Mohali petroleum dealers fear closure due to disparity in rates

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 18

Having witnessed continuous downfall in the sale of petrol and diesel due to disparity in VAT rates, petroleum dealers, especially having outlets in Mohali bordering Chandigarh, fear closure. They complained that if timely intervention is not taken by the state government, most of the petrol pump owners would go bankrupt.

Petrol is expensive by Rs 4.90 per litre and diesel is dearer by Rs 2.71 per litre in Mohali due to high VAT rates in Punjab as compared to Chandigarh. As a result, customers prefer Chandigarh over Mohali when it comes to refilling their vehicles. There are about 65 petrol pumps in Mohali district while the number of filling stations in Chandigarh is 40.

Ashwinder Singh Mongia, president of the Mohali District Petroleum Dealers Association (MDPDA), said VAT rates of petrol and diesel had been successively reduced by the UT Administration in October 2017 and then again in October 2018. This resulted in total shift of petroleum trade from bordering districts of Punjab to Chandigarh. Though the Punjab Government has reduced VAT on petrol by Rs 5 and diesel by Rs 1 per litre on February 18, petrol is expensive by Rs 4.90 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.71 per litre in Mohali as compared to Chandigarh.

Mongia alleged that the rate difference had prompted Chandigarh dealers to resort to unscrupulous means of sale and they were indulging in rampant smuggling of petroleum products from Chandigarh to neighbouring districts of Punjab.

He said if immediate steps were not taken, all petrol pumps in Mohali would be out of business and would go bankrupt. Concerned over dwindling trade, the dealers are planning to put forward their demands with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in his upcoming visit to Chandigarh for averting their ongoing crisis and provide relief in their trade. The minister will chair the Northern Zonal Council in Chandigarh on September 20.