Petronet LNG Ltd, India's biggest gas importer, has sought shareholders' approval to continue payment of commission to its directors, capped at 1 per cent of annual profits, for another five years from financial year 2027-28 to 2031-32. According to reports from Rediff Moneynews and NDTV Profit, the proposal, contained in the notice for the company's forthcoming general meeting, seeks approval for distribution of a sum not exceeding 1 per cent per annum of profits calculated under Section 198 of the Companies Act, 2013, among the directors in such amounts and proportions as may be decided by the board from time to time. Shareholders had last approved the commission arrangement at the annual general meeting held on September 28, 2021, for FY22 to FY26. The company justifies the continuation due to its "healthy financial position" and states that payments are within legal limits prescribed under the Companies Act, 2013.
For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, Petronet paid its CEO Akshay Kumar Singh and other directors a commission of ₹26.5 lakh each, according to the latest remuneration figures reported by NDTV Profit. As reported by Rediff Moneynews, they had received a commission of ₹25.5 lakh in the previous fiscal year. The commission took Singh's total remuneration in 2025-26 to ₹3.64 crore, up from ₹3.03 crore in the previous financial year. Independent directors on the company board also got ₹10 lakh each as commission on profit, besides the sitting fees, compared to ₹9.75 lakh commission in the previous 2024-25 fiscal. The company stated that the commission, as a percentage of profit before tax, was "marginal" and within the overall limits prescribed under the Companies Act, 2013. The actual commission paid to whole-time directors and independent directors has remained well below the statutory ceiling.
According to NDTV Profit, Petronet had reported a net profit of ₹3,843 crore on a revenue of ₹43,495 crore in 2025-26, compared with ₹3,926 crore profit on a revenue of ₹50,980 crore in the previous 2024-25 fiscal year. In FY26, whole-time directors, including the managing director and CEO, were eligible for a maximum commission of ₹79.5 lakh, while independent directors were eligible for ₹55 lakh, taking the combined maximum to ₹134.5 lakh. The company said the proposed continuation was being sought in view of its "healthy financial position" and that the commission arrangement was being sought in view of its "healthy financial position" and that the commission arrangement was being sought in view of its "healthy financial position".
As reported by NDTV Profit, Singh last year got a 15-month extension till May 2027 as the managing director and chief executive officer of the country's biggest liquefied natural gas importer. Singh, 65, who took over as Petronet CEO on February 1, 2020, for an initial five-year term, will now superannuate on May 12, 2027. A process to find a replacement for Singh has already started, with appointments to the board made by a search-cum-selection committee of the board comprising representatives of lead shareholders, an independent director and an outside expert. State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), GAIL (India) Ltd, Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) hold a 12.5 per cent stake each in the company. While the superannuation age in public sector companies is 60 years, Petronet, though headed by the government's top bureaucrat in the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, is registered as a private limited company and is not under any government watchdog like CAG or CVC and is beyond the purview of RTI.
