Karnataka’s Food, Civil Supplies Minister Rizwan Arshad said on Friday that petrol sold at seven retail outlets in Bengaluru, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Mangaluru and Tumakuru contained up to 31.2% ethanol, based on samples taken in October 2026.
Arshad cited a report from the state’s Department of Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Legal Metrology that listed ethanol levels between 26% and 31% in the samples.
Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum issued a joint statement on Saturday that the findings were unsupported by testing carried out under the statutory and technical procedures outlined in the Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel Regulation.
The companies said they supply E20 petrol nationwide that meets IS 17021, the Bureau of Indian Standards specification, and that the October 2026 sampling deviated from the Control Order’s protocol, which requires six one‑litre samples, proper labeling and laboratory analysis at a State‑level designated lab.
OMCs pointed out that the October exercise relied on a third‑party lab’s certificates, lacked retention samples, and did not provide the detailed technical data needed for verification.
A local fuel station owner in Bengaluru’s Whitefield area said he had no reason to suspect a mix beyond the national standard, and a consumer who visited the station last week reported the price was unchanged.
The OMCs are demanding a fresh, compliant test under the Control Order before any enforcement action, while the state government plans to file a formal complaint with the Directorate General of Consumer Affairs.