Auditor Report of Aarti Surfactants Ltd.

Mar 31, 2025

We have audited the accompanying standalone
financial statements of Aarti Surfactant Limited (the
“Company”), which comprise the Balance Sheet as at 31
March 2025, the Statement of Profit and Loss (including
the statement on Other Comprehensive Income), the
Statement of Changes in Equity and the Statement of
Cash Flows for the year ended on that date and notes
to the financial statements (including summary of the
material accounting policies and other explanatory
information (hereinafter referred to as the “standalone
financial statements”).

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 Companies Act, 2013 (the “Act”) in
the manner so required and give a true and fair view
in conformity with the Indian Accounting Standards
prescribed under section 133 of the Act read with the
Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) Rules, 2015,
as amended, (“Ind AS”) and other accounting principles
generally accepted in India, of the state of affairs of the
Company as at 31 March 2025 and its profit, and total
comprehensive income, changes in equity and its cash
flows for the year ended on that date.

Basis of Opinion

We conducted our audit of the standalone financial
statements in accordance with the Standards on
Auditing (SAs) 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 independence requirements that are relevant to our
audit of the standalone financial statements under the
provisions of the Act and the Rules made 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 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, 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.

Key Audit Matters

Auditors’ Response

Assessment of Contingent liabilities and Provisions (Refer Note No. 33 to the Standalone Financial Statements): The Company is subject to assessment proceedings from time to time with direct and indirect tax authorities. As of 31st March 2025, while the Company has not made provisions for certain direct and indirect tax matters, it has paid certain amounts under protest, which are presented as ‘Other Non¬ Current Assets’ due to the uncertainty regarding the timing of their resolution, and has disclosed a contingent liability of Rs. 1,185.84 lakhs (FY 2024: Rs. 1,264.03 lakhs).

Our audit procedures, amongst others, include the following: • Understanding and evaluating the processes and controls designed and implemented by management for the assessment of tax and other legal matters, including testing the operating effectiveness of the relevant controls. • Enquiring with relevant personnel of the Company to obtain a comprehensive list of all matters under litigation and assessment proceedings.

Key Audit Matters

Auditors’ Response

There is a significant level of management judgement involved in estimating the probable outflow of economic resources and the appropriate level of provisioning and/or disclosure required in the standalone financial statements. Management’s assessment is supported by advice from independent tax and legal consultants, where considered necessary by management. Any unexpected adverse outcomes could significantly impact the Company’s reported profit and financial position. We considered this area as a key audit matter due to the inherent uncertainty related to the outcome of these tax and legal matters and the application of judgement in the interpretation of applicable laws.

• Obtaining detailed information on litigation matters, reviewing supporting evidence, and critically assessing management’s evaluation through discussions with management on both the likelihood of outcomes and the magnitude of potential economic outflows of resources. • Assessing the current status of ongoing tax assessments and other legal proceedings. • Reviewing recent orders and/or communications received from relevant tax authorities and management’s responses to such communications. • Where relevant, examining independent tax/legal advice obtained by management and evaluating the basis and reasoning presented therein. • Evaluating the independence, objectivity, and competence of management’s external tax/ legal consultants. • In conjunction with the auditor’s tax experts, assessing management’s evaluation of the likelihood of various outcomes and potential financial exposure for each matter. • Testing the mathematical accuracy of calculations where provisions have been recorded. • Evaluating the appropriateness of accounting treatment, presentation, and adequacy of disclosures in the standalone financial statements in accordance with applicable accounting standards.

Information Other than Financial Statements
and Auditor’s Report Thereon

The Company''s Board of Directors is responsible for
the preparation of the other information. The other
information comprises information included in the
Management Discussion and Analysis, Board''s Report
including annexures thereto, Corporate Governance
Report, and Shareholder Information, but does not
include the standalone financial statements and our
auditor''s report thereon, which we expect to be made
available to us after the date of this auditor''s report. 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
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.

If, based on the work we have performed on the other
information obtained prior to the date of this auditor''s
report, 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.

When we read the additional information mentioned
above that will be included in the Annual Report, if we
conclude that there is a material misstatement therein,
we are required to communicate the matter to those
charged with governance and take appropriate action
as applicable under the relevant laws and regulations.

