1. We have audited the accompanying Standalone
Financial Statements of Central Bank Of India (‘the
Bank'), which comprise the Balance Sheet as at 31st
March 2025, the Profit and Loss Account and the Cash
Flows Statement for the year then ended, and Notes to
Standalone Financial Statements including a summary
of significant accounting policies and other explanatory
information in which are included the returns for the year
ended on that date of the Head Office, 13 Zones and
i. Top 20 Branches, 1 Specialized Integrated Treasury
Branch and other Central Office Departments
audited by us
ii. 1549 branches and other offices audited by
respective Statutory Branch Auditors.
The branches audited by us and those audited by other
auditors have been selected by the Bank in accordance
with the guidelines issued to the Bank by the Reserve
Bank of India. Also incorporated in the Balance Sheet,
the Profit and Loss Account and the Cash Flows
Statement are the returns from 2976 branches which
have not been subjected to audit. These unaudited
branches account for 24.22 per cent of advances, 43.27
per cent of deposits, 18.15 per cent of interest income
and 38.16 per cent of interest expenses.
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 Banking Regulation Act,
1949 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) in the manner
so required for the Bank and are in conformity with
accounting principles generally accepted in India and:
a) the Balance Sheet, read with the notes thereon
is a full and fair Balance Sheet containing all the
necessary particulars, is properly drawn up so as to
exhibit a true and fair view of the state of affairs of
the Bank as at 31st March, 2025;
b) the Profit and Loss Account, read with the notes
thereon shows a true balance of profit for the year
ended on that date; and
c) the Cash Flow Statement gives a true and fair view
of the cash flows for the year ended on that date.
Basis for Opinion
3. We conducted our audit in accordance with the Standards
on Auditing (“SAs”) issued by the Institute of Chartered
Accountants of India (“ICAI”). 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 Bank in accordance with the Code of Ethics
issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
together with ethical requirements that are relevant
to our audit of the Standalone Financial Statements,
prepared in accordance with the accounting principles
generally accepted in India, including the applicable
Accounting Standards issued by the ICAI, and provisions
of section 29 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and
circulars and guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of
India (“RBI”) from time to time 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 on the
Standalone Financial Statements.
Emphasis of Matter
4. We draw attention to:
Refer Schedule 18 - Note no. 15 (h)(iii) of the Statement
regarding deferred tax, wherein on the basis of tax
review made by the Bank's management with respect
to the possible tax benefits arising out of the timing
difference, the net deferred tax asset of '3,145.57 crore
is recognised as on 31st March 2025 ('4,294.57 crore
as on 31st March 2024).
Our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter.
Key Audit Matters
5. Key audit matters are those matters that, in our
professional judgment, were of most significance in
our audit of the Standalone Financial Statements for
the year ended 31st March 2025. These matters were
addressed in the context of our audit of the Standalone
Financial Statements as a whole, and in forming our
opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate
opinion on these matters. We have determined the
matters described below to be the key audit matters to
be communicated in our report.
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Key Audit Matters
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How the matter was addressed in our Audit
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1. Identification and provisioning of non-performing
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Our audit approach included assessment of the
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advances made in accordance with the prudential
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design, operating effectiveness of key internal controls
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norms prescribed by Reserve Bank of India on Income
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over approval, recording and monitoring of loans and
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recognition, Asset Classification and provisioning
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substantive audit procedures in respect of income
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pertaining to Advances (refer Schedule 9 read with Note
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recognition, asset classification and provisioning
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3 of Schedule 17 to the Standalone Financial Statements)
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pertaining to advances.
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Advances comprise substantial portion of the Bank's
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In particular:
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total assets. Identification of non-performing advances
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• We have evaluated and understood the Bank's
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(NPAs) is carried out, based on system identification, by
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internal control system in adhering to the relevant
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the Core Banking Solution (CBS) software in operation
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RBI guidelines regarding income recognition, asset
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based on the various controls and logic embedded
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classification and provisioning pertaining to advances.
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therein.
