MDG 2024 for IndianOil, BPCL and HPCL dealers: is it the same?

Short answer

Yes. The Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 (MDG 2024) are one document for the retail outlet and kerosene dealers of the public-sector marketing companies MDG 2024, cover page. Its handing-over form lets a dealer name any one of the three companies MDG 2024, handing-over form. The classes of irregularity and the minimum actions are written once MDG 8.1 MDG 8.5.1. What differs is what each company adds: circulars, records, standards and who approves action MDG 1.6(xii) MDG 5.1.12 MDG 8.8.

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.

One document for all three

The cover of the Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 (MDG 2024) says it is for retail outlet and kerosene dealerships of public sector marketing companies MDG 2024, cover page. There is no separate text per company. The text itself shows it:

The form a dealer signs on receiving MDG 2024 offers the three company names as alternatives, so one form fits all MDG 2024, handing-over form.
The sample labels for supply-location, tanker and outlet samples leave a place for whichever company's logo applies MDG Annexure 2 MDG Annexure 3 MDG Annexure 4.
A mobile lab works for the whole industry and carries the logo of all three companies. A company can also run its own MDG 7.2.
The three classes of irregularity and their minimum actions are written once, for every dealer MDG 8.1 MDG 8.2 MDG 8.3 MDG 8.4.

What your own company decides

MDG leaves some matters to the oil company. For these, confirm with your company, not with this guide.

Matter	Who decides	Clause
Approval of action on a major irregularity	IndianOil: the State Retail Head. BPCL and HPCL: an authorised officer not below Deputy General Manager	MDG 8.8
Customer-service standards	Circulars the company issues from time to time	MDG 1.6(xii) MDG 5.1.18
Housekeeping standards, posters and messages to display	The company	MDG 1.6(viii) MDG 1.6(x)
Records beyond the ones MDG lists	Any record the company specifies in writing	MDG 5.1.12
Shrinkage allowance or TVA in stock variation	Counted only where and when it applies, so ask whether your location is one	MDG 5.1.11

The 20.03.2025 circular

It is one common format for all three companies. Each issues the 20 service points to its dealers on its own letterhead, and the dealer signs a handing-over letter for it. It sets no penalty of its own Circular 20.03.2025. See the 20 service obligations.

Other companies, and later changes

The cover is addressed to public sector marketing companies MDG 2024, cover page. If your outlet belongs to any other company, ask that company which document applies to you. Circulars can follow MDG 2024, so read your company's current letters. Where to read the text is on the PDF and updates page.

General information, not legal advice. For your own notice, speak to an advocate or your oil company.

Questions dealers ask

01Is MDG applicable to BPCL and HPCL dealers, or only IOCL?

To all three. MDG 2024 is a single text for dealers of the public-sector companies, and the form a dealer signs on receiving it names IndianOil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum as alternatives MDG 2024, cover page MDG 2024, handing-over form.

02Is there a separate MDG for each oil company?

The text we hold is a single document, Ver. 1 of 24.10.2024 MDG 2024, cover page. We have found no separate text per company. For your company's current copy and circulars, ask your oil company.

03Are the penalties different for IndianOil, BPCL and HPCL dealers?

MDG sets the classes and the minimum actions once, for everyone MDG 8.1 MDG 8.5.1. The difference is who approves action on a major irregularity MDG 8.8, and each company may act harder than the minimum MDG 8.5.1.

04Does MDG 2024 apply to a dealer of a private oil company?

Its cover is addressed to dealerships of public sector marketing companies MDG 2024, cover page. A dealer of another company should ask that company which rules apply.

05Is the 20.03.2025 circular an IndianOil circular?

No. It is a common format for all three companies, issued by each on its own letterhead, and it 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).

Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 (MDG 2024) PDF: where to read it, version and updatesWhere to read the MDG 2024 text on the oil companies' websites, its version and effective date, and a dated log of the circulars we know of under it.

Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 (MDG 2024): the rules for petrol pump dealersThe Marketing Discipline Guidelines 2024 (MDG 2024) in plain words: what the dealer rules cover, who must follow them, how irregularities are graded.

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.

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.

Names and marks. IndianOil, BPCL, HPCL and the names of their documents belong to their owners. We write them only to say whose rules we are explaining.

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.

Court and Parliament items. Where we mention a court order or a statement in Parliament, we report what was said on the date shown. It is not the rule for your outlet, and the position may have changed since. Your dealership agreement and the oil company's current guidelines decide.

Not legal advice. This is general information, not legal advice. For your own notice, reply or appeal, speak to an advocate or your oil company. Examples use made-up outlets.

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