India Fuel Retailers Seek Advance Payments From Dealers As Global Price Surges

State-owned fuel retailers are seeking advance payments for gasoline and gasoil supplied to fuel pumps nationwide, dealers said, as the companies are suffering significant revenue losses from retail sales.

About 90% of the country's 101,470 retail fuel stations are linked to state refiners and retailer Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp.

Indian refiners, hit hard by a declining rupee, are facing revenue losses from retail sales as cracks for gasoline <GL92-SIN-CRK> and gasoil surged to multi-year highs.

India has not raised the retail prices of gasoline and gasoil to shield consumers despite a surge in global oil prices to over $100 per barrel as the supplies through the Strait of Hormuz are disrupted by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

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The state refiners were previously giving a five-day credit to the dealers for the sale of gasoline and gasoil, dealers said.

"Dealers are very upset because we also run our business on credit, and some dealers sell fuel to the clients, such as government departments and transporters, on a credit basis," said Ajay Bansal, President of All India Petroleum Dealers Association, which represents about 92,000 fuel stations in the country.