yearico
Mobile Nav

Market

AUDITOR'S REPORT

Tata Communications Ltd.

You can view full text of the latest Auditor's Report for the company.
Market Cap. (₹) 45346.35 Cr. P/BV 25.50 Book Value (₹) 62.38
52 Week High/Low (₹) 2175/1291 FV/ML 10/1 P/E(X) 24.69
Bookclosure 05/07/2024 EPS (₹) 64.43 Div Yield (%) 1.57
Year End :2024-03 

We have audited the accompanying standalone financial statements of Tata Communications Limited (the "Company”), which comprise the Balance sheet as at March 31, 2024, the Statement of Profit and Loss, including the statement of Other Comprehensive Income, the Cash Flow Statement and the Statement of Changes in Equity for the year then ended, and notes to the standalone financial statements, including a summary of material accounting policies and other explanatory information.

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 Companies Act, 2013, as amended (the "Act”) in the manner so required and give a true and fair view in conformity with the accounting principles generally accepted in India, of the state of affairs of the Company as at March 31, 2024, its profit including other comprehensive loss, its cash flows and the changes in equity for the year ended on that date.

Basis for Opinion

We conducted our audit of the standalone financial statements in accordance with the Standards on Auditing (SAs), as specified under section 143(10) of the Act. Our responsibilities under those Standards are further described in the 'Auditor's Responsibilities for the Audit of the Standalone Financial Statements' section of our report. We are independent of the Company in accordance with the 'Code of Ethics' issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India together with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the 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 Code of Ethics. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion on the standalone financial statements.

Emphasis of Matter

As fully discussed in note 46(a)(2)(ii) to the standalone financial statements for the year ended March 31, 2024, the Company has received 'Show Cause-cum Demand Notices' during the year, from Department of Telecommunications (DoT) towards license fee on its Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) for financial years ranging from FY 2005-06 to 2022-23 and has disclosed H 7,751.94 crores as contingent liability based on management's assessment of likelihood of materializing the demand. The Company believes that it has grounds to defend its above positions based on the independent legal opinions obtained in this regard and accordingly, no provision has been made in the accompanying standalone financial statements. Our opinion is not modified in this regard.

Key Audit Matters

Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most significance in our audit of the standalone financial statements for the financial year ended March 31, 2024. 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. For each matter below, our description of how our audit addressed the matter is provided in that context.

We have determined the matters described below to be the key audit matters to be communicated in our report. We have fulfilled the responsibilities described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the standalone financial statements section of our report, including in relation to these matters. Accordingly, our audit included the performance of procedures designed to respond to our assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the standalone financial statements. The results of our audit procedures, including the procedures performed to address the matters below, provide the basis for our audit opinion on the accompanying standalone financial statements.

Key audit matters

How our audit addressed the key audit matter

Impairment of investments in Subsidiaries and Associates (as described in note 11A of the standalone financial statements)

Annually, the management assesses the existence of impairment

Our audit procedures related to this key audit matters

indicators for each non-current investment and in case of occurrence,

included the following:

such investments are subjected to an impairment test.

We assessed the processes and key controls

As at the reporting date, the Company has non-current investments

implemented by the Company related to the

in subsidiaries, associates and others amounting to H 6,083.20 crores,

identification of impairment loss and determination of

out of which, the management has identified impairment indicators

necessary impact thereof.

such as net worth erosion and loss in the current year, in respect of certain investments in subsidiaries.

We obtained the business projections of the respective companies for the financial year 2024-25.

Accordingly, these investments have been tested for impairment as

We have understood the reasons for the projected

at year end in accordance with Indian Accounting Standard ('Ind AS')

growth basis our discussion with the Management

36, "Impairment of Assets”.

and compared the projections with the past trend.

In consideration of the judgments required in particular with reference

We assessed the valuation methodology and evaluated

to the forecast of cash flows and the assumptions used in estimating

the key assumptions used by the management in the

the value-in-use, we have identified this matter to be a key audit

valuations, by comparing with those prevailing in the

matter.

sector, using valuation experts, who also performed an independent calculation and sensitivity analysis on key assumptions.

We assessed the disclosures made in the standalone financial statements.

Receivable on account of Access Facilitation Charges (‘AFC’) (as described in note 16(i) of the standalone financial statements)

On November 28, 2018, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

Our audit procedures related to this key audit matters

('TRAl') re-enacted schedules to 2012 Regulation, containing AFC

included the following:

and Operation & Maintenance ('O&M') recovery rates with respect to the use of Cable Landing Stations ('CLS'), pursuant to the High Court judgement dated July 2, 2018 and the Hon'ble Supreme Court judgment dated October 8, 2018. TRAI specified that these revised rates are applicable prospectively.

