Fuel pump owners in Haryana on Monday went on a strike against the Central Government’s decision to reduce excise duty on fuel resulting in their huge losses.
The strike that began at 6 am on Monday for 24 hours ended late evening after assurances given to the Central and State Governments.
Haryana Petroleum Dealers Association is seeking reduction in value added tax on petrol and diesel, increase in dealers' commission and action against sale of fake diesel in the state.
The members of Haryana Petroleum Dealers Association announced that the strike has been called off after around 13 hours following the assurances given by the higher authorities to redress our grievances.
“Around 3,700 petrol pumps went on strike which started at 6 am on Monday. Our demands include a hike in dealers’ commission and reimbursement of losses suffered due to sudden cut in excise duty. Due to the Centre's decision on reducing the price of petrol and diesel, dealers have faced a loss of lakhs,” said Ashok Jain, treasurer of All Haryana Petroleum Dealers Association.
Protesting fuel pump owners were demanding reduction in VAT on petrol and diesel at par with Punjab. The fuel pump owners have also been demanding a raise in the dealer's commission, saying that it had not been increased since 2017, while their expenditure had almost doubled.
They have also been seeking compensation from the government for the loss caused to them on their existing stock due to the reduction in excise duty on fuel.
The Association members said that they have been writing to the Haryana Government about the issue but they did not receive any response.
Earlier in November, in a significant decision, the Centre had reduced excise duty on petrol and diesel to bring down the prices of the two petroleum products which had been seeing an upward trend.
The relief to consumers came on the eve of Diwali. The Central Government had announced that excise duty on petrol will come down by Rs 5 and that on diesel by Rs 10.
Following the Centre's suit, many other states including Haryana had also announced a reduction in Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel.