1. We have audited the accompanying standalone financial statements of Jindal Saw Limited ("the Company”), which comprise the Standalone Balance Sheet as at March 31, 2025, and the Standalone Statement of Profit and Loss (including Other Comprehensive Income), the Standalone Statement of Changes in Equity and the Standalone Statement of Cash Flows for the year then ended, and Notes to the Standalone Financial Statements, including material accounting policy information and other explanatory information and which includes the financial statements of Samruddhi Employees Trust (the "Trust”) for the year ended on that date.
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 accounting principles generally accepted in India, of the state of affairs of the Company as at March 31, 2025, and total comprehensive income (comprising of profit 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 "Auditors' 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 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.
Key audit matters
4. 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.
Key audit matter:
Assessment of the carrying value of investments in a subsidiary namely, Jindal ITF Limited [Refer to notes 63 and 64 to the standalone financial statements]
Description of key audit matter:
The carrying amount of the Company's investments in the equity and preference shares of its subsidiary, Jindal ITF Limited (the 'subsidiary') as at March 31, 2025 aggregate to ' 159,811.88 lakhs, which includes ' 83,266.50 lakhs addition in the current year on conversion of a loan granted to the subsidiary in a prior year, into equity shares.
The subsidiary had entered into a contract in the financial year 2011-12 with a public sector undertaking ('PSU') for development of a 'Material Handling System' and subsequent transportation of imported coal to the PSU's power generating stations for a period of 7 years, and had made significant capital investments to develop the said facility. However, the PSU stopped taking the supplies during the first year of operations and refused to pay compensation towards Minimum Guaranteed Quantity ("MGQ”) and subsequently, terminated the contract.
The matter was referred to arbitration and the Arbitration Tribunal issued its final order dated January 27, 2019 in favour of the subsidiary awarding ' 189,108 lakhs towards damages and compensation for MGQ plus interest and applicable taxes. Further, in response to the PSU's appeal against the final arbitration order, the Delhi High Court passed an interim order directing the PSU to pay ' 50,000 lakhs as an interim compensation in addition to an earlier interim award of ' 35,631 lakhs by the Arbitration Tribunal. During the year, the Delhi High Court gave judgment to set aside the arbitration order. The subsidiary preferred an appeal at the Divisional Bench of Delhi High Court against the judgment, which was pronounced by a Single Judge, and the matter is currently pending at that level.
Based on the management's evaluation and review of the uncertainty around the final outcome of the litigation, supported by an opinion obtained from an independent senior legal counsel, the management is of the view that the subsidiary has a strong case to support its claim for the damages and compensation for MGQ, and that the Company expects a favourable outcome of the matter. Accordingly, no adjustments to the carrying amount of investments in the subsidiary is considered necessary by the management and the investments are considered good and fully recoverable.
This has been determined as a key audit matter in view of the judgement involved in assessment of recoverability of the investments as the subsidiary currently does not have any significant operations and the recoverability of the investments depends on the recoverability of the aforementioned claim from the PSU by the subsidiary, which will be known only on the conclusion of the legal proceedings.
How our audit addressed the key audit matter:
We performed the following procedures:
• Understood and evaluated the design and tested the operating effectiveness of controls over assessment of recoverability of the investments in the subsidiary.
• Evaluated appropriateness of the accounting policy followed by the Company in respect of impairment assessment of investments in equity and preference shares.
• Obtained an understanding of the litigation and inquired about updates over the litigation and the proceedings that took place including the Delhi High Court order received during the year.
• Perused the Delhi High Court order and the appeal filed by the subsidiary against the said order, as well as the contract between the subsidiary and the PSU to corroborate the matters stated in the appeal filed and verified the details of the claim made by the subsidiary from the claims statement, final arbitration order and orders of the Delhi High Court.
• Perused the opinion obtained by the management from an independent legal counsel ("management's expert”) and evaluated the independence, competence, capabilities and objectivity of the management's expert.
