Punjab Petroleum Dealers Association President Paramjit Singh Doaba on Monday announced that it should “take steps to prevent loss and harassment to the petrol station dealers of Punjab for a long time due to faulty and unfair fuel policies by the Punjab Government”. The time has come”. “In the absence of margin revision and higher fuel prices, dealers in Punjab are going to restrict their working hours from 7 am to 5 pm (one shift only), to cut down on cost of expenditure and higher to cover the damage caused. Fuel prices for 15 days from 7th November”.
“Meanwhile, if our demands are not met, dealers in Punjab will shut their pumps for 24 hours on November 22, during this period,” Doaba said.
Speaking to the media in Chandigarh on Monday, Doaba said that “Punjab petrol pump dealers are suffering due to higher VAT on petrol and diesel as compared to neighboring states and union territories”.
He said that “non-revision of dealer margins for the last 4 years and State-owned Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) passing their expenses on to the dealers and shutting down the supplies, is badly affecting the dealers.”
Doaba further said, “Now that our repeated pleas to look into our demands have failed to find a solution, we have, apart from putting the Punjab Government, Oil Marketing Companies and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on notice. There is no other option left.”
Dr Manjeet Singh, general secretary of the association said, “Around 800 dealers across 8 border districts of Punjab are at extreme loss due to 70 per cent drop in sales, while the entire dealer fraternity is facing volume loss due to high fuel prices. and the margin has not increased since the last revision in August 2017.
“Interestingly, the fuel prices have increased by almost Rs. 38 per liter in the last 18 months, while crude has risen to $85/bbl from $70/bbl in January 2020, pre-Covid levels,” union spokesperson Monty Sehgal said, adding, “Dealers across the country are demanding . Margins should continue to grow commensurate with the increase in prices and keep up with the increase in operating costs.”
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