After midnight deal, govt says no surcharge on fuel customers, petrol pumps

Negotiations are still underway between oil marketing companies and fuel pumps to find a solution

With petrol pumps across the nation deciding to postpone their protest against the banks' decision to levy extra charge on card transactions till January 13, the Centre has assured that negotiations are underway between banks and oil marketing companies (OMCs), while assuring that surcharge will not be imposed on either customers or petrol pump owners.

"Let me make it clear that customers will not be levied with any surcharge. Petrol Pumps were worried that the surcharge will be upon their heads, but let me assure them that it will not befall on them as well. Oil marketing companies and banks are in talks and the former has given an incentive to increase digital transactions," Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told ANI.

Further informing that the Centre has advised both the banks and the OMCs that they need to come together and find out a solution, Pradhan asserted that all efforts are being made so that neither the customers nor the petrol pump owners are levied with any surcharge.

However, the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association (DPDA) has firmly denied charges that one per cent surcharge was levied before demonetisation, asserting that the surcharge was imposed only at normal establishments and never at any petrol pumps.

"Let me clarify once again, as many news channels are saying that this one per cent was levied before the demonetisation move but this was never done at any petrol pump across the country. This one per cent surcharge was levied at normal establishments but not at petrol pumps," DPDA president Anurag Narayan told ANI here.

Earlier, petrol dealers had announced that starting Sunday midnight, they would not accept the debit and credit cards of banks that would levy the extra charge.

The government intervened immediately after the alarming development, as petroleum dealers' association had written to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, informing him about the sudden decision by the banks to levy the transaction charge and their resolution to refuse card payments.

In an attempt to promote cash-less transactions post demonetisation, the government had waived the merchant discount rate (MDR) on fuel purchase for consumers, but following the expiry of the 50-day window, the banks decided to levy MDR on petrol pump owners.

In their letter to Jaitley, the All India Petroleum Dealers' Association stated that as there had been no mention of passing the charge to consumers, the dealers would sustain a loss.