NEW DELHI:The government has rubbished the accusations of ‘favouring’ the Adani group as alleged by the Congress party. Top sources in the government, requesting anonymity, said the government has not quashed any proceedings against the Adani Enterprise Ltd. (AEL). Sources said it is “factually incorrect” that whenever a probe is initiated against Adani Enterprise Ltd (AEL) it is immediately quashed by the government. On the contrary, people cited above said, three showcause notices involving various transactions were issued between 2014 and 2016 and after adjudication of two cases, the orders – in-original – were reviewed by a Committee of Chief Commissioners of Customs in August, 2017 and October 2017 respectively. Subsequently, appeals were filed before the Customs, Excise and Service-tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) Mumbai Bench in November 2017 and February, 2018 respectively. It is pertinent to mention here, they added, that the cases under investigation primarily pertain to the period of UPA government i.e. 2010 onwards.
“The matter is subjudice and the cases are pending before the Tribunal for adjudication,” a top government functionary said. He added Congress’ claim that the notice issued by the DRI to Adani Enterprise is closed is ‘factually incorrect and devoid of details’. The government has further clarified that it has not intervened in any matter relating to tariff of power purchase agreement of the Adani Enterprise in Gujarat. Referring to Jairam Ramesh’s claim that it is a clear case of “privatisation of profit and nationalisation of loss”, the government said it is an “imaginary statement”.
The DRI has been investigating the cases of coal import involving 40 coal importers including the Adani Enterprise.