1. We have audited the accompanying standalone financial statements of Hindalco Industries Limited (“the Company”), which includes its interest in joint operations and trusts (refer Note 1 to the attached standalone financial statements), which comprise the standalone Balance Sheet as at March 31, 2025, and the standalone Statement of Profit and Loss (including Other Comprehensive Income), the standalone Statement of Changes in Equity and the standalone Statement of Cash Flows for the year then ended, and notes to the standalone financial statements, including material accounting policy information and other explanatory information (hereinafter referred to as “standalone financial statements”).
2. In our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us and based on the consideration of reports of other auditors on the audited financial statements of the joint operations and trusts, the aforesaid standalone 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 accounting principles generally accepted in India, of the state of affairs of the Company, its joint operations and trusts, as at March 31, 2025, and total comprehensive income (comprising of profit and other comprehensive income), changes in equity and its cash flows for the year then ended.
Basis for Opinion
3. We conducted our audit in accordance with the Standards on Auditing (SAs) 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 financial statements” section of our report. We are independent of the Company, its joint operations and trusts 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 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 obtained by us and the other auditors in terms of their reports referred to in paragraphs 15 and 16 of the Other Matter section below, is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Emphasis of Matter
4. We draw attention to Note 31(A)(b) to the standalone financial statements in relation to chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (“CBI”). Pending completion of the detailed review by the Company, the possible financial impact is currently not determinable. Our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter.
Key audit matter
5. Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgement, were of most significance in our audit of the standalone financial statements of the current period. This matter was 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 this matter.
Key audit matter
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How our audit addressed the key audit matter
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Provisions recognised and contingencies disclosed
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Our audit procedures relating to provisions recognised and
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with regards to certain legal and tax matters including
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contingencies disclosed with regard to certain legal and tax
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uncertain tax positions
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matters included the following:
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Refer Notes 6, 7, 13, and 31 to the standalone
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• Understanding and evaluating the design and
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financial statements.
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testing the operating effectiveness of controls
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The Company operates in a complex tax jurisdiction with
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over the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosures made in the standalone financial
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certain tax exemption/ deduction that may be subject to
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statements in respect of these matters;
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challenge and audit by the tax authorities. Further, there are open tax matters under litigation with the tax authorities.
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• Obtaining details of legal and tax matters, inspecting
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As at March 31, 2025, the Company has, recognised
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the supporting documents to evaluate management’s
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provisions and disclosed contingent liabilities towards
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assessment of probability of outcome and the
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various legal and tax matters, including environmental,
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magnitude of potential loss as well as testing related
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mining (other than that described in the Emphasis of
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to provisions and disclosures in the standalone
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matter paragraph above), local and state levies, income
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financial statements through inquiries with the
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tax holidays, availing of input tax credits and such
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management and legal counsel;
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other matters.
This is a key audit matter, as evaluation of these matters
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• Assessing on test basis on the underlying calculation supporting the contingent liabilities and other litigation
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requires management judgement and estimation, related
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disclosures in the standalone financial statements;
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legal advice including those leading to interpretation of laws and regulations and application of relevant judicial
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• Reviewing orders and other communication from
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precedents to determine the probability of the outflow
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tax and regulatory authorities and management
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of economic resources due to associated uncertainty
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responses thereto;
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related to the outcome of these tax and litigation matters
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• Assessing the management expert’s legal advice
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for recognising provisions, disclosing contingent liabilities
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and opinion, as applicable, obtained by the
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and making related disclosures in the standalone financial statements.
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Company’s management to corroborate management
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assessment and evaluating competence and capabilities of the experts; and
• Using auditor’s specialist for technical assistance in evaluating certain significant and judgemental complex direct and indirect tax litigation and positions in tax returns and their possible outcome.
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Other Information
6. The Company’s Board of Directors is responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the integrated annual report, but does not include the standalone financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The integrated annual report is expected to be made available to us after the date of this auditor’s report.
Our opinion on the standalone financial statements does not cover the other information and we will 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 identified above when it becomes available and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the standalone financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated.
When we read the integrated annual report, if we conclude that there is a material misstatement therein, we are requirei to communicate the matter to those charged with governance and take appropriate action as applicable under the relevant laws and regulations.
Responsibilities of management and those charged with governance for the financial statements
7. 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, changes in equity and cash flows of the Company in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in India, including the Indian Accounting Standards specified under Section 133 of the Act. The respective Board of Directors of the Company, its joint operations and trustees of the trusts are responsible for the maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Act for safeguarding of the assets of the Company, its joint operations and trusts and for preventing and detecting frauds and other irregularities; selection and application of appropriate accounting policies; making judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and design, implementation and maintenance of adequate internal financial controls, that were operating effectively for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of the accounting records, relevant to the preparation and presentation of the financial statements that give a true and fair view and are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, which have been used for the purpose of preparation of the standalone financial statements by the Directors of the Company, as aforesaid.