The Company was recognizing AFC revenue and recovery of the O&M charges, as per the erstwhile rates specified in schedules to 2012 Regulation. In view of above facts, during the year ended March 31,

2019 the Company recognized the differential AFC revenue and O&M charges of H 348.75 crores for the period January 2013 to November 2018, as per the rates specified in the contracts with the customers.

The customers contested the revised order in the Hon'ble Supreme Court, which in its meeting held on January 28, 2019 directed the TDSAT for evaluation. The TDSAT issued an order dated April 16,

2020 stating the rates are applicable prospectively from November 28, 2018.

The customers have preferred an appeal in Hon'ble Supreme Court against the TDSAT order seeking an interim stay on the order, which is pending. During the previous years, based on the Hon'ble Supreme Court direction, one of the customers paid H 70.00 crores for these services. The Company as at March 31, 2024 has gross receivable of H 107.86 crores towards these services.

We evaluated the customer correspondences and various judgements pronounced by the Hon'ble High court, the Hon'ble Supreme Court and TDSAT.

We tested the underlying computation of necessary adjustments recorded in the books.

We verified the relevant Supreme Court direction and relevant communications between the Company and the customer. We also verified the monies received and necessary adjustments in the books.

We assessed the disclosure made in these standalone financial statements.

Considering the significance of the amount to the standalone financial statements, the fact that the matter is currently litigative, and management judgement of considering the receivable towards the AFC revenue as recoverable and good, we have considered the matter to be key audit matter.


Information Other than the Financial Statements and Auditor’s Report Thereon

The Company's Board of Directors is responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual report, but does not include the standalone financial statements and our auditor's report thereon.

Our opinion on the standalone financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the standalone financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether such other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

Responsibilities of Management for the Standalone Financial Statements

The Company's Board of Directors is responsible for the matters stated in section 134(5) of the Act with respect to the preparation of these standalone financial statements that give a true and fair view of the financial position, financial performance including other comprehensive income, cash flows and changes in equity 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 read with the Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) Rules, 2015, as amended. 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 the 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 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.

Those charged with governance are also responsible for overseeing the Company's financial reporting process.

Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Standalone Financial Statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the standalone financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with SAs will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these standalone financial statements.

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

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

• Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances. Under section 143(3) (i) of the Act, we are also responsible for expressing our opinion on whether the Company has adequate internal financial controls with reference to financial statements in place and the operating effectiveness of such controls.

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

• Conclude on the appropriateness of management's use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor's report to the related disclosures in the financial statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor's report. However, future events or conditions may cause the Company to cease to continue as a going concern.

• Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the standalone financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the standalone financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.

We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.

We also provide those charged with governance with a statement that we have complied with relevant ethical requirements regarding independence, and to communicate with them all relationships and other matters that may reasonably be thought to bear on our independence, and where applicable, related safeguards.

From the matters communicated with those charged with governance, we determine those matters that were of most significance in the audit of the standalone financial statements for the financial year ended March 31, 2024 and are therefore the key audit matters. We describe these matters in our auditor's report unless law or regulation precludes public disclosure about the matter or when, in extremely rare circumstances, we determine that a matter should not be communicated in our report because the adverse consequences of doing so would reasonably be expected to outweigh the public interest benefits of such communication.

Report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements

1. As required by the Companies (Auditor's Report) Order, 2020 (the "Order”), issued by the Central Government of India in terms of sub-section (11) of section 143 of the Act, we give in the "Annexure 1” a statement on the matters specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Order.

2. As required by Section 143(3) of the Act, we report, to the extent applicable, 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 that the Company does not have server physically located in India for the daily backup with respect to one of the third-party software used to maintain other books and papers, as stated in note 53 to the financial statements and for the matters stated in the paragraph (i)(vi) below on reporting under Rule 11(g);

(c) The Balance Sheet, the Statement of Profit and Loss including the Statement of Other Comprehensive

Income, the Cash Flow Statement and Statement of Changes in Equity dealt with by this Report are in agreement with the books of account;

(d) In our opinion, the aforesaid standalone financial statements comply with the Accounting Standards specified under Section 133 of the Act, read with 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 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) The reservation relating to the maintenance of accounts and other matters connected therewith are as stated in the paragraph (b) above on reporting under Section 143(3)(b) and paragraph (i)(vi) below on reporting under Rule 11(g);

