'HPL faltered on export commitment against advance license'

The ailing Haldia Petrochemicals Limited, whose plant is under closure since last six months, failed to meet export commitment for which it had got advance licenses.
"Since 2009, HPL was getting advance license for duty-free import of naphtha against exports of finished products," a source close to the development told PTI.
However, owing to poor pricing, the company could not send its finished products overseas, for which it had availed of duty-free naphtha imports, the source said.
No comments were received from the company.
Since 2009, the company had four managing directors, namely Swapan Bhowmick, Partha Bhattacharya, Sumantra Chaudhury and Uttam Basu.

Basu resigned from the company before his term was to end on December 31, 2014.

The company was exporting its products not only to neighbouring Bangladesh and Nepal but also to European countries.
Meanwhile, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) cleared Purnendu Chatterjee's proposed 15.4 per cent stake purchase from the West Bengal government in HPL for which it would have around Rs 1,300 crore in two tranches.
The company had to force closure of its plant at Haldia following lack of funds to meet working capital needs.
The closure of the plant had also affected hundreds of downstream manufacturing units which were sourcing polymers from HPL.

Upon purchasing of shares, TCG's shareholding in HPL would stand at more than 55 per cent, thus paving the way for becoming the largest shareholder.