearly doubled since 2016, the dealer margin has remained unchanged, he said.
In response to the present challenges, the dealers' association submitted a representation, demanding an immediate increase in dealer margins by Rs four per liter as interim relief.
Association general secretary Dr Manjeet Singh further clarified that without this relief, many retail outlets are at risk of becoming non-operational due to ongoing capital losses and increasing debt.
The Association also sought a slab-wise increase of eight per cent for up to 150KL, seven per cent for 150KL to 300KL, six per cent for 300KL to 450KL, and five per cent for 450KL and above to support low-selling dealers in the future.
The dealers expressed hope that their plea would be considered seriously to ensure a fair margin that sustains their livelihoods and provides a reasonable return on their investments.