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• We assessed and evaluated the process of
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Provisions in respect of such NPAs and restructured
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identification of NPAs, and corresponding reversal of
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advances are made based on management's assessment
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income and creation of provision.
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of the degree of impairment of the advances subject to
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• We have analyzed and understood key IT systems/
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and guided by the minimum provisioning levels prescribed
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applications used operational effectiveness of
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under RBI guidelines, prescribed from time to time. The
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relevant controls including involvement of manual
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provisions on NPAs are also based on the valuation of
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process and manual controls in relation to income
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the security available. In case of restructured accounts,
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recognition, asset classification and provisioning
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provision is made in accordance with the RBI guidelines.
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pertaining to advances.
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We identified NPA identification and provision on
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In order to ensure the effectiveness of the operation of
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loans and advances as a key audit matter because of
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the key controls and compliance to the directions of the
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the significant efforts involved by the management in
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RBI, we have verified whether both CBS system and
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identifying NPAs based on the RBI Guidelines, the level
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the management have:
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of management judgement involved in determining the
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• timely recognized the depletion in the value of
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provision (including the provisions on assets which are
not classified as NPAs), the valuation of security of
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available security.
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the NPAs and on account of the significance of these
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• made adequate provisioning based on such time-
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estimates to the Standalone Financial Statements of the
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to-time monitoring and identification of asset
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Bank. In the event of any improper application of the
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classification including accounts which meet the
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prudential norms or consideration of incorrect value of
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criteria for asset classification benefit in accordance
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security, the carrying value of the advances could be
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with the Reserve Bank of India COVID-19 Regulatory
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materially misstated either individually or collectively.
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Package.
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Key Audit Matters
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How the matter was addressed in our Audit
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• We have reviewed on test check basis the reports
of the Concurrent Audits, Internal Inspections,
Regulatory audits, Revenue Audits etc. to ascertain
whether the advances are having any shortcomings
or adverse features, requiring additional audit
procedures.
• We placed reliance upon the Independent Auditor's
Report of the respective Branch Auditors with
respect to income recognition, asset classification
and provisioning as well as Memorandum of changes
suggested both at the branches and at Head Office.
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2. Investments
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Our audit approach towards Investments with reference
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Investment portfolio of the Bank comprises of investments
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to the RBI circulars/ directives included the review and
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in government securities, bonds, debentures, shares,
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testing of the design, operating effectiveness of internal
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security receipts and other approved securities which
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controls and substantive audit procedures in relation to
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are classified under three categories, Held to Maturity,
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valuation, classification, identification of Non-Performing
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Available for Sale and Fair Value through Profit and Loss.
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Investments, provisioning/ depreciation related to
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Investments comprise a substantial portion of the Bank's
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Investments. In particular:
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total assets.
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• We assessed and understood the system and
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Valuation of Investments, identification of Non-Performing
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internal control as laid down by the Bank to comply
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Investments (NPI) and the corresponding non-
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with relevant RBI guidelines regarding valuation,
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recognition of income and provision thereon, is carried
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classification, identification of Non- Performing
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out in accordance with the relevant circulars / guidelines
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Investments, Provisioning and depreciation on
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/ directions of RBI. (refer Schedule 8 read with Note 5 of
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Investments.
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Schedule 17 to the Standalone Financial Statements).
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• Tested accuracy and compliance for selected
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The valuation of each type of aforesaid security is to
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sample of investments with the RBI Master circulars
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be carried out as per the methodology prescribed in
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and directions by re-performing valuation for each
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the circulars and directives issued by the RBI which
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category of security in accordance with the RBI
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involves collection of data/ information from various
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guidelines.
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sources such as FBIL rates, rates quoted on BSE/ NSE,
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• We assessed and evaluated the process of
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financial statements of unlisted companies, NAV in case
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identification of NPIs, and corresponding reversal of
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of security receipts etc.
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income and creation of provision.
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As per the RBI directions, there are certain investments
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• We carried out substantive audit procedures to re-
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that are valued at market price however certain
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compute independently the provision to be created
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investments are based on the valuation methodologies
that include statistical models with inherent assumptions,
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and depreciation to be provided.
