Bangladesh LPG Autogas Station and Conversion Workshop Owners Association has demanded an increase in the commission on the sale of LPG autogas for motor vehicles.

The association placed the demand during a meeting with Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) on July 16 with BERC Chairman Nurul Amin. 

At present, the operators of the LPG autogas station get Tk 8 per liter as commission on the sale of the gas. 

The association leaders said this does not cover the expenses of the station. 

They claimed that around 80 percent of LPG autogas stations are facing operational losses. Stations have to be run on subsidies as expenditure is higher than income. 

In such a situation, the demand of the BERC was made by the association to increase the commission per liter to Tk 11 from the current rate of Tk 8 per liter.

The association leaders also alleged that they have been facing obstacles in obtaining a license from the BERC. 

They said that LPG autogas is an environmentally friendly fuel, yet most of the LPG autogas stations are not getting permission from the Department of Environment. 

This is because the Department of Environment requires many documents that are not related to environmental pollution in issuing permits, which are very difficult and expensive to collect, they said.

They pointed out that they need approval from the Roads and Highways Department in setting up autogas stations which are time consuming, costly and complicated.

Similarly, they said the station owners have set up stations with preliminary design approval from the Department of Explosives but are facing many problems in obtaining the final license. 

LPG Autogas Station and Conversion Workshop Owners Association said BERC’s license fee for LPG autogas stations is currently Tk 1 lakh for the first 2 years which is difficult for station owners. It proposed to reduce the said fee to Tk 25,000. 

Association President Engineer Mohammad Sirajul Mawla, Vice President Abdullah Al Kafi, Krishna Kant Das were present at the event.