Sr. No Key Audit Matter
Auditor's Response
1 Revenue from operations:
Principal audit procedures
We considered accuracy of revenues relating to prepaid andpostpaid mobile services and homes services as a key auditmatter because of the complexity of the IT systems, significantvolume of data processed by the IT systems and updation oftariff plans in the IT systems.
Refer note 2.18 “Revenue recognition” for accounting policies,note 3.2.d 'Revenue recognition and presentation’ under thehead 'Critical judgements in applying the Company’s accountingpolicies’ and note 23 on disclosures related to Revenue fromoperations in the standalone financial statements.
We obtained an understanding, evaluated the design, and testedthe implementation and operating effectiveness of (i) the generalIT controls, automated controls, interfaces, and system generatedreports relevant for revenue recognition by involving our ITspecialist; (ii) control over tariff plan configuration in the relevantIT systems; and (iii) control over validation of validity provided tothe customer as per masters and rate charged in call data records(CDRs) with price masters.
We tested inter se reconciliations between relevant IT systems(such as billing system and prepaid application systems) and withgeneral ledger, and performed verification of revenue recognised,deferred and unbilled revenue.
We performed independent testing of calland data benefits toevidence that the amount charged, benefit given and validity providedto the subscribers are consistent with the approved tariff plans.
We performed test of details for postpaid and homes revenue bytesting invoices, plans selected by customers and collections made.
We used data analytics to perform substantive analytical procedureto develop an expectation of the revenue basis past trends ofnumber of subscribers and revenue earned and compared theresults of the expectation with actual revenue and did not identifymaterial differences.
We verified the appropriateness of the accounting policies and thedisclosures related to Revenue from operations in notes 2.18, 3.2.dand 23 respectively in the standalone financial statements.
2 Provisions and contingencies relating to regulatory and tax
Principal audit procedures:
matters:
We obtained an understanding, evaluated the design and tested
The Company has recognised provisions for probable
the implementation and operating effectiveness of internal controls
outflows relating to tax and regulatory matters and have
relating to:
disclosed contingencies for tax and regulatory matters where
• identification, evaluation, recognition of provisions, disclosure of
the obligations are considered possible. The Company, in
contingencies for matters under review or appeal with relevant
consultation with the legal, tax and other advisers, assess
adjudicating authorities by considering the assumptions and
likelihood of outflow of resources to settle such tax and regulatorymatters. In performing this assessment, the Company applies
information used by management in performing this assessment, and
judgement and has recognised provisions based on whether
• completeness and accuracy of the underlying data / information
additional amounts will be payable and has disclosed contingent
used in the assessment.
liabilities where economic outflows are considered possible.
For tax matters, with the help of our tax specialist, we evaluated
We have considered the provisions recorded and the contingencies
the reasonableness of the management’s positions by considering
relating to regulatory and tax matters as a key audit matter as
tax regulations and past decisions from tax authorities, new
there is significant judgement to determine the possible outcome
information and opinions obtained by the Company from its
of matters under dispute and determining the amounts involved,
external tax advisors, where applicable.
which may vary depending on the outcome of the matters.
For regulatory matters, we evaluated the reasonableness of the
Refer note 2.17 “Contingencies” for accounting policies, note
management’s positions by considering relevant assessment
3.1.e 'Contingent liabilities and provisions’ under the head
orders, court judgements, statutes, interpretations and
“Key sources of estimation uncertainties”, note 19 “Provisions”
amendments, circulars and external legal opinion obtained by the
for disclosure related to provisions for subjudice matters, and
Company, where applicable.
Note 22(I) in respect of details of Contingent liabilities in the
We also evaluated the disclosures provided in the notes to the
standalone financial statements.
standalone financial statements concerning these matters.
We have audited the accompanying standalone financialstatements of BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED (“the Company”),which comprise the Standalone Balance Sheet as at March 31,2025, and the Standalone Statement of Profit and Loss (includingOther Comprehensive Income), the Standalone Statementof Changes in Equity and the Standalone Statement of CashFlows for the year ended on that date, and notes to the financialstatements, including a summary of material accounting policiesand other explanatory information (hereinafter referred to as“the Standalone Financial Statements”).
