Around 650 oil tankers under the aegis of the Petroleum Products Transporters' Welfare Association have joined an indefinite strike from Monday in protest against what the tanker owners claimed was a decision by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) to put the onus of paying Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the transporters.
Though discussions on Monday convened by the district authorities to reconcile the issues failed, oil company sources said there was no cause for alarm as the stock position was strong. Transportation of fuel had taken place to replenish the stocks even on Sunday.
Oil company sources also said the companies had entered into a contract with the transporters on the transport of fuels and that paying the taxes was their responsibility.
The leaders of the transporters' association had said earlier the movement of petroleum products and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) would be hit from Monday. They also claimed that the companies had to pay the service tax and GST as per the agreement with the transporters.
They claimed that the oil companies were paying 5% of the service tax, and that the GST department had asked the transporters to pay the remaining 13%. The issue, the transporters said, should be settled between the oil companies and the GST department.
