New Delhi: Flagship refiner-marketer Indian Oil Corporation ( IOC) has sought a comfort letter from the civil aviation ministry assuring payment of Air India's unpaid fuel bills that are a tad short of the approved credit limit, even as the government has given a 60-day leeway to the national carrier for clearing dues.
This is perhaps the first time that a public sector oil company is standing up to the government to safeguard its business interest and uphold the principles of corporate governance. Oil ministry sources said IndianOil chairman R S Butola recently informed petroleum secretary G C Chaturvedi that the company management was drawing flak from independent directors on the board over Air India's accumulating dues. The independent directors on the IndianOil board have been vocal in recent times and questioned the management as to why the company was suffering due to delayed payments and loss on interest but still continued to supply fuel to a "defaulting party".
IndianOil supplies 65% of Air India's fuel needs and is refueling its planes on a cash-and-carry basis. The carrier enjoys a credit limit of Rs 1,700 crore approved by the government but had ran up bills of Rs 1,578 crore till the third week of August.
03/11/11 Sanjay Dutta/Times of India
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
0 comments:
Post a Comment