Your Directors have pleasure in presenting the 57th Annual Report of the Company along withthe Audited Financial Statements for the year ended on 31st March, 2024.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The Company’s financial performance for the year under review along with previous year’s figures aregiven hereunder:
Particulars
As on 31.03.2024(in Rs. ‘000)
As on 31.03.2023(in Rs. ‘000)
Total Income from Business operations
3,74,683
2,49,577
Total Expenses
3,69,894
2,47,502
Profit before tax
4,789
2,057
Current Tax
1,168
1,065
Tax relating to previous Year
45
(202)
Deferred tax
129
(486)
Mat Credit
-
Profit for the Year
3,447
1,698
Net Profit /(Loss) after Tax
DIVIDEND
The Board of Directors recommend a dividend of Rs. 0.20/- per equity shares of the companyfor the year under review to the shareholders whose name appears on the register of membersas on the record date.
RESERVES
The company transferred profit of Rs. 34,46,941/- to Surplus A/c during the year.
STATE OF COMPANY’S AFFAIRS
The overall performance of the Company reflects significant growth in both revenue andprofit after tax. The demand for Jute Goods remained robust in domestic markets, contributingto stable operations and sustained business growth. This positive trend underscores theCompany’s resilience and its ability to capitalize on market opportunities while maintainingfinancial health.
The Company does not have any Holding, Subsidiary or Associate Company & it has notentered into any joint ventures.
The Company has not accepted any Fixed Deposits from general public within the purview ofSection 73 of the Companies Act, 2013, during the year under review.
The paid-up share capital as on 31st March 2024 was Rs. 479.94 lacs. The Company has notissued shares with differential voting rights nor granted stock options nor sweat equity.
DIRECTORS
During the year under preview there were no changes in the composition of the Board of Directors.
The composition of Board of Directors as on 31st March 2024 is as under-
Mr. Mahendra Singh - Managing DirectorMrs. Mousumi Sengupta - Non-Executive DirectorMr. Naba Kumar Das - Independent DirectorMr. Sundeep Kumar Tayal - Independent Director
Mr. Mahendra Singh has been appointed as Managing Director in the company for a second term of5 years vide board resolution dated 18th June 2024 subject to the approval of members in the AnnualGeneral Meeting.
Mr. Naba Kumar Das has been appointed as an Independent Director in the company for a secondterm of 5 years vide board resolution dated 12th August 2024 subject to the approval of members inthe Annual General Meeting.
KEY MANAGERIAL PERSONNEL
During the year under preview there were no changes in the composition of Key ManagerialPersonnel.
The composition of Key Managerial Personnel as on 31st March 2024 is as under:-
Mr. Bidhan Chandra Roy - Chief Financial OfficerMrs. Archana Singh - Company Secretary
The Nomination and Remuneration Committee works with the Board to determine the appropriatecharacteristics, skills and experience for the Board as a whole and its individual members with theobjective of having a Board with diverse backgrounds and experience in business, government,education and public service. The Company has constituted a Nomination and RemunerationCommittee with the responsibilities of formulating the criteria for determining qualifications, positiveattributes and independence of a director and recommend to the Board a policy relating to theremuneration for the directors, Key Managerial Personnel and other employees.
The Company has received necessary declaration from all Independent Directors undersection 149(7) of the Companies Act, 2013 and SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015 confirmingthat they meet the criteria of independence as prescribed in section 149(6) of the CompaniesAct, 2013.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013, the Board has carried out the annualperformance evaluation of its own performance and of the Directors individually as well. Adiscussion was done considering the inputs received from the Directors, covering variousaspects of the Board’s functioning such as adequacy of the composition of the Board and itsCommittees, Board culture, execution and performance of specific duties, obligations andgovernance. The performance evaluation of the Board and committees are usually carried outon the basis of questionnaires devised in house.
A separate exercise was carried out to evaluate the performance of individual Directors whowere evaluated on the basis of questionnaire, devised for this purpose. The Directorsexpressed their satisfaction with the evaluation process.
