India seems to have hardened its position on the payment settlement problems with Iran, with New Delhi demanding that Tehran settle the dues for oil imports in a designated third country till a more durable solution is found. The issue was discussed at length on Friday at a meeting involving officials from the ministries of finance, external affairs and petroleum apart from executives from Indian banks and oil companies, The Times of India reported.
Sources said that for the time being an 'open account settlement' was found to be the most appropriate tool for payment. Under this, oil importers from Iran like Indian Oil, MRPL and Essar Oil could be asked to pay for the imports in a designated account in a third country. "This is like a spot payment and Iran has to see where it wants to take the payment. Given that our companies have been importing oil from Iran for so long, this solution should be acceptable, especially because government is the majority shareholder in companies like Indian Oil," said an official. Besides, officials said that Indian Oil's credit rating was as good as State Bank of India's.
TOI had reported last week that the government was looking at the option of settling the dues in a third country.