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assessment of price for valuation based on financial
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• We assessed that the standalone financial statement
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statements etc. The price discovered for the valuation
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disclosures appropriately reflected the Bank's
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of these Investments is only a fair assessment of the
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exposure to investments valuation risks with reference
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Investments.
Hence, the valuation of Investments requires special
attention and further in view of the significance of the
amount of Investments in the financial statements, the
same has been considered as Key Audit Matter in our
audit.
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to the requirements of the prevailing accounting
standards and the RBI guidelines.
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Key Audit Matters
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How the matter was addressed in our Audit
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3. Information technology (IT) systems used in financial
reporting process
. The Bank's operational and financial reporting processes
are dependent on IT systems run through Core Banking
Solutions (CBS) and other integrated software with
automated processes and controls large volume of
transactions.
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We conducted an assessment and identified key IT
applications, database and operating systems that are
relevant to our audit and have identified CBS and Treasury
System primarily as relevant for financial reporting. For
the key IT systems pertaining to CBS and treasury
operations used to prepare accounting and financial
information, our areas of audit focus included Access
Security (including controls over privileged access),
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. The process and controls are to ensure appropriate user
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application change controls, database management
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access and management processes in use.
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and network operations. In particular:
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. The Bank has an in-house Department of Information &
technology (DIT) run under the supervision of the top
management and with the support of expert consulting
agencies, for maintaining IT services.
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• We obtained an understanding of the Bank's IT control
environment and key changes during the audit period
that may be relevant to the audit.
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. Accordingly, our audit was focused on key IT systems and
controls due to the pervasive Impact on the Standalone
Financial Statements and the same has been considered
as Key Audit Matter in our audit.
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• We tested the design, implementation and
operating effectiveness of the Bank's General IT
controls over the key IT systems that are critical to
financial reporting including obtaining reports from
independent experts. This included evaluation of
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Bank's controls to evaluate segregation of duties and
access rights being provisioned / modified based on
duly approved requests, access for exit cases being
revoked in a timely manner.
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• We also tested key automated and manual business
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cycle controls and logic for system generated reports
relevant to the audit; including testing of compensating
controls or performed alternate procedures to assess
whether there were any unaddressed IT risks that
would materially impact the Standalone Financial
Statements, information other than the standalone
Financial Statements and Auditors' Report thereon.
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Key Audit Matters
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How the matter was addressed in our Audit
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4. Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Claims:
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We have obtained an understanding of Internal Controls
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Assessment of Provisions and Contingent Liability in
respect of certain litigations on various claims filed by
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relevant to the audit in order to design our audit
procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances.
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other parties not acknowledged as debt (Note No. 14 of
Schedule 17 and Note No. 15(l)(i) of Schedule 18).
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We broadly reviewed the underlying assumptions and
estimates used by the management for provisioning
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There is high level of judgement required in estimating
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but as the extent of impact is dependent on future
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the level of provisioning. The Bank's assessment is
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developments which are highly uncertain, we primarily
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supported by the facts of matter, their own judgement,
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relied on those assumptions and estimates, which are
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past experience, and advice from legal and independent
experts wherever considered necessary. Accordingly,
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subject matter of periodic review by the Bank.
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unexpected adverse outcomes may significantly impact
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We have relied upon the management note and legal
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the Bank's reported profit and state of affairs presented
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opinions obtained by the bank regarding the claims and
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in Balance Sheet.
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tax litigations and involved our internal team to review
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Contingent Liability is a possible obligation, outcome of
which is contingent upon occurrence or non-occurrence
of one or more uncertain future events. In the judgement
of the management, such claims and litigations including
tax demands against the bank would not eventually lead
to a liability.
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the nature of such litigations and claims, their current
status, sustainability, examining recent orders and/or
communication received from various tax authorities/
judicial forums and follow up actions thereon and
likelihood of claims/litigations materializing into eventual
liability upon final resolution, from the available records
and developments to date.
