Delhi HC seeks Centre's reply on Jindal's plea for refund of Rs 1,185 cr additional levy

Jindal claimed govt's demands for payment were illegal and without authorisation as it was allocated blocks at Raigarh

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought the Centre's response on a plea filed by Jindal Power Limited for the refund of over Rs 1,185 crore, paid by the company as an additional levy for participating in the coal auction as a result of mandatory provisions of the Coal Mines Act.

The apex court had on September 24, 2014, cancelled the allocations of 214 coal blocks, including those of Jindal. In its petition, Jindal has contended that it had paid the entire sum under protest, as an additional levy for participating in the auction.

Jindal has claimed that it was allocated coal blocks at Raigarh in Chhattisgarh, to meet its requirement for running a 1000 mega watt power plant there. It has now sought a refund of the full amount, claiming that the government's demands for payment were illegal and without authorisation.

The company has contended that the government cannot impose any such levy without first adjudicating the issue and sought that the provisions of the Act which provide for such levy be declared null and void.

The petition also challenges a 2012-13 report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for calculating a net gain of Rs 295 per metric tonne on allottees operating the block, alongside additional financial gains worth Rs 1.86 lakh crore on prior private allottees.

After considering the submissions, the bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice V K Rao issued a notice seeking responses from the Ministry of Coal and Ministry of Law and Justice and has listed the matter for further hearing on February 13, 2017.