Scams in UPA’s closet; CAG finds faults in Reliance’s KG-D6 marketing margin, Oil Ministry implicated

By NewsGram Staff Writer

Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has revealed discrepancies in the financial dealing between the Oil Ministry and Reliance Industries.

The CAG report presented to the Parliament on Tuesday said that the Oil Ministry in March 2009 had allowed Reliance Industries to charge a marketing margin on KG-D6 gas in US dollars rather than in rupees. This resulted in a Rs. 201 crore excess in subsidy payout.

The report said that while the marketing margin for GAIL was fixed in Indian rupees, for RIL the same was done in US dollars.

"Additional impact of charging of marketing margin by contractor…on 15 million standard cubic meters per day of KG-D6 gas (supplied to fertilizer units on an average) in excess of marketing margin allowed to GAIL, for the period from May 2009 to March 2014 works out to Rs 201.40 crore," the CAG report said.

"Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for KG-D6 block did not provide for marketing margin component. The contractor (RIL), however, has been charging marketing margin based on the energy equivalent of gas supplied ie USD 0.135 per mmBtu," the report said.

According to the report, charging marketing margin for a commodity produced, marketed and consumed domestically in US dollars "is incongruous with Indian market." The report also revealed that the change meant that the margin which was Rs 244.31 per thousand cubic meters (mscm) in 2010-11 was increased to Rs 325.51 per mscm in 2013-14.