Responsibilities of the Management and Those
Charged with Governance for the Standalone
Financial Statements

The Company''s Board of Directors is responsible for the
matters stated in section 134(5) of the Act with respect to
the preparation 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 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 judgements
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
Management is responsible for assessing the ability of
the Company to continue as a going concern, disclosing,
as applicable, matters related to going concern and
using the going concern basis of accounting unless
the Management either intends to liquidate the
Company or to cease operations, or has no realistic
alternative but to do so.

The Board of Directors are also responsible for overseeing
the financial reporting process of the Company.

Auditors’ Responsibilities for the Audit of the
Standalone Financial Statements

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 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 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 the 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 judgement 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
controls relevant to the audit in order to design
audit procedures that are appropriate in the
circumstances. Under section 143(3)(i) of the Act,
we are also responsible for expressing our opinion
on whether the Company has adequate internal
financial controls over financial reporting 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 the use of the
going concern basis of accounting by management
and, based on the audit evidence obtained,
whether a material uncertainty exists related to
events or conditions that may cast significant
doubt on the ability of the Company 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
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.

Materiality is the magnitude of misstatements in the
standalone 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 standalone
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
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 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.

Report on Other Legal and Regulatory
Requirements

1. As required by the Companies (Auditor’s Report)
Order, 2020 (the Order), issued by the Central
Government in terms of Section 143(ll) of the Act,
we give in Annexure A, a statement on the matters
specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Order.

2. As required by section 143(3) of the Act, based on
our audit, 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 aforesaid
standalone financial statements.

b. In our opinion, proper books of accounts as
required by law relating to preparation of the
aforesaid standalone financial statements
have been kept so far as it appears from our
examination of those books. In so far as the
modification on maintaining an audit trail in
the accounting software is concerned, refer to
paragraph (i)(vi) below;

c. The Balance Sheet, the Statement of Profit and
Loss (including Other Comprehensive Income),
the Statement of Cash Flows and the Statement

of Changes in Equity dealt with by this report
are in agreement with the underlying books of
account maintained by the Company.

d. In our opinion, the aforesaid standalone
financial statements comply with the Ind AS
specified under Section 133 of the Act read with
Rule 7 of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014.

e. On the basis of the written representations
received from the directors of the Company
as on 31 March 2025, taken on record by the
Board of Directors of the Company, none of the
directors are disqualified as on 31 March 2025
from being appointed as a director in terms of
Section 164(2) of the Act.

f. The modification arising from the maintenance
of the audit trail on the accounting software,
comprising the application and database, is as
stated in paragraph (i)(vi) below on reporting
under Rule 11(g).

g. With respect to the adequacy of the internal
financial controls over financial reporting of
the Company and the operating effectiveness
of such controls, refer to our separate Report
in “Annexure B”. Our report expresses an
unmodified opinion on the adequacy and
operating effectiveness of the Company’s
internal financial controls with reference to
standalone financial statements.

h. In our opinion and to the best of our information
and according to the explanations given to us,
the remuneration paid by the Company to its
directors during the year is in accordance with
the provisions of Section 197 of the Act.

i. 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:

(i) The Company has disclosed the impact of
pending litigations on its financial position
in its Standalone Financial Statements.
(Refer Note no. 33 to Standalone
Financial Statements)

(ii) The Company did not have any long-term
contracts including derivative contracts
for which there were any material
foreseeable losses.

(iii) There were no amounts required to be
transferred to the Investor Education and
Protection Fund by the Company.

(iv) (a) The management has represented

that, to the best of its knowledge and
belief, as disclosed in Note no. 40(c)(i)
to the standalone financial statements,
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 or entity, including
foreign entities (“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, as disclosed in Note no.
40(c)(ii) to the Standalone financial
statements, no funds have been
received by the Company from any
persons or entities, 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 the audit procedures that
have been 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 disclosed in Note No. 11.7, the Board of
Directors of the Company has proposed a
final dividend for the year, which is subject
to approval of the members at the ensuing

Annual General Meeting. The proposed
dividend is in accordance with Section 123
of the Act, as applicable.

(vi) Based on our examination which included
test checks, w.e.f. 1st July 2024, the Company
has used the accounting software for
maintaining its books of account which
has a feature of recording audit trail (edit
log) facility in respect of the application
and the same has operated from 1st July
2024 onwards for all relevant transactions.
We did not come across any instance of
the audit trail feature being tampered with
in respect of accounting software. Normal/
Regular users are not granted direct
database or super user level access.

