SC admits Delhi Transco Ltd's plea on tariff

Delhi Transco Ltd (DTL) and Delhi Power Company Ltd (DPCL) have moved the Supreme Court challenging the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission's (CERC's) power to fix tariffs of central generation and transmission utilities, including NTPC and Power Grid Corporation of India.

DTL and DPCL also challenged a part of the CERC (Terms and Conditions of Tariff) Regulations 2001, which imposed the development surcharge of five per cent and 10 per cent on the utilities respectively and fixed their income tax liability.

A bench headed by Justice B N Agarwal admitted the petition last week and tagged it with the two other petitions filed by Neyveli Lignite Corp (NLC) and UP Power Corp (UPPC).

While seeking to set aside the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity's order that dismissed their petition in November 2006, the petetioners contended that their pleas should be heard on merit as they cannot be without remedy.

Both the Delhi High Court and the Tribunal had dismissed their petitions on the ground that they had no jurisdiction over the statutory regulations framed by CERC. The Tribunal had also dismissed NLC's petition in November 2005.

The petition filed by counsel Pradeep Misra stated that NTPC and Power Grid cannot be allowed to claim income tax as expense from them, as it was contrary to the provisions of the Income Tax Act.