Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: In opposition to a mamlatdar’s order to recover Rs 13.86 crore in accordance with the order dated September 3, 2018, made by the Director of Mines and Geology regarding unpaid royalties for ore extracted and appropriated by the petitioners, Sesa Resources Ltd. filed a plea, which the Bombay High Court in Goa dismissed.
The company contended that the director of mines ought to take into account their appeals dated September 17, 2018 and September 11, 2023, in order to offset the excess royalty that the Sesa is purportedly required to have paid to the state for the years 2010 through 2013.
In a reply dated September 17, 2018, Sesa Resources acknowledged that they had overpaid royalty in the amounts of 16.70 crores for the years 2010–2011, 2011–2012, and 2012–2013. As a result, they claimed that the 46.70 crore purported excess payment needed to be deducted from the main demand mentioned in the Director’s order dated September 3, 2018.
In front of the High Court, Advocate General Devidas Pangam contended that the set-off claim lacked merit. In any event, he argued, the questions of royalty established in the Director’s order dated September 3, 2018, and the purported excess royalty payment were separate and unrelated matters.
The company’s claim that it had paid excess royalty had merit, according to the High Court, and nothing had stopped it from bringing up the issue sooner. “If the petitioners really thought that the issue was pertinent, nothing stopped them from bringing it up. The Director’s order dated September 3, 2018, the High Court observed, was made after taking into account all pertinent information and after following the rules of natural justice and fair play. concerns.