LPG dealers launch protest demanding commission hike

KATHMANDU, JUL 21 -
Dealers of liquefied petroleum gas ( LPG ) have stopped taking consignments of LPG cylinders from bottling plants from Friday, demanding commission as hiked by the government.

Maheshore Shrestha, general secretary of the Gas Dealers Federation Nepal (GDFN), said the government has hiked the dealers’ commission by Rs 4 per cylinder, but bottling companies have decided to offer only Rs 2 per cylinder. “Before the hike, LPG bottlers used to provide Rs 30 per cylinder as sales commission to dealers, and after the hike, the commission has been increased to just Rs 32 per cylinder,” he said.

GDFN is sales agent of Nepal LPG Industry Association (N LPG IA), the apex body of LPG bottlers which refills cooking gas cylinders and sells them in the market through its dealers. Shrestha said they have formed a struggle committee comprising members from 11 organisations to protest against N LPG IA.

“However, GDFN has decided to distribute LPG cylinders which are in its stock.”

The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has raised the shipping charge, local transportation charge, company overheads and the commission for dealers and bottlers by 9 percent to Rs 19.28 per cylinder. Under the plan, the commission for LPG dealers was increased to a flat Rs 32 per cylinder.

The GDFN said the commission was inadequate in view of the current inflationary trends. GDFN has also submitted a 13-point demand to the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies and the NOC demanding an increase in their commission to Rs 50 per cylinder. The government’s move to raise the commission for dealers and transporters follows its ambitious plan to introduce the dual-cylinder system to end subsidies given to commercial users and enable the NOC to cut its losses in the LPG business.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies on Saturday distributed the authorised dealer certificates to 60 LPG dealers fulfilling all the government-set requirements. Among 300 LPG dealers, only 60 were able to fulfil the requirements, according to the GDFN.

Trucks vandalised

KATHMANDU: Agitating gas dealers on Saturday vandalised more than four trucks ferrying LPG cylinders in different part of Kathmandu. All trucks belong to Shiva Prasad Ghimire, the owner of Sugam Gas and also the president of Nepal LPG Industry Association (N LPG IA), the apex body of LPG bottlers. According to Ghimire, his trucks were ferrying LPG cylinders to the market from the refilling plant and were vandalized at Thankot and Sitapaila, including other areas. HE said the motive behind the misconduct was to pressure the N LPG IA to offer more commission than the government has set. The commission offered by the N LPG IA is in line with what the government has determined. “Their demand is not genuine as the hike was assessed by the government,” Ghimire said, adding if the dealers are not satisfied with the hike, they would have informed the N LPG IA of their planned agitation. “We were not informed about their

scheduled agitation. And they should have come through a process to s

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