Petrol pump inspection: who checks, what they check, what follows

Short answer

Under the Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 (MDG 2024), the oil companies' rules for their dealers, company officers, mobile labs, joint industry teams, agencies the company authorises and any authority with the legal power can draw samples at a pump MDG 2.2.2.2 MDG 2.4.3. Refusing a visit is a major irregularity MDG 5.1.8 MDG 8.3. If an irregularity is found, a show cause notice is due within 30 days MDG 8.5.6.

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 17 October 2026.

Who can inspect your pump

Company officers and joint industry teams. Sales officers, inspecting teams, senior officers and joint industry teams MDG 2.4 MDG 2.4.3.
Mobile labs. They draw nozzle samples and test them at the outlet MDG 2.4.4. See the mobile lab visit.
Authorised agencies, and any authority the law empowers MDG 2.2.2.2.

Central and State Government authorities can also check a dealership under other laws. What they establish counts as an irregularity under MDG MDG 8.7.

MDG fixes no number of visits per outlet. Random sampling by company officers and mobile labs must reach at least 2% of the whole outlet network every month MDG 2.4. Extra samples follow a density or filter paper failure, stock variation beyond the limit, a special drive or a complaint MDG 2.2.2.2.

What a visit can cover

MDG gives inspectors no fixed script. The table groups the areas its rules reach, by topic, with the class MDG gives a failure.

Topic	What is looked at	Class
Density	The density figure that should exist at that hour. The 10 AM rule MDG 5.1.9	Major if the figure is missing MDG 8.3
Product quality	Nozzle samples from every petrol and diesel tank. Failed samples MDG 2.2.2.2	Adulteration is critical MDG 8.2
Quantity	Whether each nozzle delivers within the permitted limit per 5 litres. The 5-litre test MDG 5.1.2	Minor if it delivers short and the W&M seals are intact MDG 8.4
Seals	Meter and totaliser seals, added fittings. Seals MDG 5.1.2 MDG 5.1.3 MDG 5.1.4	Critical MDG 8.2
Stock	Stock against the permitted variation. Stock variation MDG 5.1.11	Major if beyond the limit and the sample passes MDG 8.3
Records	Registers, bills, licences; test kit ready on request. Records MDG 5.1.12 MDG 1.5(vi)	Major if missing since the last inspection, minor if only older ones MDG 8.3 MDG 8.4
Sources and storage	Buying only from your own oil company, no unauthorised storage. Which class MDG 5.1.5 MDG 5.1.6	Critical MDG 8.2
Facilities and displays	Air, toilet, first aid, price boards, housekeeping. Customer service MDG 5.1.14 MDG 5.1.15 MDG 5.1.17	Minor MDG 8.4
The 20 service points	Marked YES or NO. The list Circular 20.03.2025 MDG 5.1.18	Minor MDG 8.4
Automation	Manual mode or a switched-off ATG without written permission. Automated outlets MDG 5.1.16	Major MDG 8.3

Note: refusing, obstructing or creating circumstances that stop an inspection or sampling is a major irregularity in itself MDG 5.1.8 MDG 8.3.

During and after the visit

The hour of arrival decides which density figure is asked for: see the 10 AM rule MDG 5.1.9.
Some findings stop sales on the spot while samples are tested: see failed samples MDG 5.1.9 MDG 5.1.11 MDG 2.5(K).
If an irregularity is found, a show cause notice follows, and no action is taken against the dealer until it is established MDG 8.5.6 MDG 8.5.2. See the show cause timeline and the penalty pages.
To prepare, read the records to keep and check your own pump.

In this section

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.

Petrol pump records to keep under Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 (MDG 2024), and for how longWhich records a petrol pump must keep under MDG 2024, how long each one is kept, what is written each day, and what missing records can cost.

Petrol pump show cause notice under Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 (MDG 2024): the timelineWhat MDG 2024 says follows an irregularity: a show cause notice within 30 days, 10 days to reply, a speaking order and a hearing before termination.

Petrol pump dealership termination under Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 (MDG 2024): the appealWhat MDG 2024 says about terminating a petrol pump dealership: who approves it, the 30-day window to appeal, who hears the appeal, and the 90-day target.

Who can inspect a petrol pump under MDG 2024, and what the dealer is givenWhich officers, mobile labs, joint teams and authorities can inspect or sample a petrol pump under MDG 2024, what the dealer is given, and what MDG leaves open.

Questions dealers ask

01Who can inspect a petrol pump (petrol bunk) under MDG 2024?

Company officers, mobile labs, joint industry teams, agencies the oil company authorises and any authority with the legal power can draw samples at the outlet MDG 2.2.2.2 MDG 2.4 MDG 2.4.3. Government authorities can also check a dealership under other laws MDG 8.7.

02What does an inspector check at a petrol pump?

MDG sets no fixed script, so any area its rules reach can come up: density, product quality, delivery per 5 litres, seals, stock, records, facilities and displays, and the 20 service points MDG 5.1.9 MDG 5.1.2 MDG 5.1.11 MDG 5.1.12 MDG 5.1.18.

03Is there a standard petrol pump inspection format or report?

MDG 2024 prints no general inspection form. It prints formats for the sample label and mobile lab test reports MDG Annexure 4 MDG Annexure 12 MDG Annexure 13, and the March 2025 circular marks 20 service points YES or NO Circular 20.03.2025.

04Can a dealer refuse an inspection or sampling?

No. Refusing, obstructing or creating circumstances that stop an inspection or sampling is a major irregularity MDG 5.1.8 MDG 8.3.

05What happens after a petrol pump inspection?

If an irregularity is found, a show cause notice is due within 30 days of the inspection, or of the test results where samples were drawn MDG 8.5.6. The dealer has 10 days from the date of issue to reply MDG 8.5.7.

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

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.

Not connected with the oil companies or the government. MDG Services is a private company. It is not connected with, approved by, endorsed by, or acting for Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IndianOil), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) or any government body. Our name shares letters with the short form "MDG" that the oil companies use for their Marketing Discipline Guidelines. That does not mean any link with them.

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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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