Coal Import Case: SC Notice To Adani On DRI Appeal

The Supreme Court has issued notice to Adani Enterprises in response to an appeal by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in a case connected to the alleged over-invoicing of Indonesian coal imports.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde stayed the Bombay High Court order which had quashed letter rogatories (LR) that sought information from foreign countries on the import of coal by Adani.

Appearing for the DRI before the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta contended that investigation into the matter should continue. The DRI has been probing nearly 40 companies for probable overvaluation of coal imports.

A letter rogatory (LR) is usually sent by a country to another country to seek assistance with help of foreign judicial authorities to investigate an offshore entity, which is believed to have a connection with an ongoing probe.

In October 2019, the Bombay High Court had quashed all LRs sent by the DRI to Singapore and other countries in its probe into Adani Group firms for allegedly over-invoicing coal imported from Indonesia between 2011 and 2015.

The Bombay High Court had observed that it did not go into the merits of the LR issued by the magistrate, but found that due process was not undertaken while issuing these letters.

The DRI had vehemently opposed the Bombay High Court order and sought its stay as the investigation is underway. In September 2019, Adani Enterprises Limited moved the Bombay High Court seeking quashing of the LRs which were issued in 2016.

In March 2016, the DRI had initiated investigation against a few Adani Group firms for allegedly over-invoicing coal imports from Indonesia. The LRs were issued to Singapore, Dubai and Hong Kong, seeking assistance in accessing documents in possession of three state-owned banks in connection with the transactions under investigation.