Centre can't stop us from exporting crude: Cairn India to HC

The firm told a bench of Justice Manmohan that as per the policy, Cairn can export crude oil and it does not require any NOC from Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

Cairn India on Tuesday claimed in the Delhi high court that under the foreign trade policy, the Centre could not stop it from exporting crude oil from its Rajasthan oilfield.

The firm told a bench that according to the policy, Cairn could export crude oil and it did not require any No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the ministry of petroleum and natural gas.

Cairn, a subsidiary of UK-based Vedanta group, filed that it had made several representations to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for permission to export crude oil, but did not get any response.

It also claimed that before approaching DGFT, it had written to the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) to "canalise" export of crude oil, but got no response from the public sector undertaking. IOCL is the canalising agent for export of crude oil. Canalising agents are those through which a product can be imported or exported by companies which do not have permission to do so directly.

The counsel representing Cairn India filed that they were selling the crude oil at a lower price and the government was "discriminatory" towards them as the policy has permitted Indian Oil to export.

The firm was responding to the Centre's contention that it could not be allowed to export excess crude oil from its Rajasthan oilfield as it was a policy to ensure that there could be no export till domestic demand was met.

The ministry, however, had said that Cairn was permitted to sell crude oil to domestic companies within India but they could not be allowed to export it.

The court was hearing Cairn India's plea seeking directions to the government to permit it to export the excess crude oil.