Facing revenue shortfall, Govt pushes IOC, ONGC to pay 2nd interim dividend

NEW DELHI: Grappling a shortfall in tax revenues, the government has pressed cash-rich PSUs like Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) to pay a second interim dividend for the current fiscal after seeking regulatory nods.

While IOC has called a board meeting on 19 March to consider paying a second interim dividend, ONGC has declined saying it does not have surplus cash to make such payments within a month of an interim dividend payout, sources with direct knowledge of the development said.

As per regulations, a company cannot declare a second dividend within a month of the previous payout and companies like ONGC would need to seek an approval of the market regulator SEBI to make such a payment.

Sources said the government is struggling to meet the revised fiscal deficit target of 3.4 % in view of shortfall in Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections.