arihant capital markets ltd Auditors report


<dhhead>INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT</dhhead>

To the Members of

ARIHANT CAPITAL MARKETS LIMITED

Report on the Audit of the Standalone Ind AS Financial Statements Opinion

We have audited the accompanying standalone Ind AS financial statements of ARIHANT CAPITAL MARKETS LIMITED ("the Company"), which comprise the Balance Sheet as at March 31, 2023, the Statement of Profit and Loss, (including the statement of Other Comprehensive Income), Statement of Changes in Equity and statement of Cash Flows for the year then ended, and notes to the standalone Ind AS financial statements, including, a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information. (Hereinafter referred to as the "standalone financial statements").

In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us, the aforesaid standalone Ind AS 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 Indian Accounting Standard prescribed under section 133 of the act read with the companies (Indian Accounting Standards) rules,2015 as amended, ("Ind AS") and other principles generally accepted in India, of the state of affairs of the Company as at 31st March, 2023, and its Profit, and other 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 standalone Ind AS 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 standalone Ind AS 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 Ind AS financial statements under the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 and the Rules there under, 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 Ind AS financial statements.

Key Audit Matters

Key audit matters (’KAM’) are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most significance in our audit of the standalone Ind AS financial statements of the current period. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the standalone Ind AS financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.

Information Other than the standalone Ind AS 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 Annexure to Board’s Report, Business Responsibility Report, Corporate Governance and Shareholder’s Information, but does not include the Standalone Ind AS financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon.

Our opinion on the standalone Ind AS 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 Ind AS financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information identified above and, in doing so, consider whether such other information is materially inconsistent with the standalone Ind AS financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. Based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is no material misstatement of this other information;

Management’s Responsibility for the Standalone Ind AS 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 financial statements that give a true and fair view of the state of affairs, Profit/Loss (and 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. 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 Ind AS 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 Ind AS 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 management either intends to liquidate the Company or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.

The Management and Board of Directors are responsible for overseeing the Company’s financial reporting process.

Auditor’s Responsibility for the standalone Ind AS financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the standalone Ind AS 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 Ind AS financial statements.

As part of audit in accordance with SAs, we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit. We also:

1. Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the standalone Ind AS 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.

2. 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 Companies Act, 2013, 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.

3. Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by management.

4. 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 Ind AS 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.

5. Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the standalone Ind AS financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the standalone Ind AS 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 Ind AS 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, issued by the Central Government of India in terms of subsection (11) of section 143 of the Companies Act, 2013, 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. With respect to the other matters to be included in the Auditor’s Report in accordance with the requirements of section 197(16) of the Act, as amended:

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.

3. Further, 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.

c) The Balance Sheet, the Statement of Profit and Loss (including the Statement of Other Comprehensive Income), the Statement of Changes in Equity and the statement of Cash Flow dealt with by this Report are in agreement with the books of account.

d) In our opinion, the aforesaid Standalone Ind AS financial statements comply with the Ind AS specified under Section 133 of the Act.

e) On the basis of the written representations received from the directors as on 31st March, 2023 taken on record by the Board of Directors, none of the directors is disqualified as on 31st March, 2023 from being appointed as a director in terms of Section 164 (2) of the Companies Act, 2013.

f) With respect to the adequacy of the internal financial control over financial reporting of the company with reference to these Standalone Ind AS financial statements and the operating effectiveness of such control, refer to our separate report in Annexure "B".

g) 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, as detailed in note 42 to the Standalone Ind AS financial statements, has disclosed the impact of pending litigations on its financial position as at 31 March 2023.

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 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 it’s knowledge and belief, other than as disclosed in the notes to the accounts, 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 it’s knowledge and belief, other than as disclosed in the notes to the accounts, 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.

(c ) Based on such audit procedures that the auditor has considered reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances, nothing has come to their notice that has caused them to believe that the representations under sub-clause (a) and (b) contain any material mis-statement.

v. (a) The final dividend proposed in the previous year, declared and paid by the Company during the year is in accordance with section 123 of the act, as Applicable.

(b) No interim dividend was declared and paid by the company during the year.

(c) The Board of directors of the company have proposed final dividend for the year which is subject to the approval of the members at the ensuing Annual General Meeting. The amount of dividend proposed is in accordance with section 123 of the act, as Applicable.

vi. Proviso to Rule 3(1) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 for maintaining books of account using accounting software which has a feature of recording audit trail (edit log) facility is applicable to the Company w.e.f. April 1, 2023, and accordingly, reporting under Rule 11(g) of Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 is not applicable for the financial year ended March 31,2023.

ANNEXURE "A" TO THE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT

(Referred to in paragraph 1 under ’Report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements’ section of our report of even date to the Members of ARIHANT CAPITAL MARKETS LIMITED on the accounts for the year ended 31st March, 2023)

i. In respect of the Company’s Property Plant & Equipments:

(a) (A) The Company has maintained proper records to show full particulars, including quantitative details and situation of Property Plant & Equipment.

(B) The Company has maintained proper records to show full particulars of Intangible assets.

(b) The Property Plant & Equipment of the Company are physically verified by the management at regular intervals. During the year, as informed to us, no discrepancies have been noticed on such verification.

(c) According to the information and explanations given to us and the records examined by us, we report that the title deeds, comprising all the immovable properties are held in the Company’s name as at the balance sheet date.

(d) The company has not revalued any of its property, plant and equipment and intangible assets during, the year.

(e) No proceedings have been initiated or are pending against the company for holding any benami property under the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 (45 of 1988) and rules made thereunder.

ii. In respect of the Company’s Inventory:

(a) The securities held as stock in trade have been verified by the Management with the statement of holdings provided by depository participants and brokers at reasonable intervals. In our opinion, the frequency of verification is reasonable and no material discrepancies between the book records and the statement of holdings provided by NSDL, other depository participants and brokers have been noticed.

(b) The Company has not been sanctioned working capital limits in excess of Rs.5 crore, in aggregate, at any points of time during the year, from banks or financial institutions on the basis of security of current assets hence reporting under clause 3(ii)(b) of the Order is not applicable.

iii. According to the information and explanations given to us and on the basis of our examination of the books of account, the Company has not granted any loans, secured or unsecured, to companies, firms, Limited Liability Partnerships or other parties listed in the register maintained under Section 189 of the Companies Act, 2013. Consequently, the provisions of clauses 3(iii) (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) & (f) of the order are not applicable to the Company.

iv. The company has complied with the provisions of section 185 and 186 of Companies Act, 2013 in respect of loans, investments, guarantees and securities, as applicable.

v. According to the information and explanation given to us, the company has not accepted deposits from the public within the meaning of the directives issued by the Reserve Bank of India, under provisions of section 73 to 76 or any other relevant provisions of the Companies Act and the rules framed there under.

vi. According to the information and explanations given to us, the maintenance of cost records has not been prescribed by the Central Government under sub-section (1) of section 148 of the Companies Act, 2013 in respect of the activities carried by the company.

vii. a) As per the records of the Company, the company is generally regular in depositing the statutory dues including

GST, provident fund, employees’ state insurance, income tax, sales tax, service tax, duty of customs, duty of excise, value added tax, cess and any other material statutory dues applicable to it with the appropriate authorities. According to the information and explanations given to us, no undisputed amount in respect of GST, income tax, sales tax, service tax, custom duty, excise duty, cess, applicable to it, is outstanding as at the last day of the financial year concerned for a period of more than six months from the date they became payable.

b) According to the information and explanations given to us and on the basis of examination of records of the Company there is no provident fund, sales tax, income tax, wealth tax, cess which have not been deposited on account of dispute except for the following instances:

Statute In which pending Nature of Dues Financial Year Forum at which pending

Amount involved (in lacs)

