New Delhi: The finance ministry will wait at least until the end of May to gauge oil companies’ losses before deciding on compensating refiners for selling fuels below cost last fiscal, a finance ministry official with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The compensation for the current year ending 31 March 2011 will depend on the extent to which companies will be allowed by the government to raise prices of gasoline and diesel, the official said in an interview in New Delhi. India caps retail fuel prices to curb inflation and shield the poor. A government- appointed panel in February recommended lifting such controls.