In our opinion and to the best of our information and accordingto the explanations given to us, the aforesaid StandaloneFinancial Statements give the information required by theCompanies Act, 2013 (“the Act”) in the manner so requiredand give a true and fair view in conformity with the IndianAccounting Standards as notified by the Ministry of CorporateAffairs (‘MCA’) under Section 133 of the Act, read together withRule 3 of the Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) Rules,2015 (as amended from time to time) (“Ind AS ”) and otheraccounting principles generally accepted in India, of the stateof affairs of the Company as at March 31, 2025, and its profit,total comprehensive income, its changes in equity and its cashflows for the year ended on that date.
We conducted our audit of the Standalone FinancialStatements in accordance with the Standards on Auditingspecified under section 143(10) of the Act (“SAs”). Ourresponsibilities under those Standards are further describedin the Auditor’s Responsibility for the Audit of the StandaloneFinancial Statements section of our report below. We areindependent of the Company in accordance with the Codeof Ethics issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountantsof India (“ICAI”) together with the ethical requirementsthat are relevant to our audit of the Standalone FinancialStatements under the provisions of the Act and the Rulesmade thereunder, and we have fulfilled our other ethicalresponsibilities in accordance with these requirements andthe ICAI’s Code of Ethics. We believe that the audit evidenceobtained by us is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basisfor our audit opinion on the Standalone Financial Statements.
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professionaljudgment, were of most significance in our audit of the StandaloneFinancial Statements of the current period. These matters wereaddressed in the context of our audit of the Standalone FinancialStatements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, andwe do not provide a separate opinion on these matters. We havedetermined the matters described below to be the key auditmatters to be communicated in our report.
The Company’s Board of Directors are responsible for the otherinformation. The other information comprises the ManagementDiscussion and Analysis, Board’s Report including Annexuresto the Board’s Report, Business Responsibility & SustainabilityReport and Corporate Governance Report, but does notinclude the Consolidated Financial Statements, StandaloneFinancial Statements and our auditor’s reports thereon.
Our opinion on the Standalone Financial Statements doesnot cover the other information and we do not express anyform of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the Standalone FinancialStatements, our responsibility is to read the other informationand, in doing so, consider whether the other informationis materially inconsistent with the Standalone FinancialStatements, or our knowledge obtained during the courseof our audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated.
If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude thatthere is a material misstatement of this other information, weare required to report that fact. We have nothing to report inthis regard.
The Company’s Board of Directors is responsible for thematters stated in section 134(5) of the Act with respect tothe preparation of these Standalone Financial Statementsthat give a true and fair view of the financial position, financialperformance including other comprehensive income/(loss), changes in equity and cash flows of the Company inaccordance with the Ind AS and other accounting principlesgenerally accepted in India. This responsibility also includesmaintenance of adequate accounting records in accordancewith the provisions of the Act for safeguarding the assets of
the Company and for preventing and detecting frauds andother irregularities; selection and application of appropriateaccounting policies; making judgments and estimates thatare reasonable and prudent; and design, implementationand maintenance of adequate internal financial controls,that were operating effectively for ensuring the accuracyand completeness of the accounting records, relevant to thepreparation and presentation of the Standalone FinancialStatements that give a true and fair view and are free frommaterial misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the Standalone Financial Statements,management and the Board of Directors are responsible forassessing the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern,disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern andusing the going concern basis of accounting unless Board ofDirectors either intends to liquidate the Company or to ceaseoperations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.
Company’s Board of Directors are also responsible foroverseeing the Company’s financial reporting process.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance aboutwhether the Standalone Financial Statements as a wholeare free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud orerror, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion.Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is nota guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with SAswill always detect a material misstatement when it exists.Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are consideredmaterial if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonablybe expected to influence the economic decisions of users takenon the basis of these Standalone Financial Statements.
