Petrol pump owners in Delhi stage protest demanding removal of VAT, revision of margins

Delhi: Petrol pump owners in the national capital held a protest at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday, demanding the removal of value added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel and revising their margins on sales.

Representatives of various dealer welfare associations of petrol pump owners from other states also participated in the protest.

The protesters demanded the removal of VAT, terming it "disruptive", and include petroleum products in the goods and services tax (GST) regime.

“The last revisions took place in 2017. The prices of petrol and diesel have gone up while the margins have remained constant,” said Ranjit Kumar, president of Uttar Pradesh Petroleum Traders Association.

“It is becoming difficult for us to sustain ourselves with the current static margins and the oil marketing companies have remained unresponsive to our legitimate demands,” said Paramjit Singh Doaba, the president of the Punjab Petrol Pump Dealers Association.

The associations also flagged the issue of adulterated diesel. Due to the absence of any monitoring system, the tankers are used extensively for selling chemical mixed adulterated diesel.

The protesters submitted a memorandum to the Ministry of Petroleum demanding it to increase their margins on petrol and diesel sales as well as the inclusion of petroleum products in the GST regime.