Coal imports:Rs 8 billion siphoned off ?

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), in its Statistical Digest for 2019, reports that a sum of Rs. 46.68 billion was spent on importing coal for operating its coal power plant at Norochcholai during 2019. The quantity imported is not given.

The Central Bank, in its Annual Report for 2019, reports that the CIF value of coal imported in 2019 was Rs. 38.72 billion (Table 33 in Statistical Appendix). It is noted that a small fraction of this is consumed by the Cement Plant at Puttalam.

Such a difference may be attributed to any taxes paid to the Government, legitimate commission paid to the agent, mark-up by Lanka Coal Company who imports coal on behalf of the CEB, and the cost of unloading of coal onto barges and transporting to the site.

Could the CEB confirm whether all this expenditure amounted to Rs. 7.96 billion in 2019, and why no such additional expenditure was incurred in previous years? In fact, payments made by the CEB for coal in 2016, 2017 and 2018 were always less than the corresponding CIF values shown in Central Bank reports. This is understandable because of the fraction delivered to the Cement Plant.

The COPE had a meeting on 24.11.2020 to examine the accounts of the CEB, as reported in the media. Didn’t this Committee spot this discrepancy?

Dr JANAKA RATNASIRI

Nawala