Cheaper petrol? not for everyone

Cheaper petrol? not for everyone

Staff Reporter

Several outlets selling only branded petrol

Oil companies accused of creating artificial scarcity

3.5 crore litres of petrol is sold every month in Bangalore

BANGALORE: A large number of vehicle owners in Bangalore are being forced to pay more for their petrol as even after the State Government reduced sales tax on petroleum products, several petrol outlets have not been able to dispense regular petrol or diesel, thus forcing consumers to buy branded fuel.

Many petrol pumps have been telling customers that owing to short supply of regular fuel, they are unable to dispense the regular petrol and diesel.

The State Government recently announced cuts in sales tax thus bringing down the price of petrol from Rs. 58.10 to Rs. 57.15 and the cost of high-speed diesel cost came down from Rs. 39.70 to Rs. 39.15.

While branded petrol costs Rs. 4 more than the regular petrol, branded diesel cost Rs. 2.25 more than the regular diesel.

“We are forced to pay Rs. 4 more than the regular petrol and the sales tax reduction has not helped us. In fact, we are paying more than what it was before the sales tax was reduced,” said H.L. Santhosh, a software professional.
Explanation

Though customers complained that the oil companies were creating artificial scarcity of the regular fuel, sources in the Indian Oil Corporation told The Hindu that the company faced slight supply problem during the last week following which the demand for the regular fuel could not be met. “The petrol stations may have run out of stock of regular petrol while having the stock of branded petrol. Even we are trying to encourage the customers to switch to branded fuel as it improves mileage, better maintenance of the vehicle and reduces pollution,” sources added.

It is learnt that the public sector oil companies sell approximately 3.5 crore litres of petrol and 4.5 crore litres of diesel every month in Bangalore. Of the total petrol sales, 30 per cent is branded petrol while in the diesel segment between 20 and 25 per cent is branded diesel.

IOC General Manager Ashok said: “We are interested in the sale of branded fuel, but this effort has been going on for some time. But there is no unusual pressure on the outlets to sell the branded fuel instead of regular fuel.” Due to some shortfall in supply, some outlets may have gone dry in terms of regular fuel, he added.

B.R Ravindranath, vice-president, Karnataka State Federation of Petroleum Traders, also said that the companies were supplying whatever product that was available with them, and incidentally branded products are being supplied. “If the oil companies cannot reduce their losses which is a staggering Rs. 500 crore a day, supplies may come to a standstill in future. Companies are also not doing this deliberately,” he added.