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Govt-fixed prices exist only on paper
FROM PAGE 12
Contacted, Fresh LP Gas Chief Operating Officer Mohammed Nurul Alam said they were following the BERC rate.
“We can control the distributors, but we have no control over the retailers who are increasing the price,” he said.
Asked whether they were selling at a higher rate to the distributors, he said they had reduced the commissions of distributors to keep prices on a par with the BERC rate, adding that they were not responsible for the commission the distributors were taking beyond the fixed price.
Alam, however, highlighted the issue of devaluation of taka against dollar as a major problem in opening LCs.
“The BERC fixes the dollar rate at Tk 111 but we are spending Tk 116 per dollar to open LCs. That’s why we have reduced the volume of our import,” Alam claimed.
Jakaria Jalal, head of division at another importing company Basundhara LP Gas Ltd, said they had reduced LPG import for around 30 percent due to some problems related to the opening of LCs.
This newspaper has collected a cash memo given to a distributor by another LPG importer Beximco LPG. The memo shows a 12-kg cylinder was sold for Tk 285 more and a 20-kg one for Tk 410 more than the BERC rates.
Distributors, on the other hand, were found to sell 12-kg cylinders at Tk 1,430 in Mirpur areas.
Contacted, Beximco LPG Chief Executive Officer M Muntasir Alam said Beximco was selling LPG at the BERC-fixed rate and also bore the transport cost of their distributors.
SHOW-CAUSE NOTICES TO TWO IMPORTERS
On July 11, the BERC issued two show-cause notices to two importers, United Aygaz LPG LTD and Totalgaz, for selling LPG cylinders at a higher rate to distributors in early July.
As of filing this report, none of the companies replied to the notices. A BERC source confirmed The Daily Star that Totalgaz sought more time to respond, but United LPG didn’t reply even after the second notice was served on July 31.
The BERC usually announces the rate in the first week of every month, said SM Faruk Hossain, head of Brand and Communication at United LPG.
He said they replied the BERC’s July 11-notice, saying the distributor was not their own. “But later, we didn’t receive any further notice.”
Sobour Hossain, head of operations of TotalEnergies, told The Daily Star that he is not authorized to talk to the media.
TotalEnergies Managing Director AS Krishnan could not be reached as he had been abroad.
Talking about the issues, BERC chairman Nurul Amin said, “They [the two companies] are yet to respond to the show-cause notices.”
“We will take action against them as per rule,” he said, adding that they fix the dollar rate based on the rate the companies provide at the meetings.
“All the charges for transportation and taxes are factored in calculating the pricing of the LPG. Yet we don’t understand why they don’t follow it. It’s an ethical issue.”
Asked about the market monitoring, he said, “We need to depend on the consumers’ rights protection directorate and the district administration as we have no executive power. We found that in some areas the fixed rate is not being followed.”
Prof M Shamsul Alam, energy expert and vice president of Consumers Association of Bangladesh, said the businesses in this sector have a lot of clout, with which they control the market.
“They manipulate the market sometimes by reducing imports, sometimes by stocking excess inventory,” he added.
As a quasi-judicial body, the BERC can take necessary action against the companies, he said. After a long judicial fight, the pricing authority was awarded to the BERC by the high court in 2020. “They are obliged to ensure the energy justice for consumers. They should force the companies to sell the product at a fixed price.”
Besides, he added, the consumers should come forward to get LPG at a fixed rate. “They should collect the money receipts from the retailers and file complaints at the BERC.”

India
FROM PAGE 12
Pakistan got their campaign off to a solid start with a whopping 238-run win against Nepal on Wednesday.
World number one batter Babar Azam and all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed scored punishing hundreds as Pakistan posted 342 for six, and later leg-spinner Shadab Khan took four wickets for 27 runs as Nepal were bowled out for 104 in 23.4 overs.
Even though Pakistan are the technical hosts of the tournament, it is being co-hosted by Sri Lanka due to ongoing political issues between India and Pakistan.
However, the excitement surrounding the match could be spoiled due to weather conditions, with forecasts suggesting there could be moderate to heavy rain in Kandy over the weekend.