They, however, agreed to sit for another round of dialogue on Friday.[break]
The entrepreneurs held dialogue with Minister for Commerce and Supplies Shankar Prasad Koirala after their talks with Secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) Lal Mani Joshi ended inconclusive earlier in the day.
“Though both rounds of talks were conclusive, the entrepreneurs have decided to postpone their protest programs that were supposed to start from April 6,” Deepak Subedi, Spokesperson for Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, told Republica.
Petroleum entrepreneurs had threatened to stall supply of petroleum products across the country after the government passed an order that opened up petroleum business to the private sector.
The government issued Petroleum and Gas Transactions Regulatory Order on March 13 that allows the private firms to set up petroleum refinery and import and distribute petroleum products. The order in effect ends the monopoly of the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC).
Subedi also indicated that the government won´t withdraw the order as demanded by the entrepreneurs.
“We, however, can postpone the implementation process to a later date if the private sector accepts our proposal of forming a committee to decide on ways to implement this order,” Subedi added.
During the meeting, the petroleum entrepreneurs remained adamant on their one-point demand of revoking the order.
Nepal Petroleum Dealers National Association, Nepal LP Gas Industries Association and Nepal Petroleum Tankers Operators Association had earlier said that they would halt sales and supply of petroleum products across the country from April 2 to exert pressure on the government to withdraw the order.
They say the order should be revoked completely because it was brought in a clandestine manner without consulting them. They also said the order includes provision that cannot be fulfilled by small firms.
In the order, the government has fixed paid-up capital of Rs 20 billion for refinery, Rs 10 billion for petroleum importing company, Rs 5 billion for LPG importing firm and Rs 500 million for gas refilling company.
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