BOARD MEETINGS
The Board met seven (7) times during the financial year, viz. 25-05-2023, 29-05-2023, 29-06-2023,31-07-2023, 16-08-2023, 10-11-2023 and 13-02-2024. The details of the Directors’ attendance at theBoard Meetings are given below:
SI. No.
Director
No. of Meetingsattended
1
Mr. Mahendra Singh (Managing Director)
7
2
Mrs. Mousumi Sengupta (Non-Executive Director)
3
Mr. Naba Kumar Das (Independent Director)
4
Mr. Sundeep Kumar Tayal (Independent Director)- Appointed w.e.f. 16.08.2023)
5
Mr. Aman Jain (Independent Director)
- Resigned w.e.f. 29.05.2023)
In accordance with the provisions of Section 134(5) of the Companies Act, 2013 with regard to theDirectors’ Responsibility Statement, your Board confirms that:-
a) in the preparation of the annual accounts for the financial year ended on 31st March 2024, theapplicable accounting standards have been followed along with proper explanation relating tomaterial departures;
b) the Directors have selected such accounting policies and applied them consistently and madejudgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent so as to give a true and fair view of thestate of affairs of the Company as of 31st March 2024 and of the profit /loss of the Company forthat period;
c) the Directors have taken proper and sufficient care for the maintenance of adequate accountingrecords in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 for safeguarding the assetsof the Company and for preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities;
d) the Directors have prepared the annual accounts on a going concern basis;
e) the Directors have devised proper systems to ensure compliance with the provisions of allapplicable laws and that such systems were adequate and operating effectively.
f) the Directors have laid down internal financial controls to be followed by the Company and thatsuch internal financial controls are adequate and were operating effectively;
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Pursuant to provisions of Section 135 of the Act, the Company is not required to constitute a CorporateSocial Responsibility Committee or to undertake any CSR activities.
Therefore, the Company is not required to make any disclosure as specified in Section 134(3) (o) of
the
Act.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS REPORT
Management Discussion and Analysis Report for the year under review, as stipulated underRegulation 34 of the SEBI LODR Regulations, 2015 with the Stock Exchanges in India, is includedin a separate section annexed to and forming part of the Director's Report.
Pursuant to Sections 177 and 178 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Rules madethereunder, the Company has constituted an Audit Committee, Nomination andRemuneration Committee and Stakeholders Relationship Committee of the Board as theCompany is listed with BSE Ltd.
The Audit Committee is working according to the terms of the Companies Act, and SEBIListing Regulations, 2015 which includes duties and functions and also such other functionsas maybe specifically delegated to it by the Board from time to time. Therefore, the Boardhas duly constituted the Audit Committee comprising of Mr. Aman Jain, IndependentDirector, Mr. Naba Kumar Das, Independent Director and Mr. Mahendra Singh, ExecutiveDirector. The Audit committee held five meetings during the year 2023-24.
However, on resignation of Mr. Aman Jain, Independent Director; the Board duly appointedMr. Sundeep Kumar Tayal, Independent Director, in the Audit Committee of the Company.
The Audit Committee held five meetings on 29/05/2023, 31/07/2023, 30/09/2023,10/11/2023 and 13/02/2024 during the year ended 31st March 2024. The necessary quorumwas present for all the meetings.
The Company Secretary acts as a Secretary to the Committee.
The terms of reference of Audit Committee includes:-
a) the recommendation for appointment, remuneration and terms of appointment of auditorsof the company;
b) review and monitor the auditor’s independence and performance, and effectiveness ofaudit process;
c) examination of the financial statement and the auditors’ report thereon;
d) approval or any subsequent modification of transactions of the company with relatedparties;
e) scrutiny of inter-corporate loans and investments;
f) valuation of undertakings or assets of the company, wherever it is necessary;
g) evaluation of internal financial controls and risk management systems;
h) monitoring the end use of funds raised through public offers and related matters;
i) any other as may be decided by the Board.
