With MCC in effect, petroleum dealers want system for daily large cash remittances

Petroleum dealers in Chennai request Election Commission to prevent seizure of cash during elections to avoid fuel shortages.

With the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in effect and only ₹50,000 being permitted to be carried as cash, petroleum dealers, who remit large amounts of cash into their bank accounts daily, are requesting the Election Commission of India (ECI) to implement a system to ensure that the money they carry is not seized by Revenue officials or the police.

Tamil Nadu Petroleum Dealers’ Association’s K.P. Murali said around 50% of daily transactions in fuel outlets were in cash and that this had to be remitted to their bank accounts. “Outlets pay anywhere between ₹2.5 lakh to ₹10 lakh per day. Even though we provide a covering letter, the bank’s remittance challan, a GST number, a photocopy of the PAN card, and a copy of the Aadhaar card of the person who is carrying the money, many times the cash is seized, and we have to run behind the tahsildars and other officials to get it released,” he said.

There are 5,800 retail fuel outlets in the State operating with fuel from the three State-run oil marketing companies. If cash belonging to small outlets is seized, the owner will find it next to impossible to pay for the next day’s fuel, and there is a likelihood of the outlet going dry. “It is a sad scenario for no fault of the owner. We cannot have bunks going dry, especially during the election,” an oil industry expert said.

K. Suresh Kumar, general secretary of the Consortium of Indian Petroleum Dealers (CIPD), said that during the last election, there were many cases of such cash being transported. “We are in the process of writing a letter to the ECI, urging that they put in place a system for such cash remittances. There are third party agencies that collect cash, but even their vehicles are being seized,” he said.