As part of an audit in accordance with SAs, we exerciseprofessional judgment and maintain professional skepticismthroughout the audit. We also:
• Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement ofthe Standalone Financial Statements, whether due to fraudor error, design and perform audit procedures responsiveto those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficientand appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. Therisk of not detecting a material misstatement resultingfrom fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, asfraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions,misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.
• Obtain an understanding of internal financial controlsrelevant to the audit in order to design audit proceduresthat are appropriate in the circumstances. Under section143(3)(i) of the Act, we are also responsible for expressingour opinion on whether the Company has adequate internalfinancial controls with reference to standalone financialstatements in place and the operating effectiveness ofCompany’s internal financial controls.
• Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies usedand the reasonableness of accounting estimates andrelated disclosures made by the management.
• Conclude on the appropriateness of management’s use ofthe going concern basis of accounting and, based on theaudit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertaintyexists related to events or conditions that may castsignificant doubt on the Company’s ability to continue asa going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertaintyexists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’sreport to the related disclosures in the StandaloneFinancial Statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate,to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on theaudit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’sreport. However, future events or conditions may causethe Company to cease to continue as a going concern.
• Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and contentof the Standalone Financial Statements, including thedisclosures, and whether the Standalone FinancialStatements represent the underlying transactions andevents in a manner that achieves fair presentation.
Materiality is the magnitude of misstatements in theStandalone Financial Statements that, individually or inaggregate, makes it probable that the economic decisions ofa reasonably knowledgeable user of the Standalone FinancialStatements may be influenced. We consider quantitativemateriality and qualitative factors in (i) planning the scopeof our audit work and in evaluating the results of our work;and (ii) to evaluate the effect of any identified misstatementsin the Standalone Financial Statements.
We communicate with those charged with governanceregarding, among other matters, the planned scope andtiming of the audit and significant audit findings, includingany significant deficiencies in internal financial controls thatwe identify during our audit.
We also provide those charged with governance with astatement that we have complied with relevant ethicalrequirements regarding independence, and to communicate
with them all relationships and other matters that mayreasonably be thought to bear on our independence, andwhere applicable, related safeguards.
From the matters communicated with those charged withgovernance, we determine those matters that were of mostsignificance in the audit of the Standalone Financial Statementsof the current period and are therefore the key audit matters.We describe these matters in our auditor’s report unless law orregulation precludes public disclosure about the matter or when,in extremely rare circumstances, we determine that a mattershould not be communicated in our report because the adverseconsequences of doing so would reasonably be expected tooutweigh the public interest benefits of such communication.
1. As required by Section 143(3) of the Act, based on our
audit, we report that:
a) We have sought and obtained all the informationand explanations which to the best of ourknowledge and belief were necessary for thepurposes of our audit.
b) In our opinion, proper books of account as requiredby law have been kept by the Company so far asit appears from our examination of those booksexcept for the matter as stated in (i)(vi) below forreporting related to requirements of audit trail.
c) The Standalone Balance Sheet, the StandaloneStatement of Profit and Loss including OtherComprehensive Income, the Standalone Statementof Changes in Equity and the Standalone Statementof Cash Flows dealt with by this Report are inagreement with the books of account.
d) In our opinion, the aforesaid Standalone FinancialStatements comply with Ind AS .
e) On the basis of the written representations receivedfrom the directors as on March 31, 2025 taken onrecord by the Board ofDirectors, none of the directors isdisqualified as on March 31, 2025 from being appointedas a director in terms of Section 164(2) of the Act.
f) The modification relating to the maintenance ofaccounts and other matters connected therewith,is as stated in paragraph (b) above.
g) With respect to the adequacy of the internalfinancial controls with reference to StandaloneFinancial Statements of the Company and theoperating effectiveness of such controls, refer toour separate Report in “Annexure A”. Our reportexpresses an unmodified opinion on the adequacyand operating effectiveness of the Company’sinternal financial controls with reference toStandalone Financial Statements.
