Who can inspect a petrol pump under MDG 2024, and what the dealer is given

Short answer

Under the Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 (MDG 2024), oil company officials, mobile labs, agencies the company authorises and any authority the law empowers can draw samples at a pump MDG 2.2.2.2, and joint industry teams can sample whatever the quick tests show MDG 2.4.3. Other Government authorities can also check a dealership, and what they establish counts as an irregularity MDG 8.7. MDG does not say the visiting officer must show an identity card or hand over a general inspection report.

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 26 October 2026. Published by MDG Services on 26 October 2026.

Who can inspect or sample

Who	What MDG says	Clause
Oil company officials	Sales officers, inspecting teams and senior officers sample at random, covering at least 2% of outlets every month	MDG 2.4
Mobile labs	Surprise checks: nozzle samples tested at the outlet. Run for the whole industry or by one company	MDG 7.1 MDG 7.2 MDG 2.4.4
Joint industry teams	Can sample whatever the quick tests showed; samples are jointly signed	MDG 2.4.3
Authorised agencies, and any authority the law empowers	Named among those who may draw samples. Central and State authorities can also check a dealership under other laws	MDG 2.2.2.2 MDG 8.7

What the dealer is given

When	What	Clause
At the visit	The sample label, with your signature and the name, designation and oil company of whoever drew the sample	MDG Annexure 4 MDG Annexure 11
At the visit	One of the three sets of sample bottles, and payment for the samples with a cash memo	MDG 2.4.1 MDG 2.4.2 MDG 2.2.2.2
At the visit	A joint memo, which you acknowledge, if the sealed box of tank lorry samples is taken into custody	MDG 2.5(C)
Afterwards	Lab results in writing, preferably within 30 days of drawal	MDG 2.5(F)
Afterwards	A mobile lab test report: one of five copies. After a failed sample you sign every copy with the outlet seal	MDG 7.6.1
Afterwards	A show cause notice, within 30 days of the inspection (of the test results, where samples were drawn), with the reports it relies on	MDG 8.5.6

What the inspector records

Each of the 20 service points as YES or NO Circular 20.03.2025.
That your tank lorry samples were not made available MDG 2.5(E).
On the sample label, the density the inspector observed beside the density in your register MDG Annexure 4.
After a failed mobile lab sample, the meter readings and tank dips MDG 7.6.1(b).

What MDG leaves open

Identity. MDG does not say the officer must show an identity card or a letter. General practice, not an MDG rule: ask for the name and designation, note the arrival time, and file both with the visit's papers. Ask while the visit goes on, because stopping it is a major irregularity MDG 5.1.8.
A report on the day. MDG does not say a general inspection report is handed over at the visit. You keep a file of inspection reports MDG 1.5(iv) and the inspection record for five years MDG 5.1.12. Ask your oil company for the report of a visit.

See the inspection overview, records to keep, inspector samples and the show cause notice timeline.

Questions dealers ask

01Who can inspect a petrol pump? (petrol pump inspection kaun karta hai)

Oil company officials, mobile labs, joint industry teams, agencies the oil company authorises and any authority the law empowers 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.

02Does a petrol pump checking officer have to show an ID card?

MDG 2024 does not say so. The sample label carries the name, designation and oil company of whoever draws the sample MDG Annexure 4. General practice, not an MDG rule: ask for the officer's name and designation and note the arrival time.

03Is a mobile lab inspection different from an oil company inspection?

Both draw nozzle samples. The mobile lab also runs clinical tests on them at the outlet MDG 2.4.4 MDG 7.4. See the mobile lab visit.

04What does the dealer get after a petrol pump inspection?

Sample bottles to keep, payment with a cash memo, lab results in writing and, if an irregularity is found, a show cause notice with its reports MDG Annexure 4 MDG 2.2.2.2 MDG 2.5(F) MDG 8.5.6.

05Can a dealer refuse a petrol pump inspection?

No. Refusing, obstructing or stopping an inspection or sampling is a major irregularity MDG 5.1.8 MDG 8.3.

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

Petrol pump inspection: who checks, what they check, what followsWho can inspect a petrol pump, what a visit can cover, why a dealer cannot refuse, and what comes next: samples, lab results and a show cause notice.

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.

Mobile lab at a petrol pump: what it tests and what followsWhat a mobile lab does at a petrol pump under Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024: surprise checks, the tests, and what follows a failed sample.

Inspector samples at a petrol pump: who, when, how manyWho may draw fuel samples at your pump under Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024, when they do, how many bottles they take and what happens to them.

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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