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No refiners and wholesalers would be allowed to sell edible oil without providing a money receipt to the buyers from Friday, according to a decision of the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection.
The decision came from a DNCRP meeting with wholesalers and retailers on Tuesday on the supply and price situation of soya bean oil in the local market.
In the meeting, retailers alleged that edible oil was being traded at a higher price than the government-set rate in the wholesale markets and the wholesalers were not providing any money receipt to the retailers.
AHM Shafiquzzaman, director general of the government body, asked all the refiners and wholesalers to provide money receipts to the buyers saying that anyone violating the instruction would face legal action.
Following the instruction, Bangladesh Shop Owners Association president Helal Uddin requested the DNCRP chief to allow the traders two more days to start their business with money receipts.
Accepting the proposal, Shafiquzzaman said that no refiners, distributors and wholesalers would be allowed to sell edible oil without providing money receipt to the buyers from Friday onwards.
He also said that businesses from all levels, including mill owners, distributors, wholesalers and retailers were trying to make windfall profits by increasing the price of edible oil.
Md Shafiullah, a retailer at New Market in the city, alleged that he procured palm oil from Hazi Muslim Store at Moulvibazar in old Dhaka but the seller did not provide him with any money receipt.
DNCRP fined the owners of Hazi Muslim Store Tk 50,000 for selling edible oil at a high price.
Harunur Rashid, one of the distributors of soya bean oil, said in the meeting that he did not sell products rather he sell just papers (the supply order) to the wholesalers and the wholesalers collect the commodity from refineries.
As per the Essential Commodities Marketing and Distributor Appointment Order 2011, distributors have no scope to hand over sales orders.
Amid the price and supply disorder of edible oil, the government agencies started drives in local markets for the last week.
Following several drives, the supply of unpackaged soya bean oil increased a little bit but the price remained high.
Unpackaged soya bean oil sold for Tk 180-185 a litre while palm oil sold for Tk 160-165 a
litre on Tuesday in Dhaka markets.
A one-litre bottle of soya bean oil sold for Tk 168-170 while five litres of packaged soya bean oil sold for Tk 800-830 on the day.
In the latest review, the government had set the price of unpackaged soya bean oil at Tk 143 a litre and palm oil at Tk 133 a litre on February 6.
(NA)
