I-T department quizzes Matix Group Chairman over NuPower

The Income-Tax department has questioned Matix Group Chairman Nishant Kanodia in connection with NuPower Renewables, a leading daily reported on Wednesday.

NuPower Renewables is a company promoted by Deepak Kochhar, husband of ICICI Bank's CEO Chanda Kochhar.

Nishant Kanodia is the son-in-law of Essar Group's Ravi Ruia and owns the Mauritius-based Firstland Holdings that invested Rs 325 crore in NuPower between 2010 and 2012.

"We are probing this investment that was routed through Mauritius. What is the source of the funds, why did Firstland Holdings exit NuPower soon after and whether this has connections with any Essat Group company," a tax official told The Hindustan Times.

IANS' phone calls and text messages to an I-T department official to get more details remained unanswered.

Meanwhile, at least nine public and private sector banks have reportedly classified the loans of Matix Fertilisers and Chemicals (MFC) -- whose Rs 7,000 crore urea plant in West Bengal floundered for years for the lack of coal-bed methane gas -- as sub-standard and non-performing assets (NPA) in the last quarter.

However, MFCL in a response to IANS said: "Currently, MFCL is in process of refinancing its term loan (Project Loan) and availing working capital required for continuous sustained plant operation. The company expects to resume production by September, 2018."

The MFCL has set up a greenfield single stream gas based integrated Urea fertiliser plant at Panagarh Industrial Park, West Bengal.

"MFCL had entered into a Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) with Essar Oil Ltd for supply of CBM Gas. However, due to technical reasons, Essar was unable to supply required quantity of CBM gas to the Matix plant which resulted in delay in commissioning of MFCL's plant. MFCL plant successfully started trial production in the month of October, 2017," Matix said.

The Indian banking system currently has an exposure of over Rs 3,500 crore to MFC as of March 31, 2018, according to loan data The Wire has accessed.

Out of the 12 lenders, currently, only three classify the account as standard: Punjab National Bank (Rs 174 crore), Vijaya Bank (Rs 100 crore), and Yes Bank (Rs 83 crore).

In the case of Yes Bank, it is the only lender where the Matix account is classified as a non CDR (corporate debt restructuring) standard loan and is part of its disclosed restructured standard loans as of March 31, 2018.

--IANS

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