The fire of alleged wrongdoings of the Adani Group and the allegations from the opposition were fueled once again, this time, due to a report published in a London daily.

According to the report published in the ‘Financial Times’ (FT), Adani Group purchased coal from Indonesia at cheaper prices and sold it to India at higher prices after the alleged price manipulation of the shipments.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, referring to the report, said that the prices doubled for the coals when they reached India from Indonesia.

The report mentioned that over 32 months between 2019 to 2021, Adani bought 30 shipments of coal from Indonesia. The value of the combined shipment, as per the report, increased by over $70 m (₹582 cr) during the journeys.

Gandhi said that these kinds of numbers are enough to overthrow any government, but no media in the country covered the FT report.

Citing an example, the report stated that a ship left for India with 74,820 tonnes of coal from Kaliang port in Indonesia in Jan 2019. At that time, the cost of coal was shown at $19 lakh (₹15.82 cr) and the domestic charges were $42,000 (₹34.97 lakh). Customs documents reveal that when that shipment arrived at the Mundra port, its price rose to $43 lakh (₹35.80 cr).

A total of 30 such shipments with 35 lakh tonnes of coal were imported to India by Adani Group. Its export price is $13.9 cr (₹1,157.40 cr) and other expenses are $31 lakh (₹25.81 cr). At the time of import into India, its value is shown to customs at $21.5 cr (₹1,790.02 cr) and this is how Adani Group over-invoiced to the tune of $7.3 crore (₹607 cr).

The report further notes that Gujarat UrjaVikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) had also sent a demand notice to Adani for showing coal prices higher than the market value.

Companies generating huge profits through electricity tenders

Reports suggest that private companies show lower prices for electricity at the time of submitting the tender, and the tenders are passed based on the proposed prices.

However, at the time of filing the tender, the companies put a condition that if the price of coal increases, the price of electricity will be increased.

The price of the coal goes up after four or six months of supply, and the company would demand higher prices for electricity. In fact, Adani Power and Essar Power have gone to the extent of stopping the power supply when the government has not approved the price hikes.

Adani Group’s response

Reacting to the report, Adani Group released a statement, denying the allegations of the report and stating that FT was making another effort to financially destabilise the Adani Group by raking up an old, baseless allegation of over-invoicing of coal imports.

The FT’s proposed story is based on the DRI (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence)’s General Alert Circular No.11/2016/CI dated March 30, 2016. The FT’s brazen agenda is exposed by the fact that they have singled out the Adani Group, while the DRI’s Circular, the raison d’etre for the whole story, mentions as many as 40 importers, including the Adani Group companies, said the report.

This list not only includes some of India’s major private power generators like Reliance Infra, JSWSteels, and Essar, but also the state power generating companies of Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, etc. and the NTPC and MSTC, Adani Group said.

(With inputs from IANS)

For more such updates and news on the go, follow us on: Instagram | YouTube | Facebook