Kathmandu, January 24
The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has paid Rs 13 billion more to the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) by asking the government for money.
The corporation has taken Rs 1.80 billion from the price stabilization fund and paid the second installment to IOC in January, said spokesperson Binit Mani Upadhyaya. The corporation has sent Rs 13.20 billion to IOC today.
The corporation had requested the government to provide the amount after the accumulated savings reached zero and Rs 1.80 billion was not enough to be paid to the IOC. A meeting of the Price Stabilization Fund Steering Committee on Friday had decided to provide Rs 1.80 billion to the corporation, which is not enough to pay the IOC.
The Secretary of Commerce and Supplies shall be the Chairman of the Fund Management
Committee. The government had issued ‘Petroleum Products and Gas Price Stabilization Fund (Operation) Rules’ in 2071 BS to maintain stability in the prices of petroleum products.
The corporation’s losses are also rising as the price of petroleum products continues to rise in the international market. According to sources, the corporation will incur further losses if the price of petroleum products is not adjusted as the purchase price is increasing. Corporation officials, who have asked the government for money and paid the second installment in January, are worried about how to pay the next month’s installment to the IOC.
The corporation had to pay the second installment to the IOC on the 23rd, but the payment was made a day later as the IOC was closed on Sunday. The corporation has been paying the IOC for purchasing petroleum products on the 8th and 23rd of every English month.
By Karuna Thapa
