Nepal Petroleum Dealers’ National Association (NPDNA) — the umbrella organisation of the petroleum dealer — has decided to hike up the price of petroleum products by 50 paisa per litre from January 14 if the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) did not increase their commission rate.
Currently, the fuel stations have been selling petrol and diesel at Rs 108 and Rs 91 per litre, respectively.
According to the executive secretary at NPDNA, Narad Prasad Bhandari, the association has been compelled to take the decision to this regard since the NOC did not revise the commission rate for petroleum dealers. "We held the high-level meeting with NOC and other bodies concerned urging to revise the commission rate before the pandemic began. Though the NOC had agreed to increase the commission rate in the agreements reached at various times, it did not do so despite repeated calls," Bhandari added.
Currently, the NOC has been paying 2.65 per cent commission on diesel and 3 per cent on petrol which is insufficient, Bhandari said and added, "After the coronavirus pandemic hit the nation, we have only 25 per cent of transaction compared to the last year. On the other hand, the commission rate is lower in comparison to other countries. So, we have demanded the commission rate be increased to 4.5 per cent for each petrol and diesel."
Meanwhile, NOC's spokesperson Binit Mani Upadhyaya informed that the discussion on the demand of increase in commission rate was underway. "We are sensitive towards their demand since we have a bilateral relationship with the NPDNA for a long time, however, we cannot implement it due to pandemic, he said and added, “I hope they will withdraw their protest until the things get fixed."
Of the total 1,561 fuel stations in operation across the country, only 40 per cent of them are making profit, according to NPDNA.
