We have issued an Independent Audit Report
dated 15 May 2025 on the Standalone Financial
Statements as adopted by the Board of Directors
on even date. Pursuant to the observation of
Comptroller and Auditor General of India, we are
issuing this Revised Audit Report by modifying*
our observation in paragraph (i)(c) of Annexure B
to the Auditors’ Report. This report supersedes
our earlier Audit Report issued on 15 May 2025.
Opinion
We have audited the accompanying Standalone
Financial Statements of Balmer Lawrie & Company
Limited (“the Company”), which comprise the Balance
Sheet as at 31 March 2025, the Statement of Profit
and Loss (including Other Comprehensive Income),
the Statement of Cash Flows and the Statement of
Changes in Equity for the year then ended, and notes
to the standalone financial statements, including a
summary of significant accounting policies and other
explanatory information, in which are included the
returns for the year ended on that date audited by the
branch auditors of the Company’s branches located
at Northern, Southern and Western Regions of the
country (hereinafter referred as “Standalone Financial
Statements”).
In our opinion and to the best of our information and
according to the explanations given to us, and based on
the consideration of the reports of the branch auditors
as referred to in paragraph 16 below, the aforesaid
standalone financial statements give the information
required by the Companies Act, 2013 (“the Act”) in the
manner so required and give a true and fair view in
conformity with the Indian Accounting Standards (‘Ind
AS’) specified under section 133 of the Act read with
the Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) Rules,
2015, as amended, and other accounting principles
generally accepted in India, of the state of affairs of the
Company as at 31 March 2025, and its profit (including
other comprehensive income), its cash flows and
changes in equity for the year ended on that date.
Basis for Opinion
We conducted our audit of the standalone financial
statements in accordance with the Standards on
Auditing (“SA”s) specified under section 143(10) of
the Act. Our responsibilities under those Standards
are further described in the Auditor’s Responsibilities
for the Audit of the Standalone Financial Statements
section of our report. We are independent of the
Company in accordance with the Code of Ethics issued
by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
(“ICAI”) together with the ethical requirements that are
relevant to our audit of the financial statements under
the provisions of the Act and the Rules thereunder,
and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities
in accordance with these requirements and the ICAI’s
Code of Ethics. We believe that the audit evidence
obtained by us together with the audit evidence
obtained by the branch auditors, in terms of their
reports referred to in paragraph 16 of the Other Matter
section below is sufficient and appropriate to provide a
basis for our audit opinion on the standalone financial
statements.
Key Audit Matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our
professional judgment, and based on the consideration
of the reports of the branch auditors as referred to
paragraph 16 below, were of most significance in
our audit of the standalone financial statements of
the current period. These matters were addressed
in the context of our audit of the standalone financial
statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion
thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion
on these matters. We have determined the matters
described below to be the key audit matters to be
communicated in our report:
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Sl. No
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Key Audit Matter
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How our audit addressed the key audit matter
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1.
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Suspected fraud involving payments made
to a vendor
The management has informed us of an
alleged fraud in the Northern Region involving
payments made to a vendor amounting to
Rs 143.65 Lakhs where no services were
rendered. This matter has been taken note
of by the Board and Audit Committee and is
currently under investigation by the vigilance
department.
The Branch auditor of the Northern Region
was informed by us about the reported alleged
fraud. Subsequently in course of their audit
procedures and review of the matter, they
identified additional payments to the same
vendor amounting to Rs 46.60 Lakh, which
according to their report appeared suspicious.
Based on the observations made by the Branch
auditor in their reports, the documents provided
by management and our own subsequent
audit procedures, we have reason to believe
that a suspected fraud may have occurred
at the branch in question. Based on these
developments, management has recorded the
total amount of Rs 190.25 Lakhs as recoverable
from the vendor and simultaneously created a
provision for the same.
We have considered this matter to be of
significant importance due to the nature of
allegations, the suspected fraud and the
management’s judgement in determining
recoverability and provisioning, and the fact
that the investigation is still ongoing.
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We informed the Branch auditor of the Northern
Region about the alleged fraud and requested them
to conduct the necessary audit and review of the
matter. They have verified all relevant documents
and internal findings related to the incident, shared
their observations with us, and referenced the matter
in their Independent Auditors’ Report dated 8th May
2025 on the FY 2024-2025 Financial Statements for
the Northern Region, which we have received and
reviewed.
