Petrol pump complaint book and how to complain (MDG 2024)

Short answer

Under Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 (MDG 2024), a petrol pump keeps a suggestion/complaint book, hands it to a customer on request, and displays a message that it is available MDG 1.6(iv). It also displays the dealer's and the oil company's contact names and numbers MDG 1.6(viii). Not keeping or handing over the book is a minor irregularity MDG 5.1.17 MDG 8.4(iii)(c).

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 30 October 2026.

How a customer complains

The dealer keeps the book and a message that it exists MDG 1.6(iv), and displays its own and the oil company's complaint contacts MDG 1.6(viii) MDG 5.1.17.

Ask for the complaint book. Look for the message saying it is available. The dealer must hand it over when you ask MDG 1.6(iv).
Write your complaint in it. General practice, not an MDG rule: put the date and time, the pump and product, what went wrong and how to reach you. Take a photo of the page.
If the dealer will not give the book, that is itself an irregularity MDG 5.1.17. Go to step 4.
Call the oil company person whose name and number must be displayed at the outlet MDG 1.6(viii).

MDG gives no national complaint number. Use the numbers displayed at the outlet or the oil company's official website. This guide prints no helpline numbers.

A complaint can also lead to sampling MDG 2.4 MDG 2.2.2.2 or, for the toilet, a letter listing the penalty, issued at once MDG 5.1.14(b): see samples and labs and toilet rules.

What it costs the dealer

Complaint book not kept, or not handed over: minor MDG 8.4(iii)(c).
Contact board missing: minor MDG 8.4(iii)(b).

The action is a warning-cum-guidance letter the first time, Rs 10,000 per irregularity the second time, and Rs 25,000 per irregularity from the third time MDG 8.4.

See penalties and boards and notices.

For the dealer (general practice, not an MDG rule): keep the book within staff reach and the displayed contacts current.

Questions dealers ask

01How do I make a complaint against a petrol pump?

Ask the dealer for the complaint book, which must be handed over on request MDG 1.6(iv), or call the oil company person whose name and number are displayed MDG 1.6(viii).

02Where do I find the petrol pump complaint number?

Look for the oil company names and telephone numbers that the outlet must display MDG 1.6(viii). For a helpline, check the oil company's official website. This guide does not print any numbers.

03Can a petrol pump refuse to give the complaint book?

No. The book is compulsory, and not providing it when a customer asks is an irregularity MDG 1.6(iv) MDG 5.1.17. It is classed as minor MDG 8.4(iii)(c).

04What is the penalty for no complaint book at a petrol pump?

A warning-cum-guidance letter, then Rs 10,000, then Rs 25,000 per irregularity, at minimum MDG 8.4(iii)(c) MDG 8.4 MDG 8.5.1.

05What happens after I write in the complaint book?

MDG 2024 does not say what the dealer must do with an entry, who reads it, or by when MDG 1.6(iv). To reach the oil company, call the person named at the outlet.

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

What a petrol pump must provide to customers under MDG 2024Air, toilet, phone, first aid box, drinking water and complaint book: what MDG 2024 and a March 2025 circular require of a petrol pump dealer.

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.

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.

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)

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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.

What the amounts mean. Amounts in the guidelines are the minimum action. The oil company may take higher action, up to ending the dealership. Do not treat any amount shown here as your full exposure.

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