The Union government on Thursday barred industrial and commercial consumers from purchasing petrol and diesel from retail outlets amid supply disruptions caused by the war in West Asia.
The industrial and commercial consumers would have to procure the fuels only from dedicated supply channels, which they cannot resell.
The order issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas will be in force for 90 days, unless it is withdrawn before that.
The ministry stated that the order was issued after “abnormal increases” were observed in the sale of petrol and diesel at retail outlets in parts of the country.
This was attributed to industrial and commercial consumers shifting their sourcing to retail outlets because of the difference in price as compared to bulk purchases, the government said.
The shift had resulted in fuel supplies meant for retail consumers getting diverted and had created the “potential for localised shortages and disruption of essential services”, the order said.
The government said that the war in West Asia had been hurting global fuel supply chains, shipping and the availability of petroleum products.
This necessitated “prudent management and conservation of available supplies and raises the need to deal with such unpredictable situations in a formal manner”, the order added.
The prices of petrol and diesel have been increased by Rs 7.5 per litre since mid-May.
India imports 88% of its crude oil needs and about half of its natural gas requirement. This mostly comes through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively blocked because of the war.
Written by Nachiket Deuskar. Edited by Sneha.
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