CCFC overpays Rs 50mn for Nano Nitrogen liquid fertiliser deal

Colombo Commercial Fertilizer Company Limited has overpaid millions of rupees due to non-recovery of the overpaid amount in the importation of liquid Nano Nitrogen fertilisers in 2021, the latest Auditor General’s report 2022 revealed.

A sum of Rs.50 million had been overpaid due to the reduction of the price of a bottle to US$10 as Colombo Commercial Fertilizer Company Limited had paid Rs.253 million at $12.45 per bottle to the supplier for the importation of 100,224 bottles of Nano-Nitrogen liquid fertiliser on 18 October 2021.

The company had not remitted the subsidy value that has been reimbursed from the Treasury due to suspending the release of subsidised fertilisers and switching to the method of giving cash to the farmer in the year 2016.

The subsidy value of Rs.2,112 million  has not  been remitted by the Colombo Commercial Fertilizer Company related to the fertiliser stock to the Treasury, the audit inspection revealed.

It has been revealed that Sri Lanka had deposited $1.275 million to an account of a private company as payment for the imported Nano-Nitrogen Fertiliser from India.

The payment was made to the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) for the fertiliser imports.

On the 18th of October 2021, the Treasury had requested the People’s Bank to release $ 1.275 million as payment for the imports.

The due process would be to make payments from the accounts maintained by the Ceylon Fertilizer Company Ltd. (Bandula)