1. We have audited the accompanying Standalone Financial
Statements of Central Bank Of India ("the Bank"), which
comprise the Balance Sheet as at March 31,2026, the Profit
and Loss Account and the Cash Flows Statement for the year
then ended, and Notes to 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 of
i. The Central Office, 14 Zones, 1 Integrated Treasury
Branch, Top 20 branches and other Central Office
departments audited by us;
ii. 1952 branches and other offices audited by respective
Statutory Branch Auditors;
The branches audited by us and those audited by other
auditors have been selected by the Bank in accordance with
the guidelines issued to the Bank by the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI). Also incorporated in the Balance Sheet, the Profit
and Loss Account and the Cash Flows Statement are the
returns from 2613 branches which have not been subjected
to audit. These unaudited branches account for 19.26% of
advances, 38.50% of deposits, 21.94% of interest income
and 35.77% of interest expenses.
In our opinion and to the best of our information and
according to the explanations given to us, the aforesaid
Standalone Financial Statements give the information
required by the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (hereinafter
referred to as "the Act") in the manner so required for the
Bank and are in conformity with accounting principles
generally accepted in India and:
a) the Balance Sheet, read with the notes thereon is a full
and fair Balance Sheet containing all the necessary
particulars, is properly drawn up so as to exhibit a true
and fair view of the state of affairs of the Bank as at
March 31, 2026;
b) the Profit and Loss Account, read with the notes thereon
shows a true balance of profit for the year ended on that
date; and
c) the Cash Flow Statement gives a true and fair view of the
cash flows for the year ended on that date.
Basis for Opinion
2. We conducted our audit in accordance with the Standards
on Auditing ("SAs") issued by the Institute of Chartered
Accountants of India ("ICAI"). 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
Bank in accordance with the Code of Ethics issued by the
ICAI together with ethical requirements that are relevant to
our audit of the Standalone Financial Statements, prepared
in accordance with the accounting principles generally
accepted in India, including the applicable Accounting
Standards issued by the ICAI, and provisions of section
29 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and circulars and
guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India ("RBI")
from time to time and we have fulfilled our other ethical
responsibilities in accordance with these requirements and
the Code of Ethics. We believe that the audit evidence we
have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis
for our opinion on the Standalone Financial Statements.
Emphasis of Matter
3. We draw attention to:
Refer Schedule 18 - Note no. 15(m) of the Statement regarding
deferred tax, wherein on the basis of tax review made by the
Bank's management with respect to the possible tax benefits
arising out of the timing difference, the net deferred tax asset
of '1,628.06 Crore is recognised as on March 31, 2026
('3,145.57 crore as on March 31,2025).
4. Refer Schedule 18 - Note no. 15(a)(iii) of the statement
regarding change in method of depreciation on fixed assets
from the Written Down Value (WDV) method to the Straight¬
Line Method (SLM) which has resulted in a decrease in
depreciation and an increase in profit before tax of '49.30
crores for the year ended March 31,2026.
Our opinion is not modified respect of the above matters.
Key Audit Matters
5. Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional
judgment, were of most significance in our audit of the
Standalone Financial Statements for the year ended March
31, 2026. 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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Key Audit Matters
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How the matter was addressed in our Audit
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1. Identification and provisioning of non-performing advances
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Our audit approach included assessment of the design, operating
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made in accordance with the prudential norms prescribed
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effectiveness of key internal controls over approval, recording
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by Reserve Bank of India on Income recognition, Asset
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and monitoring of loans and substantive audit procedures
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Classification and provisioning pertaining to Advances
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in
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respect of income recognition, asset classification and
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(refer Schedule 9 read with Note 3 of Schedule 17 to the
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provisioning pertaining to advances.
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Standalone Financial Statements)
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Advances comprise substantial portion of the Bank's total
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In
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particular:
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assets. Identification of non-performing advances (NPAs)
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We have evaluated and understood the Bank's internal control
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is carried out, based on system identification, by the Core
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system in adhering to the relevant RBI guidelines regarding
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Banking Solution (CBS) software in operation based on the
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income recognition, asset classification and provisioning
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various controls and logic embedded therein.
