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- Saturday, July 18, 2020 0
State-run oil marketing companies hiked diesel prices on Saturday while keeping petrol rates on hold at existing levels. In metros, Indian Oil Corporation raised the prices of diesel by 13-18 paise per litre. With effect from 6 am on July 18, the price of diesel was raised to Rs 81.52 per litre, from the existing Rs 81.35 per litre, while that of petrol was left unchanged at Rs 80.43 per litre. In Mumbai, the price of diesel was revised to Rs 79.71 per litre from Rs 79.56 per litre, while the rate of petrol maintained at Rs 87.19 per litre. Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum account for the majority of fuel stations in the country.
Currently, diesel costs more in the national capital compared to petrol.

Domestic petrol and diesel prices vary from state to state due to value added tax (VAT).

Oil companies review the rates on a daily basis, based on changes in international crude oil rates and the rupee-dollar foreign exchange rate, and implement any changes with effect from 6 am.

Crude oil prices edged lower on Friday as concerns about the surge in coronavirus cases sapping fuel demand while major crude-producing nations ready increases in output. Brent crude futures - the global benchmark for crude oil - declined 0.53 per cent to close at $43.14 per barrel.

Global oil rates have regained some ground from March lows as the easing of restrictions on transport and industrial activity boosted fuel demand around the globe. Brent crude futures had hit a 21-year low of $15.98 per barrel in April.

The rupee ended at 75.02 against the dollar on Friday. At the current level, it has recovered 2.46 per cent from a record low of 76.91 logged in April, but still it is down 5.13 per cent against the greenback so far this year.
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- Saturday, July 18, 2020 0
State refiners' petrol and diesel sales declined in the first half of July from the same period last month, according to preliminary data, as a renewed lockdown in parts of the country and rising retail prices hit demand. India on Friday became the third country in the world to record more than one million cases of the new coronavirus, behind only the United States and Brazil, as infections spread further into the countryside and smaller towns. Fuel demand growth in India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, plunged to historic lows in April when the government imposed a country-wide lockdown.
State-refiners' diesel sales, which account for two-fifth of overall refined fuel sales in India, fell by 18 per cent to 2.2 million tonnes in the first half of July from the same period in June, and by about 21 per cent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Indian Oil Corporation

State companies - Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum - own about 90 per cent of India's retail fuel outlets.

India's fuel demand had gathered pace from May when the lockdown was partly eased. But a spike in cases of coronavirus infection has led to authorities imposing fresh lockdowns and designating new containment zones in several states this week.

State companies' sales of petrol fell 6.7 per cent to 880,000 tonnes in the first half of July from the same period in June, and by about 12 per cent from a year earlier, the data showed.

"Retail sales are down because of reimposed lockdown and higher retail prices," said Sri Paravaikkarasu, director for Asia oil at consultancy FGE.

India's diesel price has touched a record high of Rs 81.35 a liter on Friday in New Delhi, slightly higher than that of petrol.

India's overall refined fuel demand includes consumption of fuel oil, bitumen and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

State retailers sold 6.5 per cent more LPG in the first half of July from a year ago, at about 1.075 million tonnes.
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- Saturday, July 18, 2020 0
1,377 exporters who have been fraudulently claiming Integrated Goods and Services Tax (GST) refund amounting to Rs 1,875 crores, have been found untraceable at their principal place of business, Finance Ministry sources said on Friday.
"A total of 1377 exporters who have fraudulently claimed IGST refund amounting to Rs 1,875 crores, have been found untraceable at their principal place of business. This number of risky exporters also includes seven accredited 'star exporters'," sources said.

The source further added that Adverse reports have also been received on 3 'star exporters'.

"Adverse reports have also been received on 3 'star exporters'. These 10 'star exporters' have claimed IGST refunds amounting to Rs 28.9 crores deceitfully," the source added.
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- Saturday, July 18, 2020 0
Two months after India announced a Rs 90,000 crore ($12 billion) loan program to aid power distributors punished by the pandemic, only a fraction has been utilized as many state applications have yet to meet the lending requirements, according to people familiar with the matter. The loans, announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, are among a raft of measures aimed at reviving an economy that's forecast to contract this fiscal year for the first time in more than four decades.
Meanwhile, India's electricity sector, already burdened by perennial losses and unpaid bills, is now seeking to recover lost cash flow after efforts to tame the coronavirus pandemic caused a sharp drop in power demand.

Power Finance Corporation and REC, the two state-backed firms lending the funds, have disbursed a combined Rs 11,200 crore as of Tuesday, said the people, who asked not to be named as the information isn't public. Most states have shown interest in the program and have applied for loans, the people said, with applications so far totaling Rs 67,300 crore.

"The loan scheme has progressed slower than expected, mainly because of procedural delays in states and stringent conditions that states are finding difficult to agree with," said Rupesh Sankhe, an analyst at Elara Capital India Pvt. in Mumbai. "The delays in payments of dues can force power and coal companies to defer capital expenses and payments to their vendors, sucking up liquidity that's important for economic revival at this time."

Power Finance Corporation and REC, as well as the power ministry, weren't immediately able to comment.

For states to receive the funds, they must lay out their plans to turn around their electricity distributors, a regular requirement for most efforts by the central government to help the state-managed power industry.

That includes providing a timeline for the payment of subsidies that states owe power distributors, as well as the unpaid power bills of state government units. They must also offer a plan for how they will reduce electricity theft and losses by the distributors. The delay is partly due to a new requirement that the state governments underwrite the loans.

A total of Rs 34,200 crore in loans have been preliminarily approved, with Rs 11,200 crore already disbursed, while the remainder is awaiting further compliance from the states or is being held for a second tranche of payments. The funds already distributed have gone to the states of Telangana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, they said.

At the end of May, state distribution utilities owed dues of Rs 1.17 lakh crore to generators, 78 per cent more than a year earlier, according to a Power Finance portal to track payments. The firms also lost a combined Rs 49,600 crore in the year to March 2019, according to the most-recent data from Power Finance Corporation.
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