Chandigarh, January 18: Petroleum dealers from various parts of Punjab delivered a Memorandum to the PMO, Minister of Petroleum, Secretary of Petroleum, and Chairpersons of oil companies through the office of State Level Coordinators at Indian Oil Bhavan in Chandigarh on Thursday.
Monty Sehgal, spokesperson for Petrol Pump Dealers Association Punjab (PPDAP), expressed the grievance of PSU Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) dealers in Punjab due to the lack of response from OMCs regarding the revision of dealer margins.
He highlighted that the recommendations for margin revision, proposed by the Apoorva Chandra Committee in 2012, are being withheld by the OMCs. The dealer margins were supposed to be revised twice a year, in January and July, as reiterated in the industry meeting held on November 4, 2016.
Monty emphasized the financial hardship faced by dealers over the past six years, during which no revision has occurred, despite escalating expenses and challenges, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Paramjit Singh Doaba, President PPDAP, stressed that post-COVID-19, inflation and rising operating expenses have worsened the financial situation for dealers. Although retail prices of petrol and diesel have almost doubled since 2016, dealer margins have not seen an increase.
The dealers demanded an immediate increase in dealer margins by Rs. 4/ltr as an interim relief to prevent many retail outlets from becoming non-operational. They also sought slab-wise increases for different levels of sales to support low-selling dealers in the future. Dr. Manjeet Singh, General Secretary of the Association, emphasized the need for a fair margin that ensures a decent livelihood for dealers and employees, providing a reasonable returnon investments.
