Chandigarh (Jagmeet Ghuman):- At a joint press conference held at the Chandigarh Press Club on Wednesday, the Rashtriya Jan Udyog Vyapar Sangathan, the Federation of All India Petroleum Traders, the Petroleum Pump Dealers Association Punjab and the Petroleum Dealers Welfare Association Haryana expressed deep concern over the government’s digital transaction levy, extremely inadequate dealer margins, large-scale inter-state fuel smuggling and the growing operational crisis pushing retail fuel outlets in North India to the brink.
Speaking about the recently introduced Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charges on UPI payments, Monty Sehgal, National Spokesperson of the Federation of All India Petroleum Traders, said that calling the charges a “discount” was entirely misleading. There was no discount involved; rather, it was a digital recovery tax imposed by the government. Although implementation of these charges has currently been deferred until Diwali, the intention remains to introduce them.
Parminder Singh Doaba, President of the Petroleum Pump Dealers Association Punjab, said that petroleum dealers operate on fixed margins under strict regulations, making it impossible for them to bear these transaction costs. “We demand a complete, 100 per cent exemption from all MDR charges on petroleum products and retail dealers.”
Sanjeev Chaudhary, President of the Petroleum Dealers Welfare Association Haryana, said that retail fuel operators across the country were facing an unprecedented financial crisis and a heavy debt burden. “We cannot afford the proposed MDR charges on digital payments.”
Doaba said that following aggressive expansion of retail outlets through advertisements in 2018 and 2023, the total number of petrol pumps across the country had crossed one lakh. As a result, the average monthly sales throughput per pump had fallen from 170 kilolitres to 130–140 kilolitres. The crisis was much more severe in Punjab and Haryana, where average sales had dropped below 100 kilolitres per month, pushing several outlets to the brink of financial collapse.
To ensure the basic survival of retail outlets and maintain the quality of consumer services, the association urged the Central Government and oil marketing companies to immediately revise dealer margins to 7 per cent of the billed value, giving special priority to small dealers selling a volume of 100 kilolitres per month.
The association urged the governments of Punjab and Haryana to take immediate action against large-scale fuel smuggling from the Union Territory of Chandigarh into neighbouring districts, driven by lower VAT rates in the Union Territory. The Petroleum Pump Dealers Association Punjab and the Petroleum Dealers Welfare Association Haryana also urged both state governments to consider aligning their oil VAT rates with those of Chandigarh to eliminate illegal fuel trading, protect dealers’ livelihoods and safeguard state revenue.
