1. We have audited the accompanying financial statements of
Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited ("the Company"),
which comprise the Balance Sheet as at March 31, 2025,
and the Statement of Profit and Loss (including Other
Comprehensive Income), the Statement of Changes in
Equity and the Statement of Cash Flows for the year then
ended, and notes to the financial statements, including
material accounting policy information and other
explanatory information.
2. I n our opinion and to the best of our information and
according to the explanations given to us, the aforesaid
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 accounting principles generally accepted in India, of
the state of affairs of the Company as at March 31, 2025
and total comprehensive loss (comprising of loss and other
comprehensive income), changes in equity and its cash
flows for the year then ended.
Basis for Opinion
3. We conducted our audit 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 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 together with the ethical requirements that are
relevant to our audit of the financial statements under the
provisions of the Act and the Rules thereunder, and we have
fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with
these requirements and the Code of Ethics. We believe
that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and
appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Key audit matters
4. Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgement, were of most significance in our audit of the financial
statements of the current period. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the financial statements as a whole
and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.
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Key audit matter
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How our audit addressed the key audit matter
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1. Accuracy of revenue recorded for
telecommunication services given the
complexity of related IT systems
(Refer notes 2.2 (a), 2.2(b) and 27 to the financial
statements)
The Company's revenue from telecommunication
services is recorded through a complex automated
information technology (IT) structure where the
data is processed through multiple systems, which
requires periodic reconciliation to ensure accuracy.
There is an inherent risk around the accuracy of
revenue recorded given the complexity of billing,
rating and other relevant support systems and
the impact of changing prices models to revenue
recognition (tariff structures, discounts etc).
Accordingly, we have determined this as a key
audit matter.
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Our audit procedures included control testing and substantive procedures
covering, in particular:
• Understanding and evaluating the relevant IT systems and design of
key controls including procedures on testing of IT general controls by
involving auditor's IT specialists;
• Testing operating effectiveness of key controls over:
a) Capturing and recording of revenue transactions;
b) Authorization of rate changes and the input of this information
to the billing system;
c) Accuracy of calculations of amounts billed to customers;
• Testing the end-to-end reconciliation from rating and billing systems
to the general ledger. We also performed procedures to test the
computation of unearned income;
• Performing tests on the accuracy of customer bill generation on a
sample basis;
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Key audit matter
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How our audit addressed the key audit matter
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2. Assessment of contingent liabilities and
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Our audit procedures included the following:
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provisions for litigations
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• Testing design and operating effectiveness of key controls
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(Refer notes 2.2 (i), 2.3(iii), 2.4(g),9, 24, 34, 35 and 44,
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surrounding litigation, regulatory and tax procedures and assessment
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to the financial statements)
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of probable outflow;
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The Company has a significant number of
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• Enquired with the relevant company personnel including the
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litigations related to regulatory, direct tax and
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Company's tax and regulatory department heads to understand
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indirect tax matters which are under dispute with
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significant matters under litigation;
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various authorities as more fully described in note
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• Obtaining and testing evidences to support the management's
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34 to the financial statements.
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assessment and rationale for provisions made or disclosure of
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The Company exercises significant judgement to
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contingent liabilities including correspondence with external legal/
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determine the possible outcome of these disputes
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tax consultants;
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and then determine whether to recognise a
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• Evaluating independence, objectivity and competence of the
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provision or disclose the same as a contingent
liability. The management's assessment is
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management's external tax/legal consultants;
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supported by advice obtained from external legal/
tax consultants.
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• Reading external legal opinions obtained by management, where
available
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We considered this as a key audit matter as the
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• Reviewing the minutes of Board of Directors meetings in respect of
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eventual outcome of litigations is uncertain and the
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discussions relating to litigations/legal matters;
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positions taken by Management are based on the
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• Considering external information sources such as media reports to
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application of significant judgement and involves
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identify potential legal actions, wherever applicable;
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estimation. Any unexpected adverse outcomes
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• Obtaining confirmations, where appropriate, of relevant external
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could significantly impact the Company's financial
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legal consultants of the Company and enquiring with them on certain
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performance and financial position.