• Obtained independent legal confirmation from the Company's legal consultants on the status of the matter, evaluated the responses received from Company's legal consultants and the opinion obtained from the external legal counsel on likely outcome of the case which supports the Company's assessment about the resolution of the litigation in its favour and the related recoverability of the said investments.
• Assessed the Board of Directors' evaluation of the recoverability of the investments considering the Delhi High Court's unfavourable order and the legal counsel view.
• Evaluated appropriateness of presentation and the adequacy of the disclosures made in the standalone financial statements.
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 standalone financial statements and our auditors' 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 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
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 standalone 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 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.
7. In preparing the standalone 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.
Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the standalone financial statements
9. Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the standalone financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditors' report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with SAs will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these standalone 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 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 standalone 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 auditors' 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 auditors' 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.
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 standalone financial statements of the current period and are therefore the key audit matters. We describe these matters in our auditors' report unless law or regulation precludes public disclosure about the matter or when, in extremely rare circumstances, we determine that a matter should not be communicated in our report because the adverse consequences of doing so would reasonably be expected to outweigh the public interest benefits of such communication.
Other Matters
14. The financial statements of the Trust included in the standalone financial statements of the Company reflect total assets of ' 837.98 lakhs and net assets of ' (237.26) lakhs as at March 31, 2025, total income of ' 75.19 lakhs, net excess of expenditure over income of ' (177.20) lakhs and net cash flows amounting to ' (31.85) lakhs for the year then ended. These financial statements have been audited by other auditors whose report has been furnished to us by the management, and our opinion on the standalone financial statements insofar as it relates to the amounts and disclosures included in respect of the Trust, is based on the report of such other auditors and the procedures performed by us.
Our opinion on the standalone financial statements and our report on other legal and regulatory requirements below, is not modified in respect of the above matter of our reliance on the work done and report of the other auditors..
Report on other legal and regulatory requirements
15. 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.
16. 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 16 (h) (vi) below on reporting under Rule 11(g) of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 (as amended).
(c) The Standalone Balance Sheet, the Standalone Statement of Profit and Loss (including Other Comprehensive Income), the Standalone Statement of Changes in Equity and the Standalone Statement of Cash Flows dealt with by this Report are in agreement with the books of account.
(d) In our opinion, the aforesaid standalone financial statements comply with the 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 16 (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 Auditors' 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 52 to the standalone financial statements.
ii. The Company was not required to recognise a provision as at March 31, 2025 under the applicable law or Indian Accounting
Standards, as it does not have any material foreseeable losses on long-term contracts. The Company did not have any long-term derivative contracts as at March 31, 2025.
iii. There has been no delay in transferring amounts, required to be transferred, to the Investor Education and Protection Fund by the Company during the year except in respect of dividend amounting to ' 61.27 lakhs which according to the information and explanations provided to us by the management, has been kept in abeyance due to legal cases [Refer note 30 to the standalone financial statements].
iv. (a) The management has represented that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, as disclosed in the note 50 (k) (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(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 (k) (II) to the standalone 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 dividend declared and paid by the Company during the year is in compliance with Section 123 of the Act.
vi. Based on our examination, which included test checks, the Company has a widely used ERP as its 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 (a) database level logs records only the modified values; and (b) the audit trail (edit log) for modification made by certain users with specific access was not enabled for a part of the year. During the course of performing our procedures, we did not notice any instance of the audit trail feature being tampered with. Further, the audit trail, to the extent maintained in the prior year, has been preserved by the Company as per the statutory requirements for record retention. Also, refer note 47 to the standalone financial statements.
17. The Company has paid/provided for managerial remuneration in accordance with the requisite approvals mandated by the provisions of Section 197 read with Schedule V to the Act.
For Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants LLP
Firm Registration Number: 012754N/N500016
Sandeep Chaddha
Partner
Membership Number: 096137
UDIN: 25096137BMOQAF6860
Place: Gurugram
Date: May 02, 2025
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