Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) has demanded strict action including cancellation of licences of LPG operators, distributors and retailers found involved in overcharging consumers, alongside measures to ensure the sale of liquefied petroleum gas at government-fixed prices.
The consumer rights body urged authorities to investigate allegations of artificial shortages, hoarding and overcharging, and to take effective action against those responsible, according to a press release on Wednesday.
The demand comes ahead of a public hearing on revising LPG prices, scheduled for Thursday by the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) for both state-run and private LPG operators.
In a letter sent to the BERC chairman on October 26, CAB President AHM Safiquzzaman said any fresh rise in prices or charges without ensuring supply at the fixed price would add to the financial strain on low- and middle-income families.
The letter noted that the price of a 12-kg LPG cylinder was raised by Tk 252 to Tk 1,837 on October 4. However, according to media reports, consumers are having to pay Tk 500-600 more than the fixed price to buy a cylinder.
For households without piped gas, LPG is an essential cooking fuel, CAB said. With spending on food, housing, healthcare, education and transport already high, any additional cost of cooking fuel is hard to bear for low- and middle-income families.
It stressed that enforcing the existing price should be the first priority.
The letter also said importers' claims of higher costs must be verified against genuine transaction documents and audited accounts.
When international LPG prices rise, local transport, storage and distribution costs do not increase in the same proportion, CAB said, so there is no justification for raising charges and commissions at every stage on the grounds of higher import costs.
Consumers cannot be made to bear the same expenses counted more than once, or the burden of inefficient management, it added.
CAB said no proposal to increase charges or commissions should be approved until the need is proven through audited accounts and independent technical cost assessment, and that unjustified expenses and excess profit must be excluded from the price formula.
It also demanded that the commission publish separate accounts of import costs, storage, bottling and distribution charges, and pass on to consumers in due time any benefit from lower costs in the international market.
The consumer body further called for a separate cost assessment of state-run LPG, with transparent allocation and distribution to ensure affordable access for ordinary consumers.=
CAB also demanded that every sales outlet display an updated price list and issue receipts, and that clear instructions be issued on home-delivery charges to stop unauthorised collection of money.
It also called for an easy system to lodge complaints about overcharging, non-availability of cylinders, underweight cylinders and safety issues, with redress within a specified time.
CAB urged the BERC to consider the practical experiences of consumers, alongside the proposals of petitioners and the commission's technical assessment, at the hearing.
It also sought a clear explanation of what expenses were accepted or rejected in the final decision and how objections raised were resolved.
