The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has enacted the Motor Spirit and High-Speed Diesel Temporary Regulation of Supply through Retail Outlets Order 2026 to counter unauthorized commercial hoarding and black marketing.
Retail outlets are now restricted to filling fuel directly into vehicle tanks or specialized containers approved by the Petroleum and Safety Organisation, capped at a maximum of 200 litres per day per customer. The mandate explicitly bans the resale of retail-sourced diesel and prohibits institutional, industrial, and commercial buyers from purchasing fuel outside of their authorized consumer pumps.
The temporary framework, slated for an initial validity of up to 90 days, institutes immediate supply regulations across all public sector fuel stations. The central directive is designed to stabilize localized fuel distribution channels without impacting ordinary private motorists, for whom the daily volume thresholds remain well above standard operational requirements.
The regulatory intervention follows an unprecedented surge in fuel demand at state-run retail points, driven by commercial and industrial buyers shifting their procurement away from dedicated corporate pumps. This migration stems from a steep price difference, with retail diesel currently retailing at approximately 40 rupees per litre cheaper than institutional bulk supplies. Compounding the pressure on public sector outlets, private oil marketing firms recorded a steep 58 percent decline in high-speed diesel sales during May 2026 due to higher independent pricing strategies. Consequently, May 2026 sales data shows a massive volume expansion at public retail locations, with 327 districts logging over 10 percent growth and 80 districts exceeding 30 percent growth compared to the previous year.
Oil marketing companies and individual dealers hold direct accountability for monitoring compliance and preventing any circumvention of the volume caps. Concurrently, state governments and Union Territory administrations have been instructed to deploy enforcement machinery against black marketing and unlawful fuel diversion.