British aerospace & defence giant Rolls Royce has reportedly offered to return Rs 18 crore to the government, the amount that it had paid as commission to an agent for clinching some deals in India.

Sources said Rolls Royce made the offer in a letter to Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), which had placed orders worth around Rs 10,000 crore with the company between 2007 and 2011.

Revealing the development, the sources said, "The firm has informed HAL that it has paid commissions to Aashmore Private Limited for clinching military deals and the amount ranged ranged between 10 and 11.3 per cent."

HAL is now preparing to send the letter to the country's defence ministry, which has asked the CBI to launch a probe into the alleged irregularities.

In December last year, the British company had admitted that it had employed a Singapore-Ashok Patni-led firm Aashmore Private Ltd as commercial advisor in India to get sales & logistical support, local business support and strategic advice.

Pending a CBI probe, the Indian defence ministry has put on hold all existing as well as future deals with the British company.

A few days back, Rools Royce had announced that it had decreased the number of middlemen or intermediaries that it used to hit deals. Apart from decreasing the number of middlemen, it re-launched 24-hour ethics telephone line for staff. In addition, the company has created a new role of head of risk training. All those steps were part of the company's efforts to thwart bribery and corruption charges in the future.