What a petrol pump must provide to customers under MDG 2024

Short answer

Under Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 (MDG 2024), a dealer gives every customer a quality product in the correct quantity at the correct price MDG 1.6(i), plus air MDG 1.6(ii), a clean toilet MDG 1.6(vi), a telephone MDG 1.6(vii), a first aid box MDG 1.6(ix) and a complaint book MDG 1.6(iv). A circular of 20.03.2025 adds drinking water and digital payment Circular 20.03.2025. A missing facility is a minor irregularity: a warning-cum-guidance letter, then Rs 10,000, then Rs 25,000 per irregularity MDG 8.4. These are minimum amounts MDG 8.5.1.

The Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 (MDG 2024) are the oil companies' rules for their dealers, and bind dealers through the dealership agreement. This page is a plain-language explanation by MDG Services (a brand of VRUOOM Private Limited). It is not the official text and is not connected with or approved by IndianOil, BPCL, HPCL or any government body, so please check the current guidelines and circulars on the oil companies' own websites and with your oil company officer before you act.

Checked against the Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 (Ver. 1, effective 24.10.2024) on 15 October 2026. Published by MDG Services on 26 October 2026.

What the dealer must provide

Facility	What MDG says	Clause
Quality, quantity, price	The dealer ensures quality product, correct quantity and correct price	MDG 1.6(i)
Air	Offered during operating hours, with a calibrated gauge. The circular asks for it to be manned. MDG does not say whether a charge may be made: ask your oil company	MDG 1.6(ii) MDG 5.1.14(a) Circular 20.03.2025
Clean toilet	On the premises, checked daily, open to all customers and transit travellers. See toilet rules	MDG 1.6(vi) MDG 5.1.14(b)
Telephone	Available on the premises	MDG 1.6(vii) MDG 5.1.14(a)
First aid box	Valid, in-date medicines. See first aid box	MDG 1.6(ix) MDG 5.1.14(a)
Complaint book	Kept, handed over on request, with a displayed message. See complaint book	MDG 1.6(iv)
Zero before delivery	The attendant shows zero before each delivery; the circular adds the closing reading after it. See zero before delivery	MDG 1.4.2(f) Circular 20.03.2025
Safety equipment	As the law requires, in working order, with trained staff	MDG 1.6(xi)
Lighting and housekeeping	The outlet is kept lit and clean to the oil companies' housekeeping standards	MDG 1.6(x) MDG 5.1.17
Notices	Working hours, holiday notices, contact names and numbers, prices and more. See boards and notices	MDG 1.6(v) MDG 1.6(viii) MDG 5.1.15
Drinking water	Purified drinking water available	Circular 20.03.2025
Digital payment	Card, loyalty machine, QR code and similar, switched on	Circular 20.03.2025

Drinking water, digital payment, queue marshalling and manned pumps appear only in the circular of 20.03.2025, not in the main MDG text Circular 20.03.2025. The circular lists 20 points in all, and the inspector marks each YES or NO MDG 5.1.18 Circular 20.03.2025. All 20 points are explained here. Courtesy MDG 1.6(iii) and staff duties are in staff wages and uniform.

What a customer can ask for

A customer can ask for the zero setting before filling, filter paper to check petrol MDG 1.4.1(a), the complaint book, the posted prices and contact numbers, and an open toilet. See what a customer can check, the filter paper test and the complaint book guide.

What a missing facility costs

Air, telephone, first aid box, toilet, complaint book, notices, housekeeping and the circular's service points are minor irregularities: a warning-cum-guidance letter the first time, Rs 10,000 per irregularity the second time, Rs 25,000 per irregularity from the third time MDG 8.4. The circular sets no penalty of its own Circular 20.03.2025.

More in penalties. Kerosene dealers have their own duties: see kerosene dealers.

In this section

Petrol pump toilet rules in India under MDG 2024The daily toilet checks Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 (MDG 2024) sets, who may use the toilet, and the penalty now versus an older, replaced figure.

Boards required at a petrol pump: stock, density and price boardsBoards, notices and stickers that Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 require a petrol pump to display, with the clause for each and what a miss costs.

How to check density and quantity at a petrol pump: what a customer can askWhat a customer can ask a petrol pump to show under MDG 2024: zero before delivery, the density board, filter paper and the complaint book, and what MDG does not give.

Questions dealers ask

01Is air filling at a petrol pump free?

MDG 2024 asks the dealer to provide air during the outlet's operating hours, and the circular asks for it to be manned MDG 1.6(ii) MDG 5.1.14(a) Circular 20.03.2025. The text does not say whether a charge may be made, so ask your oil company.

02What free services does a petrol pump have to provide?

Air, a clean toilet, a telephone, a first aid box and a complaint book, plus purified drinking water under the circular MDG 1.6 MDG 5.1.14(a) Circular 20.03.2025. The text does not use the word “free” for any of them.

03What are customer rights at a petrol pump?

A customer can ask for the zero setting before each delivery, filter paper to check petrol quality, the complaint book, and the posted prices and contact numbers MDG 1.4.2(f) MDG 1.4.1(a) MDG 1.6(iv) MDG 5.1.15 MDG 1.6(viii). The toilet must be open to all customers and transit travellers MDG 5.1.14(b).

04Are drinking water and digital payment compulsory at a petrol pump?

Yes. Both are among the 20 points of the 20.03.2025 circular, not the main MDG 2024 text. An inspector marks each YES or NO, and a shortfall draws the action for minor irregularities Circular 20.03.2025 MDG 5.1.18.

05What happens if a petrol pump does not provide these facilities?

It is a minor irregularity: a warning-cum-guidance letter, then Rs 10,000, then Rs 25,000 per irregularity, at minimum MDG 8.4 MDG 8.5.1. The circular sets no penalty of its own Circular 20.03.2025.

Read the official text: Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 (PDF on Bharat Petroleum's website) (also published on iocl.com).

Petrol pump inspection checklist: 20 service obligationsThe 20 customer-service points an inspector marks YES or NO at a petrol pump, in plain words, and what a NO can cost under clause 5.1.18.

Penalties under the Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 (MDG 2024): what each irregularity costsWhat a petrol pump dealer faces under the Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 for a critical, major or minor irregularity, and how sales get stopped.

About Dealer Kavach (advertisement)

Dealer Kavach is an app from MDG Services that tracks your outlet's filings, renewals, inspections and daily reports, and reminds you before deadlines, in Hindi and English.

About this page. This page is a plain-language explanation published by MDG Services, a brand of VRUOOM PRIVATE LIMITED (CIN U29194HR2021PTC098450). It is general information, offered free of charge. It is not the official text of any rule.

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Check the official source. The Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 (Ver. 1, effective 24.10.2024) and related circulars are issued by the oil companies. Rules, amounts and dates can change, and amendments may reach dealers directly without being public. Before you act, read the current documents on the oil companies' own websites (iocl.com, bharatpetroleum.in, hindustanpetroleum.com) and ask your own oil company's officer. If this page and the official document differ, the official document is the one to follow.

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