ONGC to shell out Rs 1600 cr more

Oil and Natural Gas Corp, India's [ Images ] largest crude oil producer, will have to shell out about Rs 1600 crore (Rs 16 billion) more to the government as a fallout of increase in cess on domestic crude oil.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram [ Images ], presenting the Budget for 2006-07, raised the cess on domestic crude oil to Rs 2500 per tonne from the present Rs 1800 per tonne.

"The increase in cess would mean an additional payout of about Rs 1600 crore," ONGC [ Get Quote ] director (finance) R S Sharma told PTI in New Delhi [ Images ].

At current rates, ONGC pays about Rs 4200 crore (Rs 42 billion) towards the Oil Industry Development Board cess.