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pertaining to advances.
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Provisions in respect of such NPAs and restructured advances
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•
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We assessed and evaluated the process of identification of
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are made based on management's assessment of the degree
of impairment of the advances subject to and guided by
the minimum provisioning levels prescribed under RBI
guidelines, prescribed from time to time. The provisions
on NPAs are also based on the valuation of the security
available. In case of restructured accounts, provision is
made in accordance with the RBI guidelines.
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•
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NPAs, and corresponding reversal of income and creation of
provision.
We have analysed and understood key IT systems/ applications
used operational effectiveness of relevant controls including
involvement of manual process and manual controls in
relation to income recognition, asset classification and
provisioning pertaining to advances.
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We identified NPA identification and provision on loans and
advances as a key audit matter because of the significant
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efforts involved by the management in identifying NPAs
based on the RBI Guidelines, the level of management
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In order to ensure the effectiveness of the operation of the key
controls and compliance to the directions of the RBI, we have
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judgement involved in determining the provision (including
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verified whether both CBS system and the management have:
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the provisions on assets which are not classified as NPAs),
the valuation of security of the NPAs and on account of the
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timely recognized the depletion in the value of available
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significance of these estimates to the Standalone Financial
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security.
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Statements of the Bank. In the event of any improper
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•
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made adequate provisioning based on such time-to-time
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application of the prudential norms or consideration
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monitoring and identification of asset classification including
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of incorrect value of security, the carrying value of the
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accounts which meet the criteria for asset classification benefit
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advances could be materially misstated either individually
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in accordance with the Reserve Bank of India COVID-19
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or collectively.
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Regulatory Package.
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We have reviewed on test check basis the reports of the
Concurrent Audits, Internal Inspections, Regulatory audits,
Revenue Audits etc. to ascertain whether the advances are
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having any shortcomings or adverse features, requiring
additional audit procedures.
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•
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We placed reliance upon the Independent Auditor's Report
of the respective Branch Auditors with respect to income
recognition, asset classification and provisioning as well as
Memorandum of changes suggested both at the branches and
at Head Office.
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Key Audit Matters
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How the matter was addressed in our Audit
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2. Investments
Investment portfolio of the Bank comprises of investments in
government securities, bonds, debentures, shares, security
receipts and other approved securities which are classified
under three categories, Held to Maturity, Available for Sale
and Fair Value through Profit and Loss. Investments comprise
a substantial portion of the Bank's total assets.
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Our audit approach towards Investments with reference to the RBI
circulars/ directives included the review and testing of the design,
operating effectiveness of internal controls and substantive audit
procedures in relation to valuation, classification, identification
of Non-Performing Investments, provisioning/ depreciation
related to Investments. In particular:
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• We assessed and understood the system and internal control
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Valuation of Investments, identification of Non-Performing
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as laid down by the Bank to comply with relevant RBI
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Investments (NPI) and the corresponding non-recognition of
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guidelines regarding valuation, classification, identification of
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income and provision thereon, is carried out in accordance
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Non- Performing Investments, Provisioning and depreciation
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with the relevant circulars / guidelines / directions of RBI.
(refer Schedule 8 read with Note 5 of Schedule 17 to the
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on Investments.
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Standalone Financial Statements).
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• Tested accuracy and compliance for selected sample of
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investments with the RBI Master circulars and directions
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The valuation of each type of aforesaid security is to be
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by re-performing valuation for each category of security in
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carried out as per the methodology prescribed in the
circulars and directives issued by the RBI which involves
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accordance with the RBI guidelines.
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collection of data/ information from various sources such as
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• We assessed and evaluated the process of identification of
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FBIL rates, rates quoted on BSE/ NSE, financial statements of
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NPIs, and corresponding reversal of income and creation of
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unlisted companies, NAV in case of security receipts etc.
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provision.
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As per the RBI directions, there are certain investments that
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• We carried out substantive audit procedures to re-compute
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are valued at market price however certain investments
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independently the provision to be created and depreciation
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are based on the valuation methodologies that include
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to be provided.
