Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar Limited

Report on the Audit of the Standalone Financial Statements

Qualified Opinion

We have audited the standalone financial statements of Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar Limited ("the Company"), which comprise the standalone balance sheet as at March 31, 2024, and the standalone statement of profit and loss (including other comprehensive income), the standalone statement of changes in equity and standalone statement of cash flows for the year then ended, and notes to the standalone financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information (Collectively referred to as 'standalone financial statements').

In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us except for the possible effects of the matter described in the Basis for Qualified Opinion section of our report, the aforesaid standalone financial statements give the information required by the Companies Act, 2013 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 (financial position) of the Company as at March 31, 2024, and its loss (financial performance including other comprehensive income), changes in equity and its cash flows for the year ended on that date.

Basis for Qualified Opinion

We draw attention to Note No. 38(I)(d) to the standalone financial statements, regarding the non-provision of contractual obligation related to premium payable on Optionally Convertible Debentures (OCDs) at the time of redemption of OCDs issued to lenders pursuant to the Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A Scheme) which stipulates that the yield to maturity (YTM) being the difference between weighted average interest and coupon rate payable as redemption premium at the time of redemption of OCDs redeemable in 13 equal instalments commencing from the Financial year 2024-25. The Company considers such YTM/redemption premium as contingent liability and has not provided for the same in the books of account for the year ended March 31, 2024 amounting to Rs 622.68 crores. The aggregate liability for such YTM from the date of allotment of OCDs till year ended March 31, 2024 is Rs 2,885.41 crores. Had such interest been provided, the reported net loss for the year ended March 2024 would have been Rs 714.21 crores instead of loss of Rs 91.53 crores and net worth of the Company would have been Rs 1,607.57 crores.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the Standards on Auditing (SAs) specified under section 143(10) of the Companies Act, 2013. 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 together with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the standalone financial statements under the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 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 qualified opinion on the standalone financial statements.

Material Uncertainty related to Going Concern

As stated in note 52 of the standalone financial statements, the Company during the last few years had incurred losses due to high raw material and other inputs costs, relatively lower realization of sugar, higher depreciation and finance expenses and lower price of Sugar. All these factors resulted into reduction of net worth of the Company. As at March 31,2024, the Company has sugar cane dues payable to farmers. The above factors indicate a material uncertainty, which may cast significant doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern.

The Company has plans to improve its sugar quality, increasing refined sugar capacity, entering into branded sugar segment, increasing sale to institutional buyers which will give better realization. Also, Sugar Industry associates are advocating for an increase in minimum selling price to the level of Rs 43-45 per kg. Further, a sizeable portion of cane / sugar is allowed to divert towards manufacturing of ethanol which is a big push by the Government to increase the ethanol production for blending in petrol up to 20% by 2025 which may turn around the economic dynamics of the sugar industry in future.

The Company's investment in equity shares of the group's power business have good potential of an upside as per its fair value resulting in an improvement in the net worth of the Company. The Company also expects to receive accrued benefits under the Sugar Industries Promotion Policy, 2004, for which it is entitled.

In view of the above, the management expects to generate positive cash flow from operation and accordingly, the financial statements are continued to be presented on going concern basis, which contemplates realization of assets and settlement of liabilities in the normal course of business.

Our opinion is not modified in respect of the above matter.

Emphasis of Matter

(i) As stated in Note 47 to the standalone financial statements, the Company has exposure aggregating to Rs 2,486.45 crores, in its subsidiaries, by way of investments, loans and accumulated interest on these loans. Management is of the view that sufficient efforts are being undertaken to revive the said subsidiaries in the foreseeable future to recover carrying value of the investments and loans, and the diminution/provisions, if any exists, is only of temporary nature and accordingly no provision, other than those already accounted for, has been considered necessary. Further based on principle of conservatism and prudence, the Company has not recognized interest income for the year ended on March 31, 2024, of Rs. 112.43 crores (March 31, 2023: Rs 112.43 crores), on inter corporate loans, as and when it realizes it will be recognized in the books.

(ii) As stated in note 18.2 to the standalone financial statements, the Company has disclosed the current maturity of OCD which is due for redemption in financial year 2024-25, as non-current liabilities under the head "Noncurrent borrowings" since in the opinion of the management redemption due in March 2025, is contingent upon certain condition.

Our opinion is not modified in respect of these matters.

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 matter described below to be key audit matters to be communicated in our report.

Other Information

The Company's management and Board of Directors is responsible for 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, Business Responsibility 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 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

The Company's management and Board of Directors are responsible for the matters stated in section 134(5) of the Companies Act, 2013 ("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 accounting principles generally accepted in India, including the Indian Accounting Standards ('Ind AS') 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 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, management and Board of Directors are 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.

Those Board of Directors are also responsible for overseeing the Company's financial reporting process. Auditor's 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 Standards on Auditing ('SAs'), we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit. We also:

• Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the standalone financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.

• Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances. 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 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 financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.

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 of India in terms of sub-section (11) of section 143 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.

2. As required by Section 143(3) of the Act, we report that:

a. We have sought and except for the matter described in Basis for Qualified Opinion section, obtained all the information and explanations which to the best of our knowledge and belief were necessary for the purposes of our audit.

b. Except for the possible effects of the matter described in the Basis of Qualified opinion paragraph above, 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 Balance Sheet, the Standalone Statement of Profit and Loss (including other comprehensive income), the Standalone Statement of Changes in Equity and the Standalone Cash Flow Statement dealt with by this Report are in agreement with the books of account.

d. In our opinion, except for the matter described in Basis for Qualified Opinion section, the aforesaid standalone financial statements comply with the Indian Accounting Standards prescribed under Section 133 of the Act read with Companies (Indian Accounting Standard) Rules 2016 (as amended).

e. The matters described in 'Basis for Qualified Opinion' paragraph and the Going concern matter described under Material Uncertainty related to Going Concern paragraph above, 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 as on March 31, 2024 taken on record by the Board of Directors, none of the directors is disqualified as on March 31, 2024 from being appointed as a director in terms of Section 164(2) of the Act.

g. The reservation relating to maintenance of accounts and other matters connected therewith are as stated in the Basis for Qualified opinion paragraph.

h. 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 B".

i. With respect to the matter to be included in the Auditors' Report under Section 197(16) of the Act, as amended, in our opinion and according to the information and explanations given to us, 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.

j. 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, 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 38 to the 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 has been no delay in transferring 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 their knowledge and belief, other than as disclosed in the notes 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 their knowledge and belief, other than as disclosed in the notes 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 our audit procedures as considered reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances, nothing has come to our notice that has caused us to believe that the representations under subclause (a) and (b) contain any material mis-statement.

v. The Company has not declared or paid dividend during the year hence reporting of compliances of section 123 is not applicable.

vi. Based on our examination, which included test checks, the Company has used accounting software for maintaining its books of account for the financial year ended March 31,2024 which has a feature of recording audit trail (edit log) facility and the same has 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 the audit trail feature being tampered with.

As proviso to Rule 3(1) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 is applicable from April 1, 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 March 31, 2024.

For Sidharth N Jain & Company

Chartered Accountants

Firm registration number: 018311C

Sidharth Jain

Proprietor

Membership No.: 134684

UDIN: 24134684BKAEVJ4083

Place: Lucknow

Date: May 10, 2024