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However, unexpected adverse outcomes may
significantly impact the Bank's reported financial results
which is uncertain/ unascertainable at this stage.
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Considering the uncertainty relating to the outcome of
these matters which requires application of judgment in
interpretation of law, this has been determined as a key
Audit Matter.
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Information other than the Standalone Financial
Statements and Auditors’ report thereon
6. The Bank's Board of Directors is responsible for the
Other Information. The Other Information comprises the
Corporate Governance Report, the Directors' Report
including annexures, Dividend Distribution Policy of
Bank, Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report,
Management Discussion and Analysis, Key Financial
indicators and other Shareholder information, but does
not include the Standalone Financial Statements and our
auditor's report thereon. The above Other Information is
expected to be made available to us after the date of this
audit report.
Our opinion on the Standalone Financial Statements
does not cover the Other Information and the Pillar 3
disclosures under Capital Adequacy Framework (Basel
III disclosures) and we do not and 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 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.
When we read the Other Information, if we conclude
that there is material misstatement therein, we are
required to communicate the matter to Those Charged
With Governance (TCWG) and take appropriate actions
necessitated by the circumstances and as per the
applicable laws and regulations.
Responsibilities of Management and Those
Charged With Governance for the Standalone
Financial Statements
7. The Bank's Board of Directors is responsible with
respect to the preparation of these Standalone Financial
Statements that give a true and fair view of the financial
position, financial performance and cash flows of the Bank
in accordance with the accounting principles generally
accepted in India, including the applicable Accounting
Standards, and provisions of Section 29 of the Banking
Regulation Act, 1949 and circulars and guidelines issued
by the Reserve Bank of India (‘RBI') from time to time
(“RBI guidelines”) and judicial pronouncements. This
responsibility also includes maintenance of adequate
accounting records in accordance with the provisions of
the Act for safeguarding of the assets of the Bank 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 is responsible for assessing the Bank'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
management either intends to liquidate the Bank or to
cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to
do so.
The Board of Directors is also responsible for overseeing
the Bank's financial reporting process.
Auditors’ Responsibilities for the Audit of the
Standalone Financial Statements
8. 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 aggregate, they could reasonably
be expected to influence the economic decisions of
users taken on the basis of these Standalone Financial
Statements.
As part of an audit in accordance with SAs, we exercise
professional 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. We are also
responsible for expressing our opinion on whether the
Bank 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 Bank'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 Bank to cease to continue as
a going concern.
Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content
of the Standalone financial statements, including the
disclosures, and whether the Standalone financial
statements represent the underlying transactions and
events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.
Materiality is the magnitude of the misstatements in
the Standalone Financial Statements that, individually
or aggregate, makes it probable that the economic
decisions of a reasonably knowledgeable user of the
Standalone Financial Statements may be influenced. We
consider quantitative materiality and qualitative factors
in (i) planning of the scope of our audit work and in
evaluating the results of our work; and (ii) to evaluate the
effect of any identified misstatement in the Standalone
Financial Statements.
We communicate with those charge 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 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
9. We did not audit the financial statements/ information
of 1549 branches and other offices included in the
Standalone Financial Statements of the Bank whose
financial statements / financial information reflect total
assets of '2,40,864.28 crore as at 31st March 2025 and
total revenue of '9,532.38 crore for the year ended on
that date, as considered in the Standalone Financial
Statements. These branches cover 34.73 per cent of
advances, 52.10 per cent of deposits and 21.71 per
cent of non-performing assets as at 31st March 2025
and 24.12 per cent of revenue for the year ended on
that date. The financial statements/ information of these
branches have been audited by the statutory branch
auditors whose reports have been furnished to us, and
our opinion in so far as it relates to the amounts and
disclosures included in respect of branches, is based
solely on the report of such statutory branch auditors.
10. In the conduct of our audit, we have taken note of
the unaudited returns in respect of 2976 branches
certified by the respective branch's management whose
financial statements/ information reflect total assets of
'1,85,324.53 crore as at 31st March 2025 and total
revenue of '7,705.53 crore for the year ended on that
date. These unaudited branches cover 24.22 per cent
of advances, 43.27 per cent of deposits and 15.30 per
cent of non-performing assets as on 31st March 2025
and 19.50 per cent of revenue for the year then ended.