The Board has also constituted Nomination and Remuneration Committee comprising of Mr.Aman Jain, Independent Director; Mr. Naba Kumar Das, Independent Director and Mr.Mahendra Singh, Executive Director.
However, on resignation of Mr. Aman Jain, Independent Director; the Board duly appointedMr. Sundeep Kumar Tayal, Independent Director, in the Nomination and RemunerationCommittee of the Company.
The role of Nomination and Remuneration Committee includes formulation of the criteria fordetermining qualifications, positive attributes and independence of a director and recommendto the Board a policy, relating to the remuneration of the Directors, Key Managerial Personneland other employees etc. The Nomination & Remuneration committee met once during theyear.
STAKEHOLDERS’ RELATIONSHIP COMMITTEE (FORMERLY SHARETRANSFER CUM INVESTORS’ GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE) NOMENCLATUREAND TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE COMMITTEE
The Board of Directors of the Company has formed ‘Stakeholders’ Relationship Committee’(‘the committee’). The committee deals with various matters relating to satisfactory redressalof shareholders and investors’ grievances and recommends measures for overall improvementin the quality of investor services. The Stakeholder’s Relationship Committee met three timesduring the year. An insight of the matters deals with by the committee is given hereunder:
• To review and note all matters relating to the registration of transfer and transmissionof shares and debentures, transposition of shares, sub-division of shares, issue ofduplicate share certificates or allotment letters and certificates for debentures in lieuof those lost/misplaced;
• To look into the redressal of shareholders’ and investors’ complaints relating to thetransfer of shares, non-receipt of Annual Report/notices, dividends, etc;
• To oversee the performance of the Registrar & Share Transfer Agents;
• To review dematerialization and rematerialization of the shares of the Company;
• To comply with all such directions of Ministry of Corporate Affairs & other regulatorybodies w.r.t. shareholders’/investors’ rights and market regulations, from time to time.
DETAILS OF ESTABLISHMENT OF VIGIL MECHANISM
As per the provisions of Section 177(9) of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Rule 6 and 7of the Companies (Meeting of the Board and its Powers) Rules, 2013 the Company hasformed vigil mechanism named 'Whistle Blower Policy', wherein the employees / directorscan report the instances of unethical behavior, actual or suspected fraud or any violation ofthe Code of Conduct and / or laws applicable to the Company and seek redressal. Thismechanism provides appropriate protection to the genuine Whistle Blower, who avail of themechanism.
ADEQUACY OF INTERNAL FINANCIAL CONTROL
The Company has in place adequate internal financial controls with reference to the FinancialStatements. During the year, such controls were tested and no reportable material weaknesswas observed in the design or implementation.
RISK MANAGEMENT
During the year, Management of the Company evaluated the existing Risk ManagementPolicy of the Company to make it more focused in identifying and prioritizing the risks, roleof various executives in monitoring & mitigation of risk and reporting process. Its aim is toenhance shareholders value and provide an optimum risk-reward tradeoff. The RiskManagement Policy has been reviewed and found adequate to the requirements of theCompany, and approved by the Board.
The Management evaluated various risks and that there is no element of risk identified thatmay threaten the existence of the Company.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
The Company has not developed and implemented any Corporate Social Responsibilityinitiatives as the said provisions are not applicable.
LOAN, GUARANTEES AND INVESTMENTS
Details of Loans, Guarantees and Investments covered under the provisions of Section 186of the Companies Act, 2013 are given in the notes to the Financial Statements.
CONTRA CTS AND ARRANGEMENTS WITH RELATED PARTIES
All related party transactions that were entered into during the financial year were on an arm’slength basis and were in the ordinary course of business. There were no materially significantrelated party transactions made by the Company with Promoters, Directors, Key ManagerialPersonnel or other designated Persons which may have a potential conflict with the interestof the Company at large. Accordingly, no transaction are being reported in Form AOC- 2 interms of Section 134 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Rule 8 of the Companies(Accounts) Rules, 2014.
All Related Party Transactions are placed before the Audit Committee as also the Board forapproval. Prior omnibus approval of the Audit Committee is obtained for the transactionswhich are of a foreseen in repetitive nature. The Company has developed a Related PartyTransactions Policy for purpose of identification and monitoring of such transactions.