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material litigations, as required;
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• Testing that the adjustments arising on account of reassessment in
estimates during the year are either due to changes that occurred in
the circumstances on which estimate was based or as a result of more
information or more experience gained during the current year;
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• Assessing managements conclusions through understanding legal
precedents in similar cases;
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• For direct and indirect tax litigations, involving auditor's tax experts
to understand the current status of tax litigations and evaluating
changes in disputes by reading external advice received by the
Company, as applicable;
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• Assessing the appropriateness of the disclosures made in the financial
statements.
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3. Assessment of Going Concern as a basis of
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Our audit procedure included the following:
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accounting (Refer notes 1.3 and 2.3(vi) to the
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• Obtaining management's assessment of the appropriateness of going
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financial statements)
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concern basis of accounting.
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The company has significant accumulated losses
during the current and earlier years. The Company's
net worth is fully eroded, and the current liabilities
exceed its current assets as at March 31,2025. These
conditions raise a doubt regarding the Company's
ability to continue as a going concern.
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• Reading the minutes of Board of Directors' meetings and audit
committee meeting for future business plans and their assessment
of the Company's ability to meet its financial obligations in the
foreseeable future
• Obtaining cash flow forecast prepared by the Company for 12
months from balance sheet date and evaluated appropriateness of
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However, the financial statements have been
prepared on a going concern basis in view of
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assumptions underlying the same.
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the financial support from the ultimate holding
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• Assessing the actions taken by the management against the plans
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company and management's plan to generate cash
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submitted during the previous year's going concern assessment.
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flows through operations which would enable the
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• Verifying the support letter obtained by the Company from its
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Company to meet its financial obligation as and
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ultimate holding company indicating that it will take necessary
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when they fall due.
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actions to organize for any shortfall in liquidity in Company that may
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We considered this to be a Key audit matter
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arise to meet its financial obligations and timely repayment of debt
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because management's assessment is largely
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during the period of 12 months from the balance sheet date.
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dependent on the support letter obtained from its
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• Evaluation of the financial ability of ultimate holding company
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ultimate holding Company.
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to support the Company by reading its latest audited financial
Statements.
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• Verifying that the ultimate holding company has supported the
Company in the past when the need arose.
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• Assessing the appropriateness of the disclosures made in the financial
Statements.
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Other Information
5. The Company's Board of Directors is responsible for the
other information. The other information comprises the
information included in the Annual report, but does
not include the financial statements and our auditor's
report thereon.
Our opinion on the 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 financial statements, our
responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing
so, consider whether the other information is materially
inconsistent with the 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 financial statements
6. 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 financial statements that give
a true and fair view of the financial position, financial
performance, changes in equity and cash flows of the
Company in accordance with the accounting principles
generally accepted in India, including the Indian Accounting
Standards specified under Section 133 of the Act. 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.
7. In preparing the financial statements, 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 Board of Directors either intends to
liquidate the Company or to cease operations, or has no
realistic alternative but to do so.
8. Those Board of Directors are also responsible for overseeing
the Company's financial reporting process.
Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the
financial statements
9. Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about
whether the financial statements as a whole are free from
material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error,
and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion.
Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is
not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance
with 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
financial statements.
10. As part of an audit in accordance with SAs, we exercise
professional judgement and maintain professional
scepticism throughout the audit. We also:
• Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of
the 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 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 Company's ability
to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a
material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw
attention in our auditor's report to the related disclosures
in the financial statements or, if such disclosures are
inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions
are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the
date of our auditor's report. However, future events or
conditions may cause the Company to cease to continue
as a going concern.
• Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content
of the financial statements, including the disclosures,
and whether the financial statements represent the
underlying transactions and events in a manner that
achieves fair presentation.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. From the matters communicated with those charged with
governance, we determine those matters that were of most
significance in the audit of the financial statements of the
current period and are therefore the key audit matters. We
describe these matters in our auditor's report unless law or
regulation precludes public disclosure about the matter or
when, in extremely rare circumstances, we determine that a
matter should not be communicated in our report because
the adverse consequences of doing so would reasonably
be expected to outweigh the public interest benefits of
such communication.
Report on other legal and regulatory requirements
14. As required by the Companies (Auditor's Report) Order, 2020
("the Order"), issued by the Central Government of India in
terms of sub-section (11) of Section 143 of the Act, we give
in the "Annexure B" a statement on the matters specified in
paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Order, to the extent applicable.
15. As required by Section 143(3) of the Act, 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 purposes of our audit.
(b) 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, except
for the matters stated in paragraph 15(h)(vi) below on
reporting under Rule 11(g) of the Companies (Audit
and Auditors) Rules, 2014 (as amended).
(c) The Balance Sheet, the Statement of Profit and
Loss (including other comprehensive income), the
Statement of Changes in Equity and the Statement of
Cash Flows dealt with by this Report are in agreement
with the books of account.
(d) I n our opinion, the aforesaid financial statements
comply with Indian Accounting Standards specified
under Section 133 of the Act.
(e) On the basis of the written representations received
from the directors as on March 31, 2025, taken on
record by the Board of Directors, none of the directors
is disqualified as on March 31,2025 , from being
appointed as a director in terms of Section 164(2) of
the Act.
(f) With respect to the maintenance of accounts and other
matters connected therewith, reference is made to our
remarks in paragraph 15(b) above on reporting under
Section 143(3)(b) and paragraph 15(h)(vi) below on
reporting under Rule 11(g) of the Companies (Audit
and Auditors) Rules, 2014 (as amended).
(g) With respect to the adequacy of the internal financial
controls with reference to financial statements of the
Company and the operating effectiveness of such
controls, refer to our separate Report in "Annexure A".
(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
financial statements - Refer Note 9, 24, 34, 35 and
44 to the financial statements
ii. The Company has made provision, as required
under the applicable law or Indian Accounting
Standards , for material foreseeable losses, if
any, on long-term contracts including derivative
contracts - Refer Note 24 and 45 to the
financial statements;
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 March 31,2025.
iv. (a) The management has represented that,
to the best of its knowledge and belief, as
disclosed in Note 50(v)(1) to the 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(s) or entity(ies), 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 the Note 50(v)(2) to the financial
statements, no funds have been received
by the Company from any person(s) or
entity(ies), including foreign entities
("Funding Parties"), with the understanding,
whether recorded in writing or otherwise,
that the Company shall, whether directly
or indirectly, lend or invest in other
persons or entities identified in any manner
whatsoever by or on behalf of the Funding
Party ("Ultimate Beneficiaries") or provide
any guarantee, security or the like on behalf
of the Ultimate Beneficiaries; and
(c) Based on such audit procedures that we
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 (a) and (b)
contain any material misstatement.
v. The Company has not declared or paid any
dividend during the year.
vi. Based on our examination, which included
test checks, the Company has used accounting
software for maintaining its books of account
which has a feature of recording audit trail (edit
log) facility and that has operated throughout the
year for all relevant transactions recorded in the
software except that audit trail is not available in
case of modification through specific access till
October 31,2024 and for direct database changes
throughout the year. Further, during the course
of performing our procedures, we did not notice
any instance of audit trail feature being tampered
with in cases where the audit trail feature was
enabled or audit trail not preserved by the
Company as per the statutory requirements for
record retention.
16. The Company has not paid any remuneration to its directors
during the year. Accordingly, reporting under Section
197(16) of the Act is not applicable to the Company.
For Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants LLP
Firm Registration Number: 012754N/N500016
Nitin Khatri
Partner
Place: Mumbai Membership Number: 110282
Date: April 23, 2025 UDIN: 25110282BMOGGN5694
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