Local junta-appointed administrators in Mon State’s Paung Township are denying low-income families access to subsidized palm oil if they fail to pay monthly military conscription fees, residents said.

The Mon State Oil Entrepreneurs Association periodically distributes palm oil at a subsidized rate of 8,000 MMK ($2.00 USD) per viss (1.6 kilograms) to help residents offset skyrocketing commodity prices.

However, starting in August, ward administrators restricted sales to households holding newly required administrative purchase books—and are systematically refusing to issue them to families behind on conscription payments.

"When they started selling, they didn't call us," a local woman told Mon News after being turned away from a distribution site. "They explicitly said we could not buy oil because we had not paid the conscription fee."

Residents reported that administrative offices are also withholding basic civic documentation, including official recommendation letters required for routine administrative and financial transactions, from non-paying households.

Monthly conscription fees in Paung Township range from 10,000 MMK to 30,000 MMK ($2.50 to $7.50 USD) per household, depending on the area.

Since the Myanmar military junta began enforcing mandatory military service in February 2024, local administrative authorities across Mon and Karen states have routinely extorted monthly fees from communities—either to hire substitute recruits or enrich local officials—under threat of legal action and coercion.