OIL net profit drops 81% on tax provisioning

New Delhi: State-owned Oil India Ltd’s second quarter net profit dropped 81 per cent on a one-time provisioning for tax liability. The company posted a standalone net profit of Rs 325.31 crore in the July-September period as against Rs 1,720.53 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in a stock exchange filing. Oil India Ltd (OIL), the nation’s second biggest state-owned explorer and producer of oil and natural gas, made a provision of Rs 2,655.57 crore towards a disputed GST liability. Service tax demand was raised on the company for the period of March 2016 to June 2017, seeking tax on royalty it paid on crude oil and natural gas to state governments. The company has disputed the tax demand and has moved the Gauhati High Court.