Reliance demands refund from IPCL

04-Sep-06

After paying nearly Rs 1,490.84 crore for a controlling share in IPCL, Reliance Petroinvestment Ltd wants Rs 927.41 - more than half its money back. Surprisingly, despite a year having elapsed, the government cannot find the papers to contest RPIL's claims. RPIL has sought a refund of Rs 927.41 crore on grounds that some outstanding payments owed by IPCL were not disclosed to them during the due diligence or in the financial statements. The options that had emerged in the department then were either to pay up RPIL or refute the claims, leading to a legal recourse by RPIL and excessive litigations. Another option is that the unhesitating cancellation of the strategic sale of IPCL. The panel is now intent on finding the officers of IPCL, Department of Disinvestment (DoD) and global advisor Warburg Dillon Reed who were involved in the share sale. It plans to target the chartered accounts, DoD and IPCL officials, WDR for incorrect financial accounts or non-disclosure of facts. If the government fails to counter RPIL's claims on paper, it would end up selling IPCL with three petrochemical plants and large tracts of land for a mere Rs 563.43 crore.