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statistical models with inherent assumptions, assessment of
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• We assessed that the standalone financial statement
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price for valuation based on financial statements etc. The
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disclosures appropriately reflected the Bank's exposure to
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price discovered for the valuation of these Investments is
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investments valuation risks with reference to the requirements
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only a fair assessment of the Investments.
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of the prevailing accounting standards and the RBI guidelines.
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Hence, the valuation of Investments requires special
attention and further in view of the significance of the
amount of Investments in the financial statements, the same
has been considered as Key Audit Matter in our audit.
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Key Audit Matters
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How the matter was addressed in our Audit
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3. Information technology (IT) systems used in financial
reporting process
The Bank's operational and financial reporting processes
are dependent on IT systems run through Core Banking
Solutions (CBS) and other integrated software with automated
processes and controls large volume of transactions.
The process and controls are to ensure appropriate user
access and management processes in use.
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We conducted an assessment and identified key IT applications,
database and operating systems that are relevant to our audit and
have identified CBS and Treasury System primarily as relevant for
financial reporting. For the key IT systems pertaining to CBS and
treasury operations used to prepare accounting and financial
information, our areas of audit focus included Access Security
(including controls over privileged access), application change
controls, database management and network operations. In
particular:
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The Bank has an in-house Department of Information &
technology (DIT) run under the supervision of the top
management and with the support of expert consulting
agencies, for maintaining IT services.
Accordingly, our audit was focused on key IT systems and
controls due to the pervasive Impact on the Standalone
Financial Statements and the same has been considered as
Key Audit Matter in our audit.
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• We obtained an understanding of the Bank's IT control
environment and key changes during the audit period that
may be relevant to the audit.
• We tested the design, implementation and operating
effectiveness of the Bank's General IT controls over the key
IT systems that are critical to financial reporting including
obtaining reports from independent experts. This included
evaluation of Bank's controls to evaluate segregation of duties
and access rights being provisioned / modified based on duly
approved requests, access for exit cases being revoked in a
timely manner.
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• We also tested key automated and manual business cycle
controls and logic for system generated reports relevant
to the audit; including testing of compensating controls or
performed alternate procedures to assess whether there were
any unaddressed IT risks that would materially impact the
Standalone Financial Statements, information other than
the standalone Financial Statements and Auditors' Report
thereon.
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Key Audit Matters
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How the matter was addressed in our Audit
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4. Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Claims:
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We have obtained an understanding of Internal Controls relevant
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Assessment of Provisions and Contingent Liability in respect
of certain litigations on various claims filed by other parties
not acknowledged as debt (Note No. 14 of Schedule 17 and
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to the audit in order to design our audit procedures that are
appropriate in the circumstances.
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Note No. 15(r) of Schedule 18).
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We broadly reviewed the underlying assumptions and estimates
used by the management for provisioning but as the extent of
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There is high level of judgement required in estimating the
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impact is dependent on future developments which are highly
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level of provisioning. The Bank's assessment is supported by
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uncertain, we primarily relied on those assumptions and
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the facts of matter, their own judgement, past experience,
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estimates, which are subject matter of periodic review by the
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and advice from legal and independent experts wherever
considered necessary. Accordingly, unexpected adverse
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Bank.
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outcomes may significantly impact the Bank's reported
profit and state of affairs presented in Balance Sheet.
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We have relied upon the management note and legal opinions
obtained by the bank regarding the claims and tax litigations and
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Contingent Liability is a possible obligation, outcome of
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involved our internal team to review the nature of such litigations
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which is contingent upon occurrence or non-occurrence of
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and claims, their current status, sustainability, examining
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one or more uncertain future events. In the judgement of
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recent orders and/or communication received from various
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the management, such claims and litigations including tax
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tax authorities/judicial forums and follow up actions thereon
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demands against the bank would not eventually lead to a
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and likelihood of claims/litigations materializing into eventual
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liability.
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liability upon final resolution, from the available records and
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However, unexpected adverse outcomes may significantly
impact the Bank's reported financial results which is
uncertain/ unascertainable at this stage.
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developments to date.
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Considering the uncertainty relating to the outcome of
these matters which requires application of judgment in
interpretation of law, this has been determined as a key
Audit Matter.