However, unauthorised changes to the
database by a super user specifically does
not carry the feature of a concurrent real
time audit trail.

Until 30th June 2024, the Company
maintained its books of accounts using
accounting software with audit trail (edit
log) functionality that operated throughout
that period. However, the audit trail feature
was not enabled at the application layer
for master fields in general ledgers, and at
the database level to log direct changes to
the accounting software.

With the exception of (i) unauthorised
changes to the database by a super user
not carrying the feature of concurrent
real time audit trail, and (ii) audit trail
functionality at the application layer for
master fields in general ledgers and at
the database level not being enabled until
30th June 2024 as mentioned above, we
confirm that the Company has preserved
the audit trail in accordance with statutory
requirements for record retention.

For Gokhale & Sathe

Chartered Accountants
FRN: 103264W

Uday Girjapure

Partner

Membership Number: 161776
UDIN: 25161776BMOHSI7878

Place: Mumbai
Date: : May 12, 2025

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Mar 31, 2024

We have audited the accompanying standalone financial statements of Aarti Surfactants Limited (“the Company”), which comprise the Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2024, 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 financial statements including material accounting policies and other explanatory information (hereinafter referred as “standalone financial statements”).

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 Companies Act, 2013 (“the Act”) in the manner so required and give a true and fair view in conformity with the Indian Accounting Standards prescribed under Section 133 of the Act read with the Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) Rules, 2015, as amended from time to time and other accounting principles generally accepted in India, of the state of affairs of the Company as at 31 March 2024, and its profit, total comprehensive income, its cash flows and the changes in equity for the year ended on that date.

BASIS OF OPINION

We conducted our audit of the standalone financial statements in accordance with the Standards on Auditing specified under Section 143(10) of the Act (SAs). Our responsibilities under those Standards are further described in the Auditor’s Responsibility 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 standalone financial statements under the provisions of the Act and the Rules made 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 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 judgement, 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.

Key Audit Matters	Auditors’ Response
Assessment of Contingent liabilities and Provisions (Refer	Our audit procedures, amongst others, include
Note No. 33 to the Standalone Financial Statements):	the following:
The company undergoes assessment proceedings from	• Understanding and evaluating the process
time to time with direct and indirect tax authorities. As of	and controls designed and implemented by
March 31, 2024, although the company has not made any	management around the assessment of tax and
provisions for certain direct and indirect taxes, it has paid	other litigations, including testing the operating
some amounts under protest, which are presented in ‘Other	effectiveness of the relevant controls.
Non-Current Assets’ due to the uncertainty regarding the	• Enquiring with relevant company personnel to obtain
timing of resolution and has disclosed a contingent liability of H 1264.03 lakhs (FY 2023 H 1259.56 lakhs).	a complete list of matters under litigation. • Obtaining details of the litigation matters, inspecting the supporting evidence, and critically assessing management’s evaluation through enquiry with management on both the likelihood of outcomes and the magnitude of potential outflows of economic resources.

Key Audit Matters	Auditors’ Response
There is a significant level of management judgment	•	Understanding the current status of the tax
involved in estimating the possible outflow of economic		assessments and other litigations.
resources and the level of provisioning and/or the	•	Reading recent orders and/or communications
disclosures required in the financial statements. The		received from the tax authorities and management’s
management’s assessment is supported by advice from independent tax and legal consultants, where considered		responses to such communications.
necessary by the management. Any unexpected adverse	•	Where relevant, reading the independent tax/legal
outcomes could significantly impact the company’s		advice obtained by management and evaluating
reported profit and financial position.		the grounds presented therein.
We considered the above area as a key audit matter due to	•	Evaluating the independence, objectivity,
the associated uncertainty related to the outcome of these		and competence of the management’s tax/
tax and litigation matters and the application of judgment		legal consultants.
in the interpretation of related laws.	•	Together with the auditor’s tax experts, assessing the management’s evaluation of the likelihood of the outcomes of the litigations and potential financial exposure.
	•	Evaluating the appropriateness of the presentation and adequacy of disclosures in the financial statements.

INFORMATION OTHER THAN FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND AUDITOR’S REPORT THEREON

The Company’s Board of Directors are responsible for the preparation of 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, Corporate Governance and Shareholder’s 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.

