The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has announced a new commission scheme for fuel distributors will be implemented today. According to the corporation, the new system will ensure fair profits for fuel station owners.
Under this scheme, small-scale fuel station owners are expected to earn an average daily profit of **LKR 200,000**, while medium-scale owners will earn at least LKR 1 million daily. Large-scale fuel station owners are projected to make over LKR 2 million in daily profits.
Yesterday evening, after hearing the news that fuel distributors might boycott new orders, panic buyers rushed to petrol stations, creating long queues. Lankasara reported witnessing heavy congestion at fuel stations, with some completely stopping fuel sales due to the sudden demand.
Meanwhile, the Oil Distributors Association held a press conference and announced the removal of the 3% agent commission previously granted by the CPC. This decision has led to concerns among the public, resulting in long queues at fuel stations across the country.
However, CPC Chairman D.J. Rajakakaruna assured the public that there was no shortage of fuel. He urged people not to panic, emphasizing that the CPC has sufficient fuel stocks to meet demand.
At a separate press conference, Rajakaruna explained that the 3% commission given to fuel distributors was illegal, citing a court order and a report by the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE). The 2022 circular governing fuel pricing stated that when oil prices increased beyond LKR 121 per liter for diesel and LKR 161 per liter for petrol, the corresponding 3% discount would be paid. However, due to errors within the CPC, the discount exceeded the original threshold, reaching LKR 14–15 per liter.
Legal battles ensued, with distributors obtaining restraining orders from various courts to continue receiving the commission. An audit report later revealed that distributors had illegally collected LKR 35.49 billion from the public, prompting COPE to recommend immediate corrective action.
Following the lifting of all court injunctions, the CPC is now moving forward with implementing the new system. CPC Chairman stressed that while fuel distributors should be compensated fairly for their services, the previous commission structure was unfair to the public and needed to be rectified.
