Govt doubles commission for dealers on urea sale to Rs 354 a tonne

A higher margin to dealers will help in smooth implementation of the Direct Benefit Transfer of fertiliser subsidy

The government on Thursday almost doubled the commission to Rs 354 per tonne for fertiliser dealers selling urea through point of sale (PoS) machines, a move that will result in an additional subsidy burden of Rs 5.15 billion annually to the exchequer.

The revised margin will come into effect from April 1 uniformly for both private and institutional agencies, the fertiliser ministry said in a statement.

A higher margin to dealers will help in smooth implementation of the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of fertiliser subsidy.

Currently, Rs 180 per tonne is paid as dealer’s margin for sale of urea by private agencies and