Govt allows private testing of fuel pumps to ease compliance delays

The calibration and verification certificate, which must be obtained every year, has become a massive exercise. As a result, government inspectors are often unable to complete the process on time, leading to operational bottlenecks for fuel retailers.

Permitting government-approved private facilities will expand testing infrastructure and ease compliance burdens, while ensuring that that the dispensers are accurate and don't cheat consumers, a senior government official closely involved in the process said, requesting not to be named.

The Department of Consumer Affairs, under the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution, has amended the Legal Metrology (Government Approved Test Centre) Rules, 2013 to add petrol and diesel dispensers, CNG dispensers, LPG dispensers, LNG dispensers and hydrogen dispensers to the list of weights and measures that can be verified by government-approved test centres.

Till now, such verification activities were carried out only through government testing facilities under the state legal metrology departments across different states.

Queries sent to the Department of Consumer Affairs remained unanswered till press time.

Expanding the GATC framework to such equipment would help augment verification capacity beyond the existing government system, the official cited earlier said.

“Given that India is moving towards becoming a developed country, initiatives aimed at improving ease of doing business play a crucial role in that journey. The changes in the norms will help in faster verification and certification processes, reduce delays for businesses, and improve operational efficiency,” the official added.

“Allowing government-approved private facilities to undertake such work will also reduce the burden on the existing system and make services more accessible for dealers and operators across the country,” this official said.

A petrol dispenser, commonly known as a fuel nozzle, is the machine installed at fuel stations that measures and discharges petrol or diesel into vehicles. As per government data, India has about 1,00,266 outlets, including 8,001 stations that also sell CNG (compressed natural gas) and CBG (compressed biogas). There are 8,692 dedicated CNG stations.

Retailers have hailed the move, saying that it would provide relief to petrol pump operators as calibration and verification work often creates operational pressure during peak periods.

Prashant Sinha, owner of Raghunath Service Station, a retail outlet for petrol, diesel and CNG in Danapur, Patna, said that the government's move will provide a major relief to all retailers engaged in the sale of petrol, diesel, CNG and other alternative fuels, as they have to get certification and stamping done every year.

“Given the workload handled by inspectors, it becomes very difficult for us to complete the process smoothly. Allowing government-approved private centres will make things much easier. The government’s proposal will benefit dealers.”

The government has also prescribed verification fees for these devices. As per the order, under the amended rules, petrol and diesel dispensers will attract a verification fee of ₹5,000 per nozzle, while CNG, LPG, LNG and hydrogen dispensers will attract a fee of ₹10,000 per nozzle.

With the addition of petrol, diesel and other dispensing systems, the rules now contain 23 categories of weights and measures eligible for verification by GATCs. These include water meters, gas meters, energy meters, weighing instruments, flow meters, breath analysers, and moisture meters among others.

The amendment comes at a time when India is witnessing rapid expansion of city gas distribution networks, CNG stations and alternative fuel infrastructure, including early-stage hydrogen mobility projects.

The mechanism was introduced to supplement state enforcement infrastructure and improve ease of doing business by reducing turnaround time for mandatory verification.