The Power Ministry today said it did not approve of Reliance Industries (RIL) charging marketing margin on the gas it sold, saying such levies are paid where distribution chain is involved and not when it's a "one-man show."
"Normally, marketing margins are (paid) where there is a whole-seller, a distributor (and) a retailer. But in this case of gas company (RIL), there is no whole-seller or retailer. It is a one man show, one company is doing that," Power Secretary H S Brahma told reporters here.
RIL is charging $0.135 per million British thermal unit (mBtu) marketing margin on sale of gas from its eastern offshore KG-D6 fields, a levy which was opposed by state-run NTPC.
Anil Ambani Group company Reliance Infrastructure, which buys 0.56 million metric standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd) of KG-D6 gas, paid marketing margin on gas till last month, but discontinued it this month saying they were "illegal and unauthorised", prompting RIL to slap a notice of discontinuing supplies.
NTPC this week signed pacts to buy 0.61 mmscmd of gas from KG-D6 fields at $4.20 per mBtu plus $0.135 per mBtu marketing margin. It has, however, sought specific confirmation on payment of the levy from the government.
RIL says the marketing margin it charges is uniform for all the 40-odd customers and is lower than $0.17 per mBtu margin charged by state-run GAIL.