h) With respect to the other matters to be included in theAuditor’s Report in accordance with the requirementsof section 197(16) of the Act, as amended,
I n our opinion and to the best of our informationand according to the explanations given to us, theremuneration paid by the Company to its directorsduring the year is in accordance with the provisionsof section 197 of the Act.
i) With respect to the other matters to be includedin the Auditor’s Report in accordance with Rule
II of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules,2014, as amended, in our opinion and to the best ofour information and according to the explanationsgiven to us:
i. The Company has disclosed the impact ofpending litigations on its financial position inits Standalone Financial Statements (ReferNote 22 (I) to the Standalone FinancialStatements).
ii. The Company has made provision, as requiredunder the applicable law or accountingstandards, for material foreseeable losses,if any, on long-term contracts includingderivative contracts (Refer Note 19 to theStandalone Financial Statements).
iii. There has been no delay in transferringamounts, required to be transferred, to theInvestor Education and Protection Fund bythe Company.
iv. (a) The Management has represented that,
to the best of its knowledge and belief nofunds have been advanced or loaned orinvested (either from borrowed funds orshare premium or any other sources orkind of funds) by the Company to or in anyother person(s) or entity(ies), includingforeign entities (“Intermediaries”), withthe understanding, whether recorded inwriting or otherwise, that the Intermediaryshall, directly or indirectly lend or investin other persons or entities identified inany manner whatsoever by or on behalf ofthe Company (“Ultimate Beneficiaries”) orprovide any guarantee, security or the likeon behalf of the Ultimate Beneficiaries.
(b) The Management has represented, that,to the best of its knowledge and belief, nofunds have been received by the Companyfrom any person(s) or entity(ies), includingforeign entities (“Funding Parties”), withthe understanding, whether recorded inwriting or otherwise, that the Companyshall, directly or indirectly, lend or invest inother persons or entities identified in anymanner whatsoever by or on behalf of theFunding Party (“Ultimate Beneficiaries”)or provide any guarantee, security or thelike on behalf of the Ultimate Beneficiaries.
(c) Based on the audit proceduresperformed that have been considered
reasonable and appropriate in thecircumstances, nothing has come to ournotice that has caused us to believe thatthe representations under sub-clause(i) and (ii) of Rule 11(e), as providedunder (a) and (b) above, contain anymaterial misstatement.
v. The final dividend proposed in the previousyear, declared and paid by the Companyduring the year is in accordance with section123 of the Act, as applicable.
As stated in note 15(h) to the StandaloneFinancial Statements, the Board of Directors ofthe Company has proposed final dividend forthe year which is subject to the approval of themembers at the ensuing Annual General Meeting.Such dividend proposed is in accordance withsection 123 of the Act, as applicable.
vi. Based on our examination which includedtest checks, the Company has used variousaccounting and related softwares formaintaining its books of account for theyear ended March 31, 2025, wherein theaudit trail (edit log) feature was enabledthrough-out the year for accounting andrelated softwares used by the Company formaintaining its books of accounts, exceptfor certain accounting and related softwaresused by the Company for maintaining itsbooks of accounts for which audit trail (editlog) feature was enabled for part the year(Refer note 43 of the financial statements).
Further, during the course of our audit, wedid not come across any instances of audittrail (edit log) feature being tampered with foraforesaid accounting and related softwaresfor the period for which the audit trail featurewas enabled and operating.
Additionally, the audit trail has been preservedby the Company as per the statutoryrequirements for record retention for theperiod for which it was enabled.
2. As required by the Companies (Auditor’s Report) Order,2020 (“the Order”) issued by the Central Government interms of Section 143(11) of the Act, we give in “AnnexureB” a statement on the matters specified in paragraphs 3and 4 of the Order.
For DELOITTE HASKINS & SELLS LLP
Chartered Accountants(Firm's Registration No. 117366W/W-100018)
Vijay Agarwal
Partner
Place: New Delhi (Membership No. 094468)
Date: May 13, 2025 (UDIN: 25094468BMMIYM9350)