Our opinion is not modified in respect of the above
matters.
Report on Other Legal and Regulatory
Requirements
11. The Balance sheet and the Profit and Loss Account
have been drawn up in accordance with Section 29 of
the Banking Regulation Act, 1949;
12. Subject to the limitations of the audit indicated in
paragraphs 6 to 10 above and as required by the Banking
Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings)
Act, 1970/1980, and subject also to the limitations of
disclosure required therein, we report that:
a) We have obtained all the information and
explanations which, to the best of our knowledge
and belief, were necessary for the purposes of our
audit and have found them to be satisfactory.
b) The transactions of the Bank, which have come
to our notice, have been within the powers of the
Bank; and
c) The returns received from the offices and branches
of the Bank have been found adequate for the
purposes of our audit.
13. As required by letter No. DOS.ARG.No.
6270/08.91.001/2019-20 dated March 17, 2020 on
“Appointment of Statutory Central Auditors (SCAs) in
Public Sector Banks - Reporting obligations for SCAs
from FY 2019-20”, read with subsequent communication
dated May 19, 2020 issued by the RBI, we further report
on the matters specified in paragraph 2 of the aforesaid
letter as under:
a) In our opinion, the aforesaid Standalone Financial
Statements comply with the applicable Accounting
Standards issued by ICAI, to the extent they are not
inconsistent with the accounting policies prescribed
by RBI.
b) There are no observations or comments on financial
transactions or matters which have any adverse
effect on the functioning of the Bank.
c) As the Bank is not registered under the Companies
Act, 2013 the disqualifications from being a director
of the bank under sub-section (2) of Section 164 of
the Companies Act, 2013 do not apply to the bank.
d) There are no qualifications, reservations or adverse
remarks relating to the maintenance of accounts
and other matters connected therewith.
e) Our audit report on the adequacy and operating
effectiveness of the Bank's internal financial controls
over financial reporting as required by the RBI
Letter No. DOS. ARG. No. 6270/ 08.91.001/2019-
20 dated March 17, 2020 (as amended) is given in
Annexure A to this report. Our report expresses an
unmodified opinion on the Bank's internal financial
controls over financial reporting with reference
to the Standalone Financial Statements as at
31st March 2025.
14. We further report that:
a) In our opinion, proper books of account as required
by law have been kept by the Bank so far as it
appears from our examination of those books and
proper returns adequate for the purposes of our
audit have been received from branches not visited
by us.
b) the Balance Sheet, the Profit and Loss Account and
the Cash Flow Statement dealt with by this report
are in agreement with the books of account and
with the returns received from the branches not
visited by us.
c) the reports on the accounts of the branch offices
audited by branch auditors of the Bank under
section 29 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949
have been sent to us and have been properly dealt
with by us in preparing this report; and
d) In our opinion, the Balance Sheet, the Profit and
Loss Account and the Cash Flow Statement comply
with the applicable accounting standards, to the
extent they are not inconsistent with the accounting
policies prescribed by RBI.
For A.R. & CO. For A D B & COMPANY For AMIT RAY & CO.
Chartered Accountants Chartered Accountants Chartered Accountants
FR. No. 002744C FR. No. 005593C FR. No. 000483C
(CA ANIL GAUR) (CA SHIKHAR CHAND JAIN) (CA JITENDRA PANDEY)
PARTNER PARTNER PARTNER
M. No. 17546 M. No. 074411 M. No. 177655
UDIN 25017546BMGYSV4771 UDIN 25074411BMTDAW2253 UDIN 25177655BMMHCV6685
For JAIN PARAS BILALA & CO.
Chartered Accountants
F.R. No. 011046C
(CA PARAS BILALA)
PARTNER
Place: Mumbai M. No. 400917
Date: April 28, 2025 UDIN 25400917BMIFJY8274
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