In some countries colour is not a criteria and in Sri Lanka till August last year there were no criteria for colour, officials said.
Dakwale said in other critical parameters its sulphur content was only 1,440 parts per million when the requirement was 2,550 parts per million and its Decane (C10) count was 55 when the requirement was 46, which was similar to super diesel he said.
The contract for 7,562 metric tonnes for diesel was awarded to Glencore Singapore (Pte) Ltd of which 4,712 metric tonnes was to be discharged in Colombo and 2,850 metric tonnes in Trincomalee.
In Trincomalee LIOC had its own testing lab and in Colombo testing was done by CPSTL, a common user facility used both by state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation.
Managing director Subodh Dakwale said out of 19 parameters for which the diesel was tested, it was found to be off - specification on two parameters.
The company says it was off-specification for colour and appearance and it was not substandard in other a