IOC, GAIL, ONGC fined for 4th quarter in row
The companies had faced fines for the same reason the previous three quarters as well.
Representative Image (Reuters)
NEW DELHI: State-owned oil and gas giants including IndianOil, ONGC and GAIL (India) Ltd have been slapped with fines for the fourth straight quarter for failing to meet listing requirements of having the requisite number of directors on their board.
Stock exchanges imposed a cumulative fine of Rs 34 lakh on oil refining and fuel marketing giants Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), explorers Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL), gas utility GAIL, and refiner Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) for not meeting the listing requirement in the January-March quarter, stock exchange filings showed.
In separate filings, the companies detailed the fines imposed by the BSE and NSE for either not having the requisite number of independent directors or the mandated women director in the quarter ended March 31, 2024 (fourth quarter of 2023-24 fiscal year), but were quick to point out that appointment of directors was done by the government and they had no role in it.
The companies had faced fines for the same reason the previous three quarters as well.
IOC, HPCL, BPCL, GAIL, OIL and MRPL in separate filings said they have been slapped with a fine of Rs 536,900 each for the fourth quarter. ONGC faced a fine of Rs 182,900.
Listing norms require companies to have independent directors in the same proportion as executive or functional directors. They are also required to have at least one woman director on the board.
ONGC said it has been fined for its board being short of one independent director.
The companies were slapped a fine of Rs 5,42,800 each for the third quarter (October-December 2023). They had faced a similar fine for the second quarter (July-September 2023).
For non-compliance in April-June 2023, ONGC was slapped with Rs 3.36 lakh fine, IOC Rs 5.36 lakh and GAIL Rs 2.71 lakh fine. HPCL and BPCL were each asked to pay Rs 3.6 lakh fine, while Oil India had faced a penalty of Rs 5.37 lakh.