For the fourth straight quarter, the state-owned oil and gas giants including Indian Oil, ONGC and GAIL (India) Ltd have been slapped with fines for failing to meet listing requirements of having the requisite number of directors on their boards.
As per the regulatory filings, the stock exchanges have imposed a cumulative fine of Rs 34 lakh on oil refining and fuel marketing giants Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), explorers Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL), gas utility GAIL, and refiner Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) for not meeting the listing requirement in the January-March quarter.
Further, the companies also detailed the fines imposed by the BSE and NSE for either not having the requisite number of independent directors or the mandated women director in the quarter ended March 31, 2024.
However, they were quick to point out that the appointment of directors was done by the government and they had no role in it.
In separate filings, the IOC, HPCL, BPCL, GAIL, OIL and MRPL said they have been slapped with a fine of Rs 536,900 each for the fourth quarter. ONGC faced a fine of Rs 182,900.
ONGC in its statement said it has been fined for its board being short of one independent director.
IOC said, “the power to appoint directors, including independent directors, vests with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India and hence the shortfall in independent directors including non-appointment of women independent director on the board of the company during the quarter ended March 31, 2024 was not due to any negligence/default by the company.”
HPCL and BPCL made similar statements, while GAIL said appointments are outside the purview/control of company management. OIL said it has requested the ministry for appointment of independent directors.
MRPL said it has been continuously following up with the ministry for appointment of requisite number of independent directors on the board and the same has been under active consideration.
The companies had faced fines for the same reason the previous three quarters as well.
As per the listing norms, there is a requirement for companies to have independent directors in the same proportion as executive or functional directors. They are also required to have at least one woman director on the board.