Mumbai, Sep 13 - The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG) Sunday accused the Mukesh Ambani-headed Reliance Industries of charging an 'illegal and unauthorised' marketing margin on sale of gas from the Krishna-Godvari hydrocarbon basin.

This, it said, would result in an additional burden of Rs.10,000 crore on the government.

'Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is charging an illegal and unauthorized 'marketing margin' of 13.5 cents (Rs.6.6) per million btu on the sale of gas from its KG Basin D-6 fields. This accounts for over three percent of the price at which gas is being sold,' said J.P. Chalasani, chief executive of Reliance Power, an R-ADAG company.

According to Chalasani, RIL does not have an approval from the petroleum ministry or the empowered group of ministers (EGoM) to levy this additional charge.

'RIL's marketing margin has, in fact, not been subjected to any process of official scrutiny at all,' he said.

'The so-called marketing margin is nothing but a device illegally adopted by RIL to charge a higher sale price, without even paying the lawful share of such revenues to the government,' Chalasani said.

'Based on this higher sales price, the government should at least get a higher share of profit petroleum -- in addition to royalty -- as per the production sharing contract. Shockingly, even this is not happening, and the entire benefit of over Rs. 10,000 crore is going to RIL alone.'

The R-ADAG group has also charged the petroleum ministry with acting in collusion with Reliance Industries.

'The petroleum ministry has categorically denied giving permission to RIL to charge any such marketing margin. It is, therefore, all the more surprising that the petroleum ministry is taking no steps to immediately prevent RIL from charging this illegal levy,' said Chalasani.