HYDERABAD: Petrol dealers fear that daily revision of petrol prices could cause losses and push them out of business but oil companies say their fears are unfounded as the losses would nullify over a period of time. Inspite of the assurance, the dealers remain apprehensive.
“First of all, we cannot calculate if we are going to gain or lose from the move. Earlier, we could gauge where our business stood but now there is uncertainty everyday,” said Prashant Reddy, a member of Telangana Petroleum Dealers Association (TPDA).
“Earlier, we had a fortnight to cope with the situation in case of price fall but not anymore,” he added.
“A big dealer can absorb short-term losses. But that cannot be said of rural dealers,” Reddy said. Small dealers sell less than 1 lakh litres a month. They replenish the stock weekly. Imagine if a small dealer stocks up fuel for a week after buying it at a higher price. If the prices drop in the next week, he will be forced to sell at a lower price. And when the prices rise again, it won’t benefit him as he will have to make good the loss suffered.
“This will affect petrol pump owners at the village level. Small dealers will die,” he said.
The rule of daily revision of rates came into effect across India on Friday, though oil companies had been experimenting it in Chandigarh, Jamshedpur, Puducherry, Udaipur and Vizag since May 1.
“Based on our experience in the five cities, the price variation comes around to only a few paise. A dealer refilling his pump buys in bulk, the variation in terms of paise will translate into just a few thousand rupees. There are always ups and downs in the oil prices. If it goes down, it will also come up,” said Srinivas CH, state-level coordinator for oil companies in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Check rates via SMS
To know the current rates applicable at a dealer via SMS. Indian Oil has prescribed a format for customers to text: SMS RSP< SPACE >DEALER CODE to 92249-92249
App launched Indian Oil has also launched a mobile app to check current prices, called “Fuel@IOC - IndianOil”
Customer care Indian Oil has set up a customer care helpline 1800-2333-555 for it
Customers can also log onto the website iocl.com to lodge grievances using the ‘We’re Listening’ section, link to which is on the home page(Source: Indian Oil Website)