In parallel, we have also reviewed the relevant
documents provided and discussed the status of the
ongoing investigation with management.
We have also assessed the accounting treatment,
including the recognition of the amount as recoverable
and the adequacy of the related provision.
Management has informed us that the Vigilance
Department is continuing its investigation.
Further, the Company has assured us that control
mechanisms have been strengthened to prevent
such incidents in the future.
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2.
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Evaluation of uncertain tax positions
The Company has tax matters under dispute
which involves judgment to determine the
possible outcome of these disputes. [Refer
Note No.42.3(a) to the standalone financial
statements read with its Annexure “A”]
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We obtained the details of assessment orders to the
extent available, regarding those assessments for
which disputes are continuing and being disclosed
as contingent liability by the management. We
involved our expertise to estimate the possible
outcome of the disputes. We have made inquiry
with legal and tax department regarding status
of significant disputes and examined relevant
assessment orders/ appeals filed and other rulings
in evaluating management’s position on these
uncertain tax positions to evaluate whether any
changes were required to management’s position
on these uncertain tax matters.
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Sl. No
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Key Audit Matter
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How our audit addressed the key audit matter
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3.
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Debtors Due for More than Three years,
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We assessed the procedures followed by the
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Unadjusted Credits in Sundry Debtors
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management for reconciling trade receivable balances
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Accounts and Balances in Unallocated
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and evaluating the treatment of unadjusted credits and
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Receipts Account)
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unallocated customer receipts. We have reviewed
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The Company has unadjusted credits in some
customer accounts and also credit balances on
account of unallocated receipts account across
all Strategic Business Unit (SBU’s) due to the
following reasons:
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the debtors’ ageing schedule, examined significant
outstanding balances, and considered subsequent
receipts and other supporting documentation to
evaluate the appropriateness of the recorded
amounts. The Company is regularly following up on
the realisation of the same. As is evident from the
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• Amount lying in the nature of advance in the
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ageing schedule, dues do exist for more than three
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customer account; or
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years against which substantial provisions have been
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• Amount credited to customers account but
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made in the accounts.
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the same could not be tracked/linked with
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We, during the course of our examination have also
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any sales invoice; or
• Non-reconciliation of these balances and the
absence of customer’s confirmation resulting
in the credit balances lying for long periods;
or
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checked the unadjusted advances from customers
lying for more than three years, the credit balances
lying in customers’ accounts on account of unmatched
invoices and balances lying in unallocated receipts
account. Some of the balances which were lying
unadjusted in aforesaid accounts for more than three
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• Unmatched credits lying in bank accounts
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years have been written back during the course of audit.
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which are transferred to unallocated receipts
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In some cases, the management is in the process of
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account. As and when information is available,
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reconciliation with the respective parties and hence
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adjustment entries with Debtors account
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the write back if any, has been kept in abeyance.
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are made. Old balances in this account are
written back by the Company each year after
review of the account.
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It is observed that though the letters seeking
customers’ confirmation are sent by the Company,
the response has been poor. Steps should be taken
to get the confirmation from customers. In addition
to the practice of seeking confirmation annually, the
Company should also get confirmation through the
sales team on a periodical basis other than annually.
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Non-reconciliation of unallocated receipts with sales
invoice of the customers is a potential internal control
risk.
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The management has to strengthen the internal control
process of reconciling the balances of the debtors and
to adjust the unallocated receipts on a periodical basis.
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Emphasis of Matter
We draw attention to the following matters in the Notes
to the standalone financial statements, which describe
the uncertainty related to the outcome.
a) Note No. 42.8 - which states that trade receivables,
loans and advances and deposits for which
confirmations are not received from the parties
are subject to reconciliation and consequential
adjustments on determination/ receipt of such
confirmation.
b) Note No. 42.30 - which states that the Company
has made provision of 63.19% of its investments
made in its’ subsidiary, M/s Visakhapatnam Port
Logistics Park Limited (VPLPL) in view of erosion
of the net-worth of VPLPL almost by 60% as
a matter of abundant precaution and prudent
accounting.
