1. We have audited the accompanying standalone financial
statements of Allied Blenders and Distillers Limited (‘the
Company’), which comprise the Standalone Balance
Sheet as at 31 March 2025, the Standalone Statement
of Profit and Loss (including Other Comprehensive
Income), the Standalone Statement of Cash Flow and
the Standalone Statement of Changes in Equity for the
year then ended, and notes to the standalone financial
statements, including material accounting policy
information and other explanatory information.
2. 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 (‘Ind
AS’) specified under section 133 of the Act read with the
Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) Rules, 2015
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 (gain)), its cash flows and the changes in equity
for the year ended on that date.
Basis for Opinion
3. We conducted our audit in accordance with the
Standards on Auditing 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 standalone 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 Code of Ethics. We believe
that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient
and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Emphasis of Matters
Customer Dispute
4. We draw attention to the matter stated in Note 48(xx) (t)
to the accompanying standalone financial statements,
wherein it is stated that, one of the customer, Canteen
Stores Department (‘CSD’) had raised a debit
memorandum resulting into demand amounting to ^
3,398.72 lakhs (net of adjustments) on the Company on
account of differential trade rates for sales made to CSD
during the period 1 April 2012 to 31 October 2017, which
is being contested by the Company. Our opinion is not
modified in respect of this matter.
Litigation under Income Tax Act, 1961
5. We draw attention to the matter stated in Note 63 of
the accompanying standalone financial statements
regarding the search operation carried out by the Income
Tax Department (‘the department’) during December
2023, pursuant to which demand orders have been
received by the Company during the year ended 31
March 2025, as further described in the aforesaid note.
Subsequent to year-end, the Commissioner of Income
Tax (Appeals) has stayed 90% of such demands raised.
Basis legal assessment, the management is of the
view that no adjustments are required to the financial
statements. Our opinion is not modified in respect
of this matter.
Key Audit Matters
6. 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.
7. 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 matter
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How our audit addressed the key audit matter
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Revenue Recognition
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Our audit procedures, related to revenue recognition, included,
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Refer to note 2(d) to the accompanying standalone financial
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but were not limited, to the following:
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statements for the Company’s material accounting policy
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•
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Understood the process of revenue recognition and evaluated
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information relating to revenue recognition, note 33 and 49 for the
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the appropriateness of the accounting policy adopted by the
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details of revenue recognized during the year.
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management on revenue recognition including determination
of transaction price and satisfaction of performance
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The Company derives its revenue from sale of liquor products to a
wide range of customers through a network of private distributors
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obligations, in accordance with Ind AS 115;
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(open market), part corporation market and full corporation
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•
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Evaluated the design and tested the operating effectiveness
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market. Such revenue is recognised in accordance with the
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of Company’s key internal controls around revenue recognition
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principles of Ind AS 115, Revenue from Contracts with Customers
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including controls relating to determination of variable
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(‘Ind AS 115’) which requires management to make certain key
judgements, such as, identification of performance obligations
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consideration and satisfaction of performance obligations;
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in contracts with customers, determination of transaction price
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•
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On a sample basis, tested revenue transactions recorded
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for the contract including variable consideration in the form of
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during the year, and transactions recorded in specific period
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rebates, discounts and pay-outs to distributors under various
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before and after year end, basis inspection of supporting
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promotional schemes offered by the Company, and assessment of
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documents such as customer contracts, purchase orders,
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satisfaction of the performance obligations under each contract
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price lists, invoices, proof of dispatch and delivery including
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represented by the transfer of control of the products sold to the
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regulatory documents used for movement of liquor as per
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customers including state government corporations.
Evaluation is also required to be made in respect of principal versus
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applicable regulations in order to ensure revenue is recorded
with the correct amount and in the correct period;
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agent relationship of the Company with its ‘tie-up manufacturing
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•
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Performed substantive testing by selecting a sample of
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units’ as explained in the material accounting policy information
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discounts, rebate and other pay-out transactions with
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as referred above.
