We have audited the accompanying financial statements of Empire Industries Limited (“the Company”), which comprise the Balance Sheet as at 31st March 2024, 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 a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information (hereinafter referred to as “the financial statements”).
In 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 Indian Accounting Standards prescribed under section 133 of the Act read with the Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) Rules, 2015, as amended (“Ind AS”) and other accounting principles generally accepted in India, of the state of affairs of the Company as at March 3 1 , 2024, and its profit, total comprehensive income, changes in equity and its cash flows for the year ended on that date.
Basis for Opinion
We conducted our audit of the financial statements 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 financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the Company in accordance with the Code of Ethics issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (“ICAI”) together with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the 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 ICAI’s 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 financial statements.
Key Audit Matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, 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. We have
determined the matters described below to be the key audit matters to be communicated in our report.
Assessment of litigations and related disclosure of contingent liabilities
[Refer to Note 2.10 to the financial statements- “Use of assumptions judgements and estimates - Critical accounting judgements - Provisions, contingent liabilities and contingent assets”, Note 36 to the Financial Statements - “Contingent liabilities”].
As at March 31, 2024, the Company has exposures towards litigations relating to various matters as set out in the aforesaid Notes. Significant management judgement is required to assess such matters to determine the probability of occurrence of material outflow of economic resources and whether a provision should be recognised or a disclosure should be made. The management judgement is also supported with legal advice in certain cases as considered appropriate.
As the ultimate outcome of the matters are uncertain and the positions taken by the management are based on the application of their best judgement, related legal advice including those relating to interpretation of laws/regulations, it is considered to be a Key Audit Matter.
How are audit addressed the key audit matter
Our audit procedures included the following:
• We understood, assessed and tested the design and operating effectiveness of key controls surrounding assessment of litigations relating to the relevant laws and regulations;
• We inquired with the management for recent developments and the status of the material litigations which were reviewed and noted by the Audit Committee;
• We performed our assessment on a test basis on the underlying calculations supporting the contingent liabilities/other significant litigations disclosed in the Financial Statements;
• We used auditor’s experts/specialists to gain an understanding and to evaluate the disputed tax matters;
• We considered external legal opinions, where relevant, obtained by management;
• We evaluated management’s assessments by understanding precedents set in similar cases and assessed the reliability of the management’s past estimates/judgements;
• We evaluated management’s assessment around those matters that are not disclosed or not considered as contingent liability, as the probability of material outflow is considered to be remote by the management; and
• We assessed the adequacy of the Company’s disclosures.
Based on the above work performed, the assessment in respect of litigations and related disclosures relating to contingent liabilities/other significant litigations in the Financial Statements is considered to be reasonable.
Information Other than the Financial Statements and Auditor’s Report Thereon
The Company’s management and Board of Directors are 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, Corporate Governance and Shareholders Information 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 during the course of our 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.
Management’s Responsibility for the Financial Statements
The Company’s Management and Board of Directors are 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 state of affairs, profit / loss, total 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 financial statement that give a true and fair view and are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the 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.
The Board of Directors are responsible for overseeing the Company’s financial reporting process.
Auditors’ Responsibility for the Audit of the Financial Statements
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.
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 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 controls 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 system 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 and board of directors.
• Conclude on the appropriateness of management and board of directors use of the going concern basis of accounting in preparation of financial statements and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that
may cast significant doubt on the ability of the Company 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.
Materiality is the magnitude of misstatements in the financial statements that, individually or in aggregate, makes it probable that the economic decisions of a reasonably knowledgeable user of the financial statements may be influenced. We consider quantitative materiality and qualitative factors in (i) planning the scope of our audit work and in evaluating the results of our work; and (ii) to evaluate the effect of any identified misstatements in the financial statements.
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 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 section 143(11) of the Act, we give in “Annexure 1”, a statement on the matters specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Order, to the extent applicable.
(2) (A) 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 the paragraph (vi) below on reporting under Rule 11(g).
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. In our opinion, the aforesaid Ind AS financial statements comply with the Ind AS prescribed under section 133 of the Act read with the Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) Rules, 2015, as amended;
e. On the basis of the written representations received from the directors as on March 31, 2024, and 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;
f. 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 2”;
g. With respect to the other matter to be included in the Auditor’s Report in accordance with the requirements of section 197 (16) of the Act:
In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us, the remuneration paid/ provided by the Company to its directors during the year is in accordance with the provisions of section 197 of the Act;
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, 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 litigation on its financial position as at 31st March, 2024 in its financial statements - Refer Note No. 36;
ii. The Company has made provision, as required under the applicable law or accounting standards, for material foreseeable losses, if any, on long-term contracts including derivative contracts.
iii. There were no amounts which were 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 its knowledge and belief, no funds (which are material either individually or in aggregate) 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 persons or entities, 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 (“Ultimate Beneficiaries”) by or on behalf of the Company or provide any guarantee, security or the like to or on behalf of the Ultimate Beneficiaries;
(b) The management has represented, that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, no funds (which are material either individually or in aggregate) have been received by the Company from any persons or entities, 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 (“Ultimate Beneficiaries”) by or on behalf of the Funding Party or provide any guarantee, security or the
like from or on behalf of the Ultimate Beneficiaries;
(c) B ased on the audit procedures performed that have been 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 (i) and (ii) of Rule 11 (e), as provided under (a) and (b) above, contain any material mis-statement.
v. The dividend declared and paid during the year by the Company is in Compliance with Section 123 of the Act.
vi. B ased on our examination, which included test checks, the Company has used accounting softwares 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 used by the company except for audit trail feature for Software namely Tally Prime and Easy Fact Software used by the company which did not operate throughout the year. Further, during the course of our audit we did not come across any instance of the audit trail feature being tampered with in SAP software.
As Proviso to Rule 3(1) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 is applicable from April 1, 2023 reporting under Rule 11(g) of 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 A.T. Jain & Co.
Chartered Accountants (Firm Registration No. 103886W)
Sushil Jain
Partner
Membership No.: 033809 UDIN: 24033 809BKARXZ87 52
Place: Mumbai Date: 22nd May, 2024
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