The Centre has assured petrol pump owners across the country that the 1% surcharge on card transactions will not be imposed on them, adding that talks are on between banks and oil marketing companies to find a solution to this impasse. “Let me make it clear that customers will not be levied with any surcharge. It will not befall on petrol pump owners either. Oil marketing companies and banks are in talks and the former have been given an incentive to increase digital transactions,” Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told ANI.
The assurance comes after petrol pump owners said they would not accept card payments from Sunday midnight in protest against the move initiated by several banks to levy a 1% fee on card payments at fuel pumps. Later, they announced that they would take a decision on whether to accept debit and credit cards on January 13. “[The] petroleum minister assured us that this issue will be resolved by January 13, so we have decided to defer our strike till then,” Delhi Petrol Dealers’ Association president Anurag Narain told the news agency.
He, however, denied that the 1% fee on card transaction was imposed on them before demonetisation. “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 surcharge was levied at normal establishments but not at petrol pumps.”
Earlier on Sunday, president of the All India Petroleum Dealers Association, Ajay Bansal, said that while they supported the Centre’s drive to transition into a cashless economy, it should not be at their cost. “We are operating on a very thin margin,” Bansal said. “We cannot afford this deduction.” He added that the association had informed the ministries of finance and petroleum of their decision, and they would accept payments through Paytm and BHIM apps.
Axis Bank and HDFC Bank had announced that they would levy a 1% transaction fee on payments made at fuel bunks using debit or credit cards. The move was not received well by petrol bunk owners, who said they were still reeling under the inconveniences caused by the measures introduced during the demonetisation drive launched on November 8, and that this fee would slash their profits further.
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