AUDITORS & AUDITORS’ REPORT
M/s. Amit Ray & Co., Chartered Accountants (FRN: 000483C) were appointed as StatutoryAuditors of the Company at the 56th Annual General Meeting for 5 consecutive years untilthe conclusion of the 61st Annual General Meeting.
The Auditors have subjected themselves for the peer review process of the Institute ofChartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and they hold a valid certificate issued by the “PeerReview Board” of ICAI.
The observations, if any, made by the Auditors of the Company in their report read withrelevant notes to the Accounts are self-explanatory and therefore do not call for any furthercomments.
SECRETARIAL A UDIT
Pursuant to provisions of Section 204 of the Companies Act, 2013, the Board has appointed Mr.MUKESH CHATURVEDI, Company Secretaries, Kolkata, to undertake Secretarial Audit of theCompany for the Financial Year 2023-24. The Secretarial Audit Report is annexed herewith asAnnexure "B". The Secretarial Audit Report does not contain any qualification, reservation, adverseremark or disclaimer.
INTERNAL A UDIT
As per the provisions of Section 138 of the Companies Act, 2013, the Board with the recommendationof the audit committee has appointed M/s. A. Bharadwaj & Co. (FRN: 326709E), Kolkata, toundertake Internal Audit of the Company. The Internal Audit Report does not contain anyqualification, reservation, adverse remark or disclaimer.
PARTICULARS OF EMPLOYEES AND RELATED DISCLOSURES
None of the employees were in receipt of remuneration in excess of the limits laid down under section197(12) of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Rule 5(2) and 5(3) of the Companies (Appointmentand Remuneration) Rules, 2014. Hence, no particulars are required to be given for the same.
CONSERVATION OF ENERGY, TECHNOLOGY ABSORPTION, FOREIGN EXCHANGEEARNINGS AND OUTGO
The Company is not engaged in manufacturing, has no foreign collaboration and has not exported orimported any goods or services.
EXTRACT OF ANNUAL RETURN
The details forming part of the extract of the Annual Return in Form MGT - 9 is annexed herewith asAnnexure “A”.
STATUTORY DISCLOSURES
A copy of audited financial statements of the said Companies will be made available to the membersof the Company, seeking such information at any point of time. A cash flow statement for the year2023-24 is attached to the Balance Sheet.
GENERAL DISCLOSURES
The Directors state that no disclosure or reporting is required in respect of the following items duringthe year under review as:
1. During the year under review, no significant or material orders were passed by the Regulators orCourts or Tribunals which impact the going concern status and Company’s operations in future.
2. No material changes and commitments have occurred between the end of financial year of theCompany to which the financial statements relate and the date of the Report, affecting the financialposition of the Company under section 134(3)(1) of the Companies Act, 2013.
3. No Deposits covered under Chapter V of the Companies Act, 2013 were accepted.
4. No equity shares with differential rights as to dividend, voting or otherwise; or shares (includingsweat equity shares) were issued to employees of the Company under any scheme.
5. During the year under review, there were no cases filed pursuant to the Sexual Harassment ofWomen at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
FRAUD REPORTING (REQUIRED BY THE COMPANIES AMENDMENT ACT, 2015)
The Company has adopted best practices for fraud prevention and it follows confidential, anonymousreporting about fraud or abuse to the appropriate responsible officials of the Company. No fraud onor by the company has been reported by the Statutory Auditors.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Your Directors express their sincere appreciation to the Central and State Governments, Banks,Customers, Vendors and the Company’s valued investors for their continued co-operation andsupport.
Your Directors also wish to acknowledge the support and valuable contributions made by theemployees, at all levels.
For and on behalf of the Board DirectorsFor BANGALORE FORT FARMS LIMITED
Place: Kolkata
Date: 07-09-2024
Sd/-
Mahendra SinghManaging Director(DIN: 07692374)
Mousumi SenguptaDirector(DIN: 07825625)