A petrol pump accepting a routine UPI payment could find itself caught up in a cybercrime investigation if that transaction is later linked to an alleged fraud. This is the concern raised by fuel dealers in Tamil Nadu, who have warned that they may stop accepting digital payments unless safeguards are put in place.
The Tamil Nadu Petroleum Dealers Association (TNPDA), which represents around 5,000 petrol pumps in the state, has approached Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay over the issue. The association says dealers are facing the risk of bank account freezes and police action despite having no involvement in the transactions being investigated.
In a letter to the Chief Minister, TNPDA president K P Murali said petrol pump operators were being pulled into cybercrime investigations merely because they had accepted payments from customers.
The association's argument is that fuel dealers have no practical way of checking the history of every digital payment received at their outlets, reported IANS.
A customer may make a legitimate payment for petrol or diesel through UPI or another digital platform, but the money could previously have passed through an account that later becomes part of a cybercrime investigation. According to the TNPDA, petrol pumps have no mechanism to establish whether such a payment has any connection with an alleged fraud.
The dealers' concerns centre on what happens after a transaction is flagged.
The association said banks, acting on instructions from investigating authorities, can place a lien on the amount under dispute. In some cases, dealers' entire bank accounts may be frozen, according to the TNPDA.
For a petrol pump, that can create an immediate operational problem. Fuel stations need their bank accounts for regular business payments, including purchasing fuel, paying employees and meeting other expenses.
The association argues that freezing an entire operational account because of one disputed payment can affect a business that receives hundreds of digital transactions from different customers every day.
The issue is particularly relevant because cashless payments have become a significant part of petrol pump transactions in Tamil Nadu.
The TNPDA said an average fuel outlet handles between 200 and 500 digital payments a day. At some petrol pumps, UPI and other digital transactions account for more than half of total revenue.
That scale of digital activity, according to the association, makes it difficult for dealers to independently verify the source and history of every payment that reaches their accounts.
The association has also raised objections to the treatment of dealers during cybercrime investigations.
The TNPDA alleged that there have been instances where petrol pump operators were taken for questioning during early morning hours without initially being given clear details about the disputed payment.
The dealers maintain that accepting a payment through an authorised digital channel should not, by itself, result in them being treated as suspects when they have no knowledge of any alleged fraud connected to the funds.
The association has sought a mechanism from the Tamil Nadu government that would protect legitimate merchants when their accounts become connected to disputed digital transactions.
It wants safeguards against sweeping account freezes and coercive police action in cases where the dealer's only role was to accept payment for fuel.
The TNPDA has warned that without such a mechanism, petrol pump operators may have little choice but to reconsider offering digital payment facilities.
The association has said fuel outlets across Tamil Nadu could eventually stop accepting UPI and other digital payments and revert to cash transactions if the concerns remain unresolved.
