E20 Petrol Row: Karnataka's Tests Claim Ethanol Above the 20% Limit, Oil Companies Disagree
The Karnataka government's Legal Metrology Department collected 63 petrol samples from fuel outlets in seven districts. The outlets belonged to Indian Oil (IOCL), Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), Shell and Nayara.
The state says tests at accredited (officially approved) laboratories found ethanol well above the legal limit of 20%. The highest readings reported were 31.2% in an IOCL sample and 30.5% in an HPCL sample. The state says about four out of every five samples had more than 20% ethanol.
IOCL, HPCL and BPCL rejected the claim. They said the samples were collected without their representatives present, and asked for the full sampling records, test methods and the "counterpart" samples (a sealed second sample kept for cross-checking).
The oil companies cited a nationwide check of 893 samples, which they say showed ethanol between 19% and 20%, with an average of 19.30%. The Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has maintained that E20 sold by public sector companies meets Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specifications.
Background: a Ministry notification of 17 February 2026 made petrol with up to 20% ethanol (E20), with a minimum octane rating (RON) of 95, the standard petrol across India from 1 April 2026.
The dispute matters because petrol with too much ethanol can affect older vehicles, mileage and engine parts, and because fuel quality is a legal duty of fuel sellers. The question of who is right is still open and needs independent testing.
Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme
The Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme is the Government of India's plan to mix ethanol, an alcohol fuel made from plants like sugarcane, maize and rice, into the petrol sold at pumps. "E20" means a mix of 20% ethanol and 80% petrol. The programme aims to cut crude oil imports, reduce pollution and give farmers an extra market. It is run by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, with public sector oil marketing companies buying the ethanol and doing the blending.
The whole E20 system rests on the promise that pump petrol has about 20% ethanol and no more. Karnataka's claim of readings above 30% challenges that promise, while the oil companies' national data says blends stay between 19% and 20%. Independent, jointly witnessed testing is the only way to settle such a dispute.
Essential Commodities Act, 1955
The Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (ECA) is a central law that lets the government control the production, supply, distribution, trade and quality of goods that people cannot live without, such as food, medicines, fertilisers and petroleum. When such goods become scarce, costly or unsafe, the government can use this Act to issue rules called "Control Orders". Breaking a Control Order is a crime under the Act. Many rules you hear about, such as stock limits on pulses or rules against adulterated (mixed or impure) petrol, come from this one law.
Petrol is an essential commodity, so its quality is protected by a Control Order made under the ECA. If petrol at a pump does not meet the BIS standard for E20, that can count as adulteration under the 2005 Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel Order. This is why the sampling method in the Karnataka tests matters so much: the law needs proper, witnessed samples before anyone can be held responsible.
- Samples tested by Karnataka: 63, from 7 districts
- Highest ethanol readings reported by the state: 31.2% (IOCL sample) and 30.5% (HPCL sample)
- Oil companies' national check: 893 samples, ethanol between 19% and 20%, average 19.30%
- E20 nationwide from 1 April 2026; minimum RON 95 (notification of 17 February 2026)
- E20 standard: IS 17021:2018; petrol standard: IS 2796; diesel standard: IS 1460
- Ethanol blending: about 1.5% in 2014; about 20% reached in 2025
- Fuel adulteration rules: Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel Order, 2005, under Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955