CALCUTTA, July 18: A F Ferguson & Co would be appointed as auditors of Rs 5960-crore ITC limited at the forthcoming general meeting of the company scheduled here on August 27.According to a company spokesman, the existing auditors, Lovelock & Lewes, have said, they would not like to be reappointed at the next AGM.It may be noted that in the last AGM, the shareholders of ITC had clamoured for the replacement of Lovelock & Lewes. This was because the current auditors did not mention the irregularities which ITC had committed in its international transactions, following which the Enforcement Directorate had put a number of ITC executives behind bars.The spokesman confirmed that the chargesheets which had been issued to the ITC chairman and others by the ED on July 11 had reached the company's office here. Deveshwar has kept the press out of bounds and was not willing to make any comment on the notices.The ED has given them 30 days to give their replies. More chargesheets were likely to be issued soon, ED sources said. The spokesman said the company directors were contemplating to chalk out a counter-strategy and holding closed door meetings to discuss the future course of action.Meanwhile, in the special business to be conducted at the forthcoming AGM, there is no mention of the re-appointment of Tapan Ganguli, the IFCI nominee director on the ITC board.The spokesman said there was no need for a resolution for re-appointment of FI nominee directors. The induction of Ganguli on the ITC board was a result of loans which the financial institution had given to ITC.In the case of other nominee directors, resolutions had to be adopted because their office terms would cease this year and they would have to be re-appointed.ITC Ltd has decided to have fewer executive directors, with greater responsibilities given to the chief executives of its various divisions under the new governance structure.ITC's board will be dominated by non-executive directors following the exit of FR Vevaina and that of N Sitaraman by the end of the year. Only three executive directors will be left on the board - chairman YC Deveshwar, Saurabh Misra and Biswadeb Mitter.Vevaina has already resigned from the ITC board although he will continue on the boards of investment subsidiaries Sage, Summit and Pinnacle till his retirement in September, 1997.