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Other Matters
6. We did not audit the financial statements/ information of
1952 branches and other offices included in the Standalone
Financial Statements of the Bank whose financial statements
/ financial information reflect total assets of '2,98,880.60
crore as at March 31,2026 and total revenue of '11,985.47
crore for the year ended on that date, as considered in the
Standalone Financial Statements. These branches cover
42.13% of advances, 57.16% of deposits and 23.90% of
non-performing assets as at March 31, 2026 and 46.42%
of revenue for the year ended on that date. The financial
statements/ information of these branches have been audited
by the statutory branch auditors whose reports have been
furnished to us, and our opinion in so far as it relates to the
amounts and disclosures included in respect of branches, is
based solely on the report of such statutory branch auditors.
7. In the conduct of our audit, we have taken note of the
unaudited returns in respect of 2613 branches certified by the
respective branch's management whose financial statements/
information reflect total assets of '99,025.15 crore as at
March 31, 2026 and total revenue of '6,354.54 crore for
the year ended on that date. These unaudited branches cover
19.26% of advances, 38.50% of deposits and 12.95% of
non-performing assets as on March 31,2026 and 24.61% of
revenue for the year then ended.
Our opinion is not modified in respect of the above matters.
Information other than the Standalone
Financial Statements and Auditors' report
thereon
8. The Bank's Board of Directors is responsible for the Other
Information. The Other Information comprises the Corporate
Governance Report, the Directors' Report including
annexures, Dividend Distribution Policy of Bank, Business
Responsibility and Sustainability Report, Management
Discussion and Analysis, Key Financial indicators and other
Shareholder information, but does not include the Standalone
Financial Statements and our auditor's report thereon. The
above Other Information is expected to be made available to
us after the date of this audit report.
Our opinion on the Standalone Financial Statements does
not cover the Other Information and the Pillar 3 disclosures
under Capital Adequacy Framework (Basel III disclosures)
and we do not and will 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
identified above and, in doing so, consider whether the Other
Information is materially inconsistent with the Standalone
Financial Statements, or our knowledge obtained in the audit
or otherwise appears to be materially misstated.
When we read the Other Information, if we conclude that
there is material misstatement therein, we are required to
communicate the matter to Those Charged with Governance
(TCWG).
Responsibilities of Management and Those
Charged with Governance for the Standalone
Financial Statements
9. The Bank's Board of Directors is responsible with respect to
the preparation of these Standalone Financial Statements that
give a true and fair view of the financial position, financial
performance and cash flows of the Bank in accordance
with the accounting principles generally accepted in
India, including the applicable Accounting Standards, and
provisions of Section 29 of the Banking Regulation Act,
1949 and circulars and guidelines issued by the Reserve
Bank of India ('RBI') from time to time ("RBI guidelines") and
judicial pronouncements. This responsibility also includes
maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance
with the provisions of the Act for safeguarding of the assets
of the Bank 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
which have been used for the purpose of preparation of the
Statement by the Board of Directors of the Bank as aforesaid.
In preparing the Standalone Financial Statements,
management is responsible for assessing the Bank'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 management either intends to
liquidate the Bank or to cease operations, or has no realistic
alternative but to do so. The Board of Directors are also
responsible for overseeing the Bank's financial reporting
process.
Auditors' Responsibilities for the Audit of the
Standalone Financial Statements
10. Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about
whether the Standalone Financial Statements as a whole
are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud
or error, and to issue an auditors' 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 SAs will always detect a material misstatement when it
exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are
considered material if, individually or in aggregate, they
could reasonably be expected to influence the economic
decisions of users taken on the basis of these Standalone
Financial Statements.
As part of an audit in accordance with SAs, 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 control relevant to
the audit in order to design audit procedures that are
appropriate in the circumstances for expressing our
opinion on whether the bank has adequate internal
financial controls with reference to financial statements
and the operating effectiveness of such control.
• Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used
and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and
related disclosures made by management.
• Conclude on the appropriateness of management's 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 Bank'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 Standalone
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 Bank 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.