(g) With respect to the adequacy of the internal financial controls with reference to these standalone financial statements and the operating effectiveness of such controls, refer to our separate Report in "Annexure 2” to this report;

(h) In our opinion, the managerial remuneration for the year ended March 31, 2024 has been paid / provided by the Company to its directors in accordance with the provisions of section 197 read with Schedule V to the Act;

(i) 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, as amended in our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us:

i. The Company has disclosed the impact of pending litigations on its financial position in its standalone financial statements - Refer Note 46(a) to the standalone financial statements;

ii. The Company did not have any long-term contracts including derivative contracts for which there were any material foreseeable losses;

iii. There has been no delay in transferring amounts, required to be transferred, to the Investor Education and Protection Fund by the Company;

iv. a) The management has represented that,

to the best of its knowledge and belief, 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 or entity, 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 its knowledge and belief, no funds have been received by the Company from any person or entity, including foreign entities (Funding Parties), with the understanding, whether recorded in writing or otherwise, that the Company shall, whether, directly or indirectly, lend or invest in other persons or entities identified in any manner whatsoever by or on behalf of the Funding Party (Ultimate Beneficiaries) or provide any guarantee, security or the like on behalf of the Ultimate Beneficiaries; and

c) Based on such 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 (a) and (b) contain any material misstatement.

v. The final dividend paid by the Company during the year in respect of the same declared for the previous year is in accordance with section 123 of the Act to the extent it applies to payment of dividend.

As stated in note 20(c) to the standalone financial statements, 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 dividend declared is in accordance with section 123 of the Act to the extent it applies to declaration of dividend; and

vi. Based on our examination which included test checks, the Company has used accounting software for maintaining its books of account 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 except that, audit trail feature is not enabled for certain changes made using privileged/ administrative access rights, as described in note 52 to the standalone financial statements. Further, during the course of our audit we did not come across any instance of audit trail feature being tampered with in respect of other accounting software.

Also, in the absence of Service Organisation Controls report covering the full financial year as stated in note 52 to the standalone financial statements, we are unable to comment on whether audit trail feature with respect to a third-party operated software was enabled and operated throughout the year for all relevant transactions recorded in the software or whether there were any instances of the audit trail feature being tampered with.

For S.R. Batliboi & Associates LLP

Chartered Accountants

ICAI Firm Registration Number: 101049W/E300004

per Prashant Singhal

Partner

Membership Number: 93283

UDIN: 24093283BKIPZX8589

Place of Signature: Mumbai

Date: April 17, 2024


Attention Investors :
KYC is one time exercise while dealing in securities markets - once KYC is done through a SEBI registered intermediary (Broker, DP, Mutual Fund etc.), you need not undergo the same process again when you approach another intermediary.
Attention Investors :
Prevent unauthorised transactions in your Stock Broking account --> Update your mobile numbers/ email IDs with your stock Brokers. Receive information of your transactions directly from Exchange on your mobile/email at the end of the day…..Issued in the interest of Investors.
Attention Investors :
Prevent Unauthorized Transactions in your demat account -> Update your Mobile Number and Email address with your Depository Participant. Receive alerts on your Registered Mobile and Email address for all debit and other important transactions in your demat account directly from CDSL on the same day….. issued in the interest of investors.
Attention Investors :
No need to issue cheques by investors while subscribing to IPO. Just write the bank account number and sign in the application form to authorize your bank to make payment in case of allotment. No worries for refund as the money remains in investor account.
Attention Investors :
Investors should be cautious on unsolicited emails and SMS advising to buy, sell or hold securities and trade only on the basis of informed decision. Investors are advised to invest after conducting appropriate analysis of respective companies and not to blindly follow unfounded rumours, tips etc. Further, you are also requested to share your knowledge or evidence of systemic wrongdoing, potential frauds or unethical behavior through the anonymous portal facility provided on BSE & NSE website.
Attention Investors :
Stock Brokers can accept securities as margin from clients only by way of pledge in the depository system w.e.f. September 1, 2020. || Update your mobile number & email Id with your stock broker/depository participant and receive OTP directly from depository on your email id and/or mobile number to create pledge. || Pay 20% upfront margin of the transaction value to trade in cash market segment. || Investors may please refer to the Exchange's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) issued vide circular reference NSE/INSP/45191 dated July 31, 2020 andNSE/INSP/45534 dated August 31, 2020 and other guidelines issued from time to time in this regard. || Check your Securities /MF/ Bonds in the consolidated account statement issued by NSDL/CDSL every month….. Issued in the interest of Investors.
“Investment in securities market are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing”.