Owing to the multiplicity of the Company’s products, volume of
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distributors recorded during the year as well as period end
accrual basis the promotion schemes offered by the Company;
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sales transactions, size of distribution network, nature of customers
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•
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Performed substantive analytical procedures such as variance
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and varied terms of contracts with different customers, revenue
recognition is determined to be an area involving significant risk in
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analysis on revenue to identify any unusual trends;
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line with the requirements of the Standards on Auditing and audit
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•
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Evaluated adequacy of the disclosures made in the
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of revenue recognised during the year required significant auditor
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accompanying standalone financial statements in respect of
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attention and industry knowledge, and accordingly, revenue
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revenue recognition in accordance with financial reporting
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recognition is considered as a key audit matter in the current year.
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framework.
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Litigations and claims - provisions and contingent liabilities
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Our
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audit procedures, related to provisions and contingent
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Refer to note 2(n) to the accompanying standalone financial
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liabilities, included, but were not limited, to the following:
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statements for the Company’s material accounting policy
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•
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Obtained an understanding from the management with
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information relating to Provision, Contingent Liabilities and
Contingent Assets and note 48 for contingent liabilities disclosure.
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respect to process and controls followed by the Company for:
- identification and monitoring of significant developments
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The Company is involved in various direct, indirect tax and other
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in relation to the litigations, including completeness
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litigations (‘litigations’), that are pending with different statutory
authorities as at year end.
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thereof;
- assessment of accounting treatment for each such
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The amounts involved are material and the application of
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litigation identified under Ind AS 37 accounting principles;
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accounting principles as given under Ind AS 37, Provisions,
Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets, in order to determine
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and
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the amount to be recorded as a liability or to be disclosed as a
contingent liability, in each case, is inherently subjective, and
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- measurement of amounts involved.
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needs careful evaluation and judgement to be applied by the
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•
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Evaluated the design and tested the operating effectiveness
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management.
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of key controls around above process;
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This judgement is dependent on a number of significant
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Obtained the list of litigations from the management and
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assumptions and assessments which involves interpreting the
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reviewed their assessment of the likelihood of outflow of
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various applicable rules, regulations, practices and considering
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economic resources being probable, possible or remote
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precedents in the various jurisdictions.
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in respect of the litigations. This involved assessing the
probability of an unfavourable outcome of a given proceeding
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This matter is considered as a key audit matter, in view of the
inherent high estimation uncertainty regarding the outcome of
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and the reliability of estimates of related amounts;
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these litigations, the significance of the amounts involved and the
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•
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Performed substantive procedures on the underlying
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high degree of subjectivity involved in management’s judgement
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calculations supporting the provisions recorded and
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as to whether the amount should be recognized as a provision,
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contingent liabilities disclosed by the management in respect
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only disclosed as contingent liability in the standalone financial
statement or not even disclosed being considered as remote.
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of identified and ongoing litigations;
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•
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Assessed management’s conclusions through discussions
held with their in house tax experts and understanding
precedents in similar cases;
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•
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Tested the underlying calculations supporting the provisions
recorded and contingent liabilities disclosed by the
management in respect of identified and ongoing litigations;
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Key audit matter
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How our audit addressed the key audit matter
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• Obtained and evaluated the independent confirmations from
the attorney/consultants representing the Company before the
various authorities;
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• Engaged auditor’s experts, who obtained an understanding
of the current status of the litigations, conducted discussions
with the management, reviewed independent legal advice
received by the Company, if any and considered relevant
legal provisions and available precedents to validate the
conclusions made by the management; and
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• Assessed and validated the adequacy and appropriateness of
the disclosures made by the management in the standalone
financial statements.
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Information other than the Standalone Financial
Statements and Auditor’s Report thereon
8. The Company’s Board of Directors are responsible for
the other information. The other information comprises
the information included in the Annual Report, 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 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 when it becomes available
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, 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.