MANAGEMENT’S RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE STANDALONE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The Board of Directors of the Company is responsible for the matters stated in Section 134(5) of the Act with respect to the preparation of these standalone financial statements that give a true and fair view of the financial position, financial performance including other comprehensive income, cash flows and changes in equity of the Company in accordance with the Ind AS 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 judgements 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 Management is responsible for assessing the ability of

the Company to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Management either intends to liquidate the Company or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.

The Board of Directors are also responsible for overseeing the financial reporting process of the Company.

AUDITORS’ RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE AUDIT OF STANDALONE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

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 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 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 the 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 judgement 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 Act, we are also responsible for expressing our opinion on whether the Company has adequate internal financial controls system 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 the Management.

• Conclude on the appropriateness of use of the going concern basis of accounting by the Management and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the Company 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 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.

Materiality is the magnitude of misstatements in the Standalone 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 Standalone 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 Standalone 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.

REPORT ON OTHER LEGAL AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS

1. As required by the Companies (Auditor’s Report) Order, 2020 (the Order), issued by the Central Government in terms of Section 143(ll) of the Act, we give in Annexure A, a statement on the matters specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Order.

2. As required by section 143(3) of the Act, based on our audit, we report 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.

b. In our opinion, proper books of accounts as required by law have been kept by the Company so far as it appears from our examination of those books.

c. The Balance Sheet, the Statement of Profit and Loss (including Other Comprehensive Income), Statement of Cash Flows and Statement of Changes in Equity dealt with by this Report are in agreement with the relevant books of account.

d. In our opinion, the aforesaid financial statements comply with the Ind AS specified under Section 133 of the Act.

e. On the basis of the written representations received from the directors as on 31 March 2024, taken on record by the Board of Directors, none of the directors is disqualified as on March 31 March 2024, from being appointed as a director in terms of section 164(2) of the Act.

f. With respect to the adequacy of the internal financial controls with reference to standalone financial statements of the Company and the operating effectiveness of such controls, refer our separate report in “Annexure B”. Our report expresses an unmodified opinion on the adequacy and operating effectiveness of the internal financial controls with reference to standalone financial statements.

g. With respect to the other matters to be included in the Auditor’s Report in accordance with the requirements of Section 197(16) of the Act, as amended, in our opinion and to the best of our

information and according to the explanations given to us, the remuneration paid by the Company to its Directors during the year is in accordance with the provisions of Section 197 of the Act read with Schedule V of the Act.

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:

(i) The Company has disclosed the impact of pending litigations on its financial position in its Standalone Financial Statements (Refer Note no. 33 to Standalone Financial Statements).

(ii) The Company did not have any long-term contracts including derivative contracts for which there were any material foreseeable losses.

(iii) There were no amounts required to be transferred to the Investor Education and Protection Fund by the Company.

(iv) (a) The management has represented

that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, as disclosed in Note no. 39(c)(i) to the standalone financial statements, 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 or entity, including foreign entities (“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, as disclosed in Note no. 39(c)(ii) to the Standalone financial statements, no funds have been received by the Company from any

persons or entities, 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 that have been 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) The Board of Directors of the Company has not proposed and/or paid any dividend (interim or final) for the FY 2024.

(vi) Reporting under Rule 11(g) of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014, and proviso to Rule 3(1) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 is applicable from 1^st April 2023.

Based on our examination which included test checks, the Company has used accounting software for maintaining books of account which has a feature of recording audit trail (edit log) facility

and the same has operated throughout the year, except that the feature of recording audit trail was not enabled at the application layer of the accounting software used for maintaining general ledgers for master fields and database level to log any direct changes for the accounting software used for maintaining the books of accounts.

Further, during the course of our audit we did not come across any instance of audit trail feature being tampered with.

As proviso to Rule 3(1) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 is applicable from 1 April 2023, reporting under Rule 11(g) of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 on preservation of audit trail as per the statutory requirements for record retention is not applicable for the financial year ended 31 March 2024.

For Gokhale & Sathe

Chartered Accountants Firm Registration Number: 103264W

Uday Girjapure

Partner

Membership Number: 161776 UDIN: 24161776BKFXPF1802

Place: Mumbai Date: 22 April 2024