c) Note No. 23 - “Other Trade Payable” includes
sundry creditors for expenses amounting to
Rs. 322.57 Lakhs (P.Y. Rs. 322.57 Lakhs) of E&P
Division, Kolkata, which are lying unpaid since
long, as the matters are under litigation.
d) Note No. 17 - “Balance with Government
Authorities” amounting to Rs 2212.43 Lakhs
(P.Y. Rs. 4520.57 Lakhs) includes GST input
credit balances amounting to Rs 2154.00 Lakhs
(P.Y. Rs 4449 Lakhs) which comprises of old
unadjusted balances since 2017 and are subject
to reconciliation.
e) Note No. 36 - regarding Impairment of Assets
being the dry warehouse and cold storage facility
at AMTZ Vizag which has been incurring losses
for the last few years. The impairment loss from
the above of Rs 584.05 Lakhs has been disclosed
under Other Expenses in Note No. 36 of the
financial statements.
Our opinion is not modified in respect of the above
matters.
Information Other than the Financial Statements
and Auditor’s Report Thereon
The Company’s Board of Directors are responsible for
the other information. The other information comprises
the information included in the Management Discussion
and Analysis, Board’s Report including Annexures
to Board’s Report, Business Responsibility Report,
Corporate Governance Report and Shareholder
Information, but does not include the standalone
financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon.
Our opinion on the standalone financial statements
does not cover the other information and we do not
express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the standalone financial
statements, our responsibility is to read the other
information and, in doing so, consider whether the
other information is materially inconsistent with the
standalone financial statements or our knowledge
obtained during the course of our audit or otherwise
appears to be materially misstated. If, based on the
work we have performed, we conclude that there is a
material misstatement of this other information, we are
required to report that fact. We have nothing to report
in this regard.
Responsibility of Management and those Charged
with Governance for the Standalone Financial
Statements
The accompanying standalone financial statements
have been approved by the Company’s Board of
Directors. The Company’s Board of Directors are
responsible for the matters stated in section 134(5) of
the Act with respect to the preparation and presentation
of these standalone financial statements that give a
true and fair view of the financial position, financial
performance including other comprehensive income,
changes in equity and cash flows of the Company in
accordance with the Ind AS specified under section
133 of the Act and other accounting principles
generally accepted in India. This responsibility
also includes maintenance of adequate accounting
records in accordance with the provisions of the Act
for safeguarding the assets of the Company and for
preventing and detecting frauds and other irregularities;
selection and application of appropriate accounting
policies; making judgments and estimates that are
reasonable and prudent; and design, implementation
and maintenance of adequate internal financial
controls, that were operating effectively for ensuring
the accuracy and completeness of the accounting
records, relevant to the preparation and presentation
of the standalone financial statements that give a true
and fair view and are free from material misstatement,
whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the standalone financial statements, the
Board of Directors is responsible for assessing the
Company’s ability to continue as a going concern,
disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going
concern and using the going concern basis of
accounting unless the Board of Directors either intends
to liquidate the Company or to cease operations, or
has no realistic alternative but to do so.
The Board of Directors is also responsible for
overseeing the Company’s financial reporting process.
Auditor’s responsibilities for the Audit of
Standalone Financial Statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance
about whether the financial statements as a whole
are free from material misstatement, whether due to
fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that
includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a
high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that
an audit conducted in accordance with Standards on
Auditing will always detect a material misstatement
when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or
error and are considered material if, individually or in
the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to
influence the economic decisions of users taken on
the basis of these financial statements.
As part of an audit in accordance with Standards on
Auditing, specified under section 143(10) of the Act
we exercise professional judgment and maintain
professional skepticism throughout the audit. We also:
• Identify and assess the risks of material
misstatement of the standalone financial
statements, whether due to fraud or error, design
and perform audit procedures responsive to those
risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient
and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
The risk of not detecting a material misstatement
resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting
from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery,
intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the
override of internal control;
• Obtain an understanding of internal financial
control relevant to the audit in order to design
audit procedures that are appropriate in the
circumstances. Under section 143(3)(i) of the
Companies Act, 2013, we are also responsible for
expressing our opinion on whether the Company
has adequate internal financial controls with
reference to financial statements in place and the
operating effectiveness of such controls;
• Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting
policies used and the reasonableness of
accounting estimates and related disclosures
made by management;
• Conclude on the appropriateness of Board of
Directors’ use of the going concern basis of
accounting and, based on the audit evidence
obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists
related to events or conditions that may cast
significant doubt on the Company’s ability to
continue as a going concern. If we conclude that
a material uncertainty exists, we are required to
draw attention in our auditor’s report to the related
disclosures in the financial statements or, if such
disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion.
Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence
obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report.
However, future events or conditions may cause
the Company to cease to continue as a going
concern;
• Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and
content of the standalone financial statements,
including the disclosures, and whether the
standalone financial statements represent the
underlying transactions and events in a manner
that achieves fair presentation; and
• Obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence
regarding the financial information/financial
statements of the Company and its branches or
the business activities within the Company to
express an opinion on the financial statements. We
are responsible for the direction, supervision and
performance of the audit of financial statements
of the Company and such branches included
in the financial statements, of which we are the
independent auditors. For the other branches
included in the financial statements, which have
been audited by the branch auditors, such branch
auditors remain responsible for the direction,
supervision and performance of the audits carried
out by them. We remain solely responsible for our
audit opinion.
Materiality is the magnitude of misstatements in the
financial statements that, individually or in aggregate,
makes it probable that the economic decisions of a
reasonably knowledgeable user of the standalone
financial statements may be influenced. We consider
quantitative materiality and qualitative factors in (i)
planning the scope of our audit work and in evaluating
the results of our work; and (ii) to evaluate the effect of
any identified misstatements in the financial statements.
We communicate with those charged with governance
regarding, among other matters, the planned scope
and timing of the audit and significant audit findings,
including any significant deficiencies in internal control
that we identify during our audit.
We also provide those charged with governance with
a statement that we have complied with relevant
ethical requirements regarding independence, and
to communicate with them all relationships and other
matters that may reasonably be thought to bear on
our independence, and where applicable, related
safeguards.
From the matters communicated with those charged
with governance, we determine those matters that
were of most significance in the audit of the financial
statements of the current period and are therefore the
key audit matters. We describe these matters in our
auditor’s report unless law or regulation precludes
public disclosure about the matter or when, in
extremely rare circumstances, we determine that a
matter should not be communicated in our report
because the adverse consequences of doing so would
reasonably be expected to outweigh the public interest
benefits of such communication.
Other Matters
We did not audit the financial statements/information of
branches situated in Northern, Southern and Western
Regions included in the standalone financial statements
of the Company whose financial statements/financial
information reflect total assets of Rs. 151,148.57
Lakhs as at 31 March 2025 and the total revenues of
Rs. 220,371.59 Lakhs for the year ended on that date,
as considered in the standalone financial statements
/ information of these branches have been audited
by the branch auditors whose reports have been
furnished to us by the management, and our opinion
on the standalone financial statements, in so far as
it relates to the amounts and disclosures included in
respect of branches, and our report in terms of sub¬
section (3) of section 143 of the Act in so far as it
relates to the aforesaid branch(es), is based solely on
the report of such branch auditors.
Our opinion above on the standalone financial
statements, and our report on other legal and regulatory
requirements below, are not modified in respect of the
above matters with respect to our reliance on the work
done by and the reports of the branch auditors.
Report on Other Legal and Regulatory requirements
As required under section 143(5) of the Companies
Act, 2013, we give in the Annexure-A, a Statement
on the Directions / Sub-Directions issued by the
Comptroller and Auditor General of India after
complying the suggested methodology of Audit, the
action taken thereon and its impact on the accounts
and financial statements of the Company.
As required by the Companies (Auditor’s Report)
Order, 2020 (“the Order”), issued by the Central
Government of India in terms of section 143(11) of the
Act we give in the Annexure-B, a statement on the
matters specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Order,
to the extent applicable to the Company.
