ONGC Receives Demand Order from CGST Commissioner; Company to File Appeal

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), India’s largest government-owned energy company, recently issued a disclosure, addressed to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, regarding receipt of a demand order.

This disclosure was made by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited under Regulation 30 of the SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015.

The company added that it received a demand order on January 7, 2026, from the Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise, Surat. The order issued under the relevant provisions of the Central Excise Act, 1944, and Section 147 of the Finance Act, 2002, requiring the company to comply with the following demands.

1. Demand on account of Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) of Rs 26,75,89,270 for the period July 1, 2022, to July 31, 2023.
2. Demand on account of the applicable interest on the aforesaid amount of SAED.
3. Imposition of Penalty worth Rs 26,75,89,270.

The company explained that a government order was issued because Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) was not paid on crude oil produced from Pre-NELP Block CB-OS02. This is operated under an Unincorporated Joint Venture (UJV).

In this joint venture, ONGC owns 50%, Vedanta Ltd. owns 40%, and Invenire Petrodyne Ltd. owns 10%. Vedanta Ltd. is the operator.

ONGC and Vedanta have already paid the SAED related to their respective shares of production. The disputed demand is only for the remaining 10% share that belongs to Invenire Petrodyne Ltd.

ONGC argues that it should not be asked to pay SAED, interest, or penalties for Invenire Petrodyne’s 10% share. This is because ONGC is not the operator of the block and does not actually produce the oil for that share. Under Central Excise law, only the party that manufactures or produces the goods is responsible for paying this duty, and ONGC says it does not qualify as a “manufacturer” for Invenire Petrodyne’s portion.

The company also added that it will further take appropriate steps to file an appeal against the order. Lastly, the company said that this order does not have any impact on financial, operational, or other activities of the company.