Essar Oil has said that it wants it, Reliance Industries and Shell India to be able to access the same subsidies on diesel provided by the government to their public competitors. The company said it and others in petrol retailing cannot keep up with government-backed companies and suggested that it and its private counterparts should be afforded a subsidy with a cap, which would clock out after reaching the national average of 120 kilolitres per month.
Lalit Kumar Gupta (pictured), Essar Chief Executive and Managing Director, said that the retailer – which operates 1,626 pumps at just over 1,400 fuel service stations – continues to see pricing hinder progress, despite petrol price deregulation last year, something that private retailers had long petitioned for.
In a letter written to Oil Secretary G C Chaturvedi, Gupta says he wants to examine the “feasibility of implementing a subsidy policy for private oil marketing companies as well, thereby ensuring that all oil companies operating in the retail pace are on the same platformâ€.
“The returns for sales tax payments submitted to the government can be monitored to measure the actual level of sales. The subsidies can also be given as a set-off against this payment,†he suggested. “The cap will be limited to the sales tax amount paid by the private sector company on diesel account sales.†Gupta said that the government could decide on the new subsidy price at the next budget, and suggested that high emissions vehicles be left out altogether.