Responsibilities of Management and Those
Charged with Governance for the Standalone
Financial Statements
9. 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 of 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 financial statements that give a true
and fair view and are free from material misstatement,
whether due to fraud or error.
10. 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.
11. The Board of Directors is also responsible for overseeing
the Company’s financial reporting process.
Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the
Standalone Financial Statements
12. 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 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 standalone financial statements.
13. 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 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 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 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; and
• 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.
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. 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
17. As required by section 197(16) of the Act, based on our
audit, we report that the Company has paid remuneration
to its directors during the year in accordance with the
provisions of and limits laid down under section 197 read
with Schedule V to the Act.
18. 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 A a statement on the matters specified in
paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Order, to the extent applicable.
19. Further to our comments in Annexure A, 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 accompanying
standalone financial statements;
b) Except for the matters stated in paragraph 19 (i)
(vi) below on reporting under Rule 11(g) of the
Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014
(as amended), in our opinion, proper books of
account as required by law have been kept by the
Company so far as it appears from our examination
of those books;
c) The standalone financial statements dealt
with by this report are in agreement with the
books of account;
d) In our opinion, the aforesaid standalone financial
statements comply with Ind AS specified under
section 133 of the Act;
e) The matter described in paragraph 4 and 5 under
the Emphasis of Matter, in our opinion, may have an
adverse effect on the functioning of the Company;
f) On the basis of the written representations received
from the directors and taken on record by the Board
of Directors, none of the directors is disqualified
as on 31 March 2025 from being appointed as a
director in terms of section 164(2) of the Act;
g) The qualification relating to the maintenance of
accounts and other matters connected therewith
are as stated in paragraph 19(b) above on
reporting under section 143(3)(b) of the Act and
paragraph 19(i)(vi) below on reporting under Rule
11(g) of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules,
2014 (as amended);
(‘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 management
representations under sub-clauses (a)
and (b) above contain any material
misstatement.
v. As stated in note 45(B) to the accompanying
standalone financial statements, 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 declared is in
accordance with section 123 of the Act to the
extent it applies to declaration of dividend.
vi. As stated in note 65 to the standalone financial
statements and based on our examination
which included test checks, except for instance
mentioned below, the Company, in respect of
financial year commencing on or after 1 April
2024, has used 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 other
than the consequential impact of the exception
given below. Furthermore, the audit trail has
been preserved by the Company as per the
statutory requirements for record retention.
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Nature of exception noted
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Details of Exception
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Instances of accounting
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The audit trail feature was not
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software for maintaining books
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enabled at the database level
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of account for which the feature
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for accounting software to
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of recording audit trail (edit
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log any direct data changes,
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log) facility was not operated
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used for maintenance of all
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throughout the year for all
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accounting records by the
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relevant transactions recorded
in the software.
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Company.
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h) With respect to the adequacy of the internal
financial controls with reference to financial
statements of the Company as on 31 March 2025
and the operating effectiveness of such controls,
refer to our separate report in Annexure B wherein
we have expressed an unmodified opinion; and
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 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, as disclosed in note 68(f) to the
standalone financial statements, no
funds have been advanced or loaned or
invested (either from borrowed funds or
securities premium or any other sources
or kind of funds) by the Company to or
in any 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 (‘the Ultimate Beneficiaries’)
or provide any guarantee, security or the
like on behalf the Ultimate Beneficiaries;
b. The management has represented that,
to the best of its knowledge and belief, as
disclosed in note 68(g) to the standalone
financial statements, no funds have
been received by the Company from any
person(s) or entity(ies), including foreign
entities (‘the 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
For Walker Chandiok & Co LLP
Chartered Accountants
Firm’s Registration No.: 001076N/N500013
Adi P. Sethna
Partner
Membership No.: 108840
UDIN: 25108840BMNTWW2886
Place: Mumbai
Date: 15 May 2025
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