Materiality is the magnitude of the misstatements in the
Standalone Financial Statements that, individually or
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 of the scope
of our audit work and in evaluating the results of our work;
and (ii) to evaluate the effect of any identified misstatement
in the Standalone Financial Statements.
We communicate with those charge 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 Standalone financial
statements of the current period and are therefore the key
audit matters. We describe these matters in our auditors'
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.
Report on Other Legal and Regulatory
Requirements
11. The Balance sheet and the Profit and Loss Account have
been drawn up in accordance with Section 29 of the Banking
Regulation Act, 1949;
Subject to the limitations of the audit indicated in paragraphs
6 to 10 above and as required by the Banking Companies
(Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970/1980,
based on our audit on the consideration of report of the other
auditors on separate financial statements and subject also to
the limitations of disclosure required therein, we report that:
a) We have obtained all the information and explanations
which, to the best of our knowledge and belief, were
necessary for the purposes of our audit and have found
them to be satisfactory;
b) The transactions of the Bank, which have come to our
notice, have been within the powers of the Bank; and
c) The returns received from the offices and branches of the
Bank have been found adequate for the purposes of our
audit.
12. As required by letter No. DOS.ARG.No. 6270/08.91.001/2019-
20 dated March 17, 2020 on "Appointment of Statutory
Central Auditors (SCAs) in Public Sector Banks - Reporting
obligations for SCAs from FY 2019-20", read with subsequent
communication dated May 19, 2020 issued by the RBI, we
further report on the matters specified in paragraph 2 of the
aforesaid letter as under:
a) In our opinion, the aforesaid Standalone Financial
Statements comply with the applicable Accounting
Standards issued by ICAI, to the extent they are not
inconsistent with the accounting policies prescribed by
RBI.
b) There are no observations or comments on financial
transactions or matters which have any adverse effect on
the functioning of the Bank.
c) As the Bank is not registered under the Companies
Act, 2013 the disqualifications from being a director
of the bank under sub-section (2) of Section 164 of the
Companies Act, 2013 do not apply to the bank.
d) There are no qualifications, reservations or adverse
remarks relating to the maintenance of accounts and
other matters connected therewith.
e) Our audit report on the adequacy and operating
effectiveness of the Bank's internal financial controls
over financial reporting as required by the RBI Letter No.
DOS. ARG. No. 6270/ 08.91.001/2019- 20 dated March
1 7, 2020 (as amended) with reference to standalone
financial statements is given in Annexure A to this
report. Our report expresses an unmodified opinion
on the Bank's internal financial controls over financial
reporting with reference to the Standalone Financial
Statements as at March 31,2026.
13. We further report that:
a) In our opinion, proper books of account as required
by law have been kept by the Bank so far as it appears
from our examination of those books and proper returns
adequate for the purposes of our audit have been
received from branches not visited by us.
b) the Balance Sheet, the Profit and Loss Account and
the Cash Flow Statement 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.
c) the reports on the accounts of the branch offices audited
by branch auditors of the Bank under section 29 of the
Banking Regulation Act, 1949 have been sent to us and
have been properly dealt with by us in preparing this
report; and
d) In our opinion, the Balance Sheet, the Profit and Loss
Account and the Cash Flow Statement comply with the
applicable accounting standards, to the extent they are
not inconsistent with the accounting policies prescribed
by RBI.
For ADB & COMPANY For JAIN PARAS BILALA & CO.
Chartered Accountants Chartered Accountants
FRN: 005593C FRN: 011046C
CA ARUN AGARWAL CA PARAS BILALA
PARTNER PARTNER
M. No.: 409937 M. No.: 400917
UDIN: 26409937ZDXLJR1924 UDIN: 26400917VEKXHT3374
For AMIT RAY & CO. For GARG ASHOK & CO.
Chartered Accountants Chartered Accountants
FRN: 000483C FRN.: 012127N
CA ABHISHEK SHARMA CA ASHOK KUMAR
PARTNER PARTNER
M. No.: 403861 M. No.: 090991
UDIN: 26403861VYPBWR3857 UDIN: 26090991 RQXBWI4075
Place : Mumbai
Date : April 30, 2026
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