Income Tax Act, 1961 Tax and Interest thereon 2012-13 Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)

18.47

Income Tax Act, 1961 Tax and Interest thereon 2017-18 Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)

13.21

Income Tax Act, 1961 Penalty 2011-12 Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)

1.60

Income Tax Act, 1961 Penalty 2013-14 Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)

1.60

Income Tax Act, 1961 Penalty 2014-15 Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)

1.20

Income Tax Act, 1961 Tax and Interest thereon 2019-20 Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals)

30.90

 

viii. There were no transactions relating to previously unrecorded income that have been surrendered or disclosed as income during the year in the tax assessments under the Income Tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961).

ix. (a) In our opinion and according to the information and explanations given to us, the Company has not defaulted in

the repayment of loans or borrowings or in the payment of interest thereon to any banks, financial institutions, government or other lender.

(b) The company is not declared willful defaulter by any bank or financial institution or other lender.

(c) The company has not taken any term loan during the year hence this clause is not applicable.

(d) The funds raised on short term basis have not been utilized for long term purposes.

(e) The company has not taken any such type of funds from any entity or person on account of or to meet the obligations of its subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures.

(f) The company has not raised loans during the year on the pledge of securities held in its subsidiaries, joint ventures or associate companies.

x. (a) According to the information and explanation given to us and the record examined by us, the Company has not raised any money by way of initial public offer or further public offer during the year. Hence, clause 3(ix) of the order is not applicable.

(b) Based on our audit procedures and according to the information given by the management, the company has not made any preferential allotment or private placement of shares or convertible debentures.

xi. (a) To the best of our knowledge and according to the information and explanations given to us, no material fraud by the Company or on the Company by its officers or employees has been noticed or reported during the course of our audit.

(b) No report under sub-section (12) of section 143 of the Companies Act has been filed by the auditors in Form ADT-4 as prescribed under rule 13 of Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 with the Central Government during the year and upto the date of this year.

(c) According to the information and explanations given to us, there is no whistle-blower complaints received during the year by the company hence this clause is not applicable.

xii. Company is not a Nidhi Company as prescribed under Section 406 of the Act. Accordingly, paragraph 3(xii) of the Order is not applicable to the Company.

xiii. In our opinion, all transactions with the related parties are in compliance with sections 177 and 188 of Companies Act,

2013 where applicable and the details have been disclosed in the Financial Statements etc. as required by the applicable Indian Accounting Standards.

xiv. (a) In our opinion the Company has an adequate internal audit system commensurate with the size and the nature of its business.

(b) We have considered the internal audit reports for the year under audit, issued to the Company during the year in determining the nature, timing and extent of our audit procedures.

xv. In our opinion and according to the information and explanations given to us, during the year the Company has not entered into any non-cash transactions with its Directors or persons connected to its directors and hence provisions of section 192 of the Companies Act, 2013 are not applicable to the Company.

xvi. (a) According to the information and explanation given to us, the Company is not required to be registered under section 45-IA of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 hence this clause is not applicable.

(b) The company has not conducted any Non-Banking Financial or Housing Finance activities without a valid Certificate of Registration (CoR) from the Reserve Bank of India as per the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 hence this clause is not applicable.

(c ) The company is not a Core Investment Company (CIC) as defined in the regulations made by the Reserve Bank of India hence this clause is not applicable.

(d) The group has no CIC as part of the group hence this clause is not applicable.

xvii. The Company has not incurred cash losses during the financial year covered by our audit and in the immediately preceding financial year.

xviii. There has been no resignation of the statutory auditors of the Company during the year.

xix. On the basis of the financial ratios, ageing and expected dates of realisation of financial assets and payment of financial liabilities, other information accompanying the financial statements, in our opinion no material uncertainty exists as on the date of the audit report that company is capable of meeting its liabilities existing at the date of balance sheet as and when they fall due within a period of one year from the balance sheet date.

xx. (a) The company has spent full amount as required to be spent as per the Companies Act 2013. No amount remained unspent which were required to be transferred in respect of other than ongoing projects in Funds specified in Schedule VII to the Companies Act within a period of six months of the expiry of the financial year in compliance with second proviso to sub-section (5) of section 135 of the said Act.

