A legal notice has been served to the government seeking an end to the state-owned companies’ absolute control over the import and supply of fuel oil, citing the crisis arising from the ongoing conflict in Middle East.
The notice also calls for stern action against hoarders and black marketeers, alongside measures to recover Tk34,000 crore in unpaid revenue from the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and Petrobangla.
On behalf of the human rights organisation Law and Life Foundation Trust, Supreme Court lawyers Barrister Mohammad Humayun Kabir Pallab and Barrister Mohammad Kawsar sent the notice on Sunday.
Dispatched via email and post, the notice stipulates that further legal action will be taken in the public interest if necessary measures are not implemented within 15 days.
The notice was addressed to several high-ranking officials and entities, including the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources; the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs; the home secretary; the chairman of BPC; the managing directors of Jamuna Oil, Padma Oil, Meghna Petroleum, and Eastern Refinery.
It was also addressed to the chairman of the Bangladesh Mineral Oil and Gas Corporation (Petrobangla); the Cabinet Secretary; the chairman of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC); the chairman of the Bangladesh Competition Commission; the chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR); and the governor of Bangladesh Bank.
According to the notice, thousands of litres of fuel oil are being discovered during raids on shuttered petrol pumps. It contends that hoarding and black marketing persist because strict actions are not being taken despite existing legal provisions, with mobile courts imposing only nominal fines.
The notice highlights Section 25 of the Special Powers Act 1974, which prescribes severe penalties for hoarding and black marketing, ranging from a minimum of 14 years of rigorous imprisonment to life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
The lawyers argued that the failure to properly apply this law has led to a rise in such crimes.
Furthermore, the notice states that BPC and Petrobangla have failed to pay 34,000 crore Taka in revenue owed to the state from fuel imports in previous years, an act deemed contrary to national interests. The NBR has been urged to recover these arrears immediately.
The notice concludes that the state-owned companies’ monopoly on fuel oil import and supply is both against the public interest and unconstitutional.
