Karnataka: Fuel dealers to observe 'no purchase' day on May 31

BENGALURU: Petroleum dealers across Karnataka have decided to observe a ‘no-purchase’ day on May 31 demanding compensation from the Union government for losses incurred by them due to the reduction in excise duty.
Though dealers said fuel outlets will function as usual, the probability of ‘no stock’ boards going up cannot be ruled out.
According to the Akhila Karnataka Federation of Petroleum Traders, many dealers who had purchased motor fuels before the tax revision have incurred heavy losses. “We will not purchase stocks from oil companies on May 31 as part of our nationwide protest. However, our outlets will continue to function on that day and sell fuel to customers,” said federation vice-president A Tharanath.
“The Centre reduced excise taxes twice in the recent past without notice. There should be price protection. We’ve been asking the Centre since 2017 to increase the dealer commission. At the same time, expenditure to maintain our outlets has increased. We’ve requested the Karnataka CM to inform us about reduction in state taxes at least a week in advance. This will help us to reduce our stock and cut the losses,” said Tharanath. He said fuel dealers in rural areas selling 60-100 KL per month are the worst affected.
On May 22, the Centre reduced excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre and on diesel by Rs 6 per litre. In Bengaluru, per-litre petrol price reduced from Rs 111.09 to Rs 101.94 on May 22. Diesel price slashed from Rs 94.79 a litre on May 21 to Rs 87.89 a litre.