(b) The company has spent full amount as required to be spent as per the Companies Act 2013. No amount remained unspent which were required to be transferred in respect of ongoing projects in Funds specified in Schedule VII to the Companies Act within a period of six months of the expiry of the financial year in compliance with second proviso to sub-section (5) of section 135 of the said Act.

ANNEXURE"B"

(Referred to in paragraph 2(f) under ’Report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements’ section of our report even date to the Members of ARIHANT CAPITAL MARKETS LIMITED on the accounts for the year ended 31st March, 2023)

Report on the Internal Financial Controls with reference to the aforesaid standalone Ind AS financial statements under Clause (i) of Sub-section 3 of Section 143 of the Companies Act, 2013

We have audited the internal financial controls with reference to Standalone Ind AS financial statements of Arihant Capital Markets Limited ("the Company") as of 31 March 2023 in conjunction with our audit of the Standalone Ind AS financial statements of the Company for the year ended on that date.

Opinion

In our opinion, the Company has, in all material respects, adequate internal financial controls with reference to Standalone Ind AS financial statements and such internal financial controls were operating effectively as at 31 March 2023, based on the internal financial controls with reference to standalone Ind AS financial statements criteria established by the Company considering the essential components of internal control stated in the Guidance Note on Audit of Internal Financial Controls Over Financial Reporting issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (the "Guidance Note").

Management’s Responsibility for Internal Financial Controls

The Company’s management is responsible for establishing and maintaining internal financial controls based on the internal control over financial reporting criteria established by the Company considering the essential components of internal control stated in the Guidance Note on Audit of Internal Financial Controls over Financial Reporting issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. These responsibilities include the design, implementation and maintenance of adequate internal financial controls that were operating effectively for ensuring the orderly and efficient conduct of its business, including adherence to company’s policies, the safeguarding of its assets, the prevention and detection of frauds and errors, the accuracy and completeness of the accounting records, and the timely preparation of reliable financial information, as required under the Companies Act, 2013.

Auditors’ Responsibility

Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal financial controls with reference to these standalone Ind AS financial statements based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with the Guidance Note on Audit of Internal Financial Controls over Financial Reporting (the "Guidance Note") and the Standards on Auditing, issued by ICAI and deemed to be prescribed under section 143(10) of the Companies Act, 2013, to the extent applicable to an audit of internal financial controls, both applicable to an audit of Internal Financial Controls and both issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Those Standards and the Guidance Note require that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether adequate internal financial controls over financial reporting with reference to these standalone Ind AS financial statements were established and maintained and if such controls operated effectively in all material respects.

Our audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the adequacy of the internal financial controls system over financial reporting with reference to these standalone Ind AS financial statements and their operating effectiveness. Our audit of internal financial controls over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal financial controls over financial reporting with reference to these Standalone Ind AS financial statements, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the standalone Ind AS financial statements, whether due to fraud or error.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion on the Company’s internal financial controls system over financial reporting with reference to these standalone Ind AS financial statements.

Meaning of Internal Financial Controls over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal financial control with reference to Standalone Ind AS financial statements is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of Standalone Ind AS financial

statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal financial control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that;

1. pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company;

2. provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of standalone Ind AS financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and

3. Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the standalone Ind AS financial statements.

Inherent Limitations of Internal Financial Controls Over Financial Reporting

Because of the inherent limitations of internal financial with reference to financial statement, including the possibility of collusion or improper management override of controls, material misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected. Also, projections of any evaluation of the internal financial controls with reference to Standalone Ind AS financial statements to future periods are subject to the risk that the internal financial control with reference to Standalone Ind AS financial statements financial statement may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.