Further to our comments in Annexure B, as required
by section 143(3) of the Act based on our audit, and on
the consideration of the reports of the branch auditors
as referred to in paragraph 16 above, we report, to the
extent applicable, that:
a) We have sought and obtained all the information
and explanations which to the best of our knowledge
and belief were necessary for the purpose of our
audit of the accompanying standalone financial
statements;
b) In our opinion proper books of account as required
by law have been kept by the Company so far as
appears from our examination of those books and
proper returns adequate for the purposes of our
audit have been received from the branches not
visited by us;
c) The reports on the accounts of the branch offices
of the Company audited under Section 143(8)
of the Act by branch auditors have been sent to
us and have been properly dealt with by us in
preparing this report;
d) The standalone financial statements dealt with
by this report are in agreement with the books of
account and with the returns received from the
branches not visited by us;
e) In our opinion, the aforesaid standalone financial
statements comply with the Ind AS specified under
Section 133 of the Act, read with relevant rules
thereunder;
f) The provisions of Section 164(2) of the Companies
Act, 2013 are not applicable to Government
Companies in terms of notification No. GSR
463(E) dated 5th June 2015 issued by the Ministry
of Company Affairs, Government of India.
g) With respect to the adequacy of the internal
financial controls over financial reporting of the
Company as on 31 March 2025 and the operating
effectiveness of such controls, refer to our separate
Report in Annexure-C; and
h) With respect to the other matters to be included in
the Auditor’s Report in accordance with Rule 11 of
the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014
(as amended), in our opinion and to the best of
our information and according to the explanations
given to us and based on the consideration of the
reports of the branch auditors as referred to in
paragraph 16 above:
i) As per records made available to us, the
Company, as detailed in Note 42.3(a) and
its Annexure “A” to the standalone financial
statements, has disclosed the impact of
pending litigations on its financial position as
at 31 March 2025;
ii) The Company did not have any long-term
contracts including derivative contracts for
which there were any material foreseeable
losses as at 31 March 2025;
iii) There were no amounts which were required
to be transferred to the Investor Education and
Protection Fund by the Company during the
year ended 31 March 2025;
iv) a)The management has represented that, to
the best of its knowledge and belief, other
than as disclosed in the notes to the accounts,
no funds have been advanced or loaned or
invested (either from borrowed funds or share
premium or any other sources or kind of funds)
by the company to or in any other person(s)
or entity(ies), including foreign entities (“the
intermediaries”), with the understanding,
whether recorded in writing or otherwise, that
the intermediary shall, whether, directly or
indirectly lend or invest in other persons or
entities identified in any manner whatsoever
by or on behalf of the company (“Ultimate
Beneficiaries”) or provide any guarantee,
security or the like on behalf of the Ultimate
Beneficiaries;
b) The management has represented, that,
to the best of its knowledge and belief, other
than as disclosed in the notes to the accounts,
no funds have been received by the Company
from any person(s) or entity(ies), including
foreign entities (“Funding Parties”), with the
understanding, whether recorded in writing or
otherwise, that the Company shall, whether,
directly or indirectly, lend or invest in other
persons or entities identified in any manner
whatsoever by or on behalf of the Funding
Party (“Ultimate Beneficiaries”) or provide any
guarantee, security or the like on behalf of the
Ultimate Beneficiaries; and
c) Based on such audit procedures performed
as considered reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances, nothing has come to our notice that
has caused us to believe that the representations under sub-clause (i) and (ii) of Rule 11(e), as provided
under (a) and (b) above, contain any material misstatement.
v) As stated in Note No. 45 to the accompanying Standalone Financial Statements:
a) The final dividend paid by the Company during the year ended 31 March 2025 in respect of such
dividend declared for the previous year is in accordance with section 123 of the Act to the extent it
applies to payment of dividend.
b) The Board of Directors of the Company have proposed Final Dividend for the year ended 31 March
2025 which is subject to the approval of the members at the ensuing Annual General Meeting. The
dividend proposed to be declared is in accordance with section 123 of the Act to the extent it applies
to declaration of dividend.
vi) Based on our examination which included test checks, the Company, in respect of financial year ended
31 March,2025, has continued to use an accounting software for maintaining its books of account which
has a feature of recording audit trail (edit log) facility and the same has been operated throughout the
year for all relevant transactions recorded in the software. Further, during the course of our audit we did
not come across any instance of audit trail feature being tampered with. Furthermore, the audit trail has
been preserved by the Company as per the statutory requirements for record retention.
For B Chhawchharia & Co
Chartered Accountants
Firm’s Registration No.: 305123E
Kshitiz Chhawchharia
Partner
Place: Kolkata Membership No.: 061087
Date: 03 July 2025 UDIN: 25061087BMPIQB1868
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