Micro, small and medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) that consume 200 to 600 litres of high-speed diesel (HSD) a day are affected by the recently imposed procurement ceilings.

According to V. Rangaswamy, president of the Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (CODISSIA), MSMEs in the manufacturing, healthcare, commercial, and educational sectors do not have the space or resources for bulk purchasing and storage of HSD. Hence, they make daily or weekly purchases from local authorised retail outlets.

“These consumers use HSDs for power backup, production processes, industrial burners, and material handling equipment. The current procurement ceiling of 200 litres a day, introduced through a notification issued on June 11, is inadequate even for a single day. Many MSMEs do not possess sufficient land or infrastructure to establish large, licensed storage facilities and cannot economically justify investments in dedicated bulk storage systems. They operate within urban, industrial-estate, or institutional premises where space is constrained,” he said.

“The government should introduce a higher procurement limit for verified institutional consumers and permit registered MSMEs, manufacturing units, hospitals, educational institutions, commercial establishments and other essential service providers to procure up to 600 litres per day from retail outlets upon submission of a GST registration certificate, factory licence or Udyam registration certificate,” he added.

It should allow small institutional users consuming 200 to 600 litres a day to buy diesel in safe transport containers without establishing dedicated bulk storage facilities. The oil marketing companies can have digital verification mechanisms too. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas should introduce sector-specific exemptions, he added.