Amidst reports of several states asking their public transport buses to buy diesel directly from petrol pumps to avoid paying higher price for bulk purchase, petrol pump dealers association today said they will sell fuel to all customers, bulk or retail.
States like Gujarat, Haryana, Goa and Tamil Nadu have ordered their public transport bus fleets to buy diesel directly from petrol pumps rather than their regular refuelling outlets provided by oil companies where the fuel costs about Rs 10 a litre more since January 17.
The Union Cabinet had on January 17 allowed oil firms to raise retail pump prices of diesel in small dozes till such time that the Rs 10 a litre loss is wiped out and order that bulk users be charged at market price.
Bulk users were defined as consumers taking bulk supplies from oil marketing company installations. Some state transport corporations have since abandoned taking supplies from oil company installations and instead started queueing up at petrol pumps to buy cheaper diesel.
The Federation of All India Petroleum Traders (FAIPT), which claims to represent 42,000 petrol pump operators in the country, said in absence of clear written guidelines, petrol pumps will sell diesel to all customers who come to them.
"FAIPT has advised their 42,000 dealer members across the country to sell on single retail sale price to all the customers as there is no guideline or policy on bulk customers for different rates till now," it said in a statement here.
It said it had asked oil firms to issue clear written instruction supported by government notification clearly defining as to whom all can be supplied diesel and who all shall be refused so as to avoid any law and order problem due to this new phenomena.