8. In preparing the standalone financial statements, the respective Board of Directors of the Company, its joint operations and trustees of the trusts are responsible for assessing the ability of the Company, its joint operations and trusts to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the respective Board of Directors of the Companies / trustees of the trusts either intends to liquidate the Company, its joint operations and trusts, or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so
9. The respective Board of Directors of the Company, its joint operations and trustees of the trusts are also responsible fo overseeing the financial reporting process of the Company, its joint operations and trusts.
Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
10. 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.
11. As part of an audit in accordance with SAs, we exercise professional judgement and maintain professional scepticism 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.
• 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 ability of the Company, its joint operations and trusts 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 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, its joint operations and trusts 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.
• Obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the financial statements of the joint operations and trusts which are included in the Company’s financial statements to express an opinion on the standalone financial statements. We are responsible for the direction, supervision and performance of the audit of the financial statements of such joint operations and trusts included in the standalone financial statements of which we are the independent auditors. For the other joint operations and trusts included in the standalone financial statements, which have been audited by other auditors, such other auditors remain responsible for the direction, supervision and performance of the audits carried out by them. We remain solely responsible for our audit opinion.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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 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.
Other Matter
15. We did not audit the standalone financial statements of two joint operations included in the standalone financial statements of the Company, which constitute total assets of Rs. 13 crores and net assets of Rs. 13 crores as at March 31, 2025, total revenue of Rs. Nil, total comprehensive income (comprising of profit and other comprehensive income) of Rs. 1 crore and net cash in flows amounting to Rs. 1 crore for the year then ended. These financial statements
and other financial information have been audited by other auditors whose reports have been furnished to us by the management, and our opinion on the standalone financial statements in so far as it relates to the amounts and disclosures included in respect of these joint operations and our report in terms of sub section (3) of Section 143 of the Act including report on Other Information in so far as it relates to the aforesaid joint operations, is based on the reports of such other auditors and procedures performed by us. In respect of one joint operation, an emphasis of matter paragraph with regard to going concern and in respect of one joint operation, a material uncertainty related to going concern paragraph have been reported by the other auditors of the respective joint operations vide their audit report which is not considered to be material to the standalone financial statements of the Company.
*Amounts are below the rounding convention used in the attached standalone financial statements.
16. The standalone financial statements of two trusts included in the standalone financial statements of the Company, which constitute total assets of Rs. 489 crores and net assets of Rs. 42 crores as at March 31, 2025, total revenue of Rs. Nil, total comprehensive income (comprising of profit and other comprehensive income) of Rs. 8 crores and net cash out flows amounting to Rs. 9 crores for the year then ended, have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles applicable to trusts in India. The Company’s management has converted the financial statements of such trusts from the accounting principles generally accepted in India to Accounting Standards specified under Section 133 of the Act. We have audited these conversion adjustments made by the Company’s management. Our opinion in so far as it relates to the balances and affairs of such trusts, is based on the report of other auditors and the conversion adjustments prepared by the management of the Company and audited by us.
Our opinion on the standalone financial statements and our report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements below, is not modified in respect of the above matters of our reliance on the work done and reports of the other auditors.
Report on other legal and regulatory requirements
17. 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 B” a statement on the matters specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Order, to the extent applicable.
18. 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 of the aforesaid standalone financial statements.
(b) In our opinion, proper books of account as required by law have been kept by the Company and its joint operations so far as it appears from our examination of those books and those performed by the auditors of joint operations whose financial statements have been audited under the Act, except that: (i) in the absence of sufficient appropriate audit evidence for two accounting software of the Company, we are unable to verify whether the backup of books of account and other books and papers maintained in electronic mode has been maintained on
a daily basis and on servers physically located in India during the year; (ii) the back-up of one accounting software of the Company for the backup of books of account and other books and papers maintained in electronic mode has been kept on servers physically located in India, on every working day other than holidays for part of the year and on a daily basis for later part of the year; and (iii) the matters stated in paragraph 18(h)(vi) below on reporting under Rule 11(g) of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 (as amended).
(c) The standalone Balance Sheet, the standalone Statement of Profit and Loss (including other comprehensive income), the standalone Statement of Changes in Equity and the standalone Statement of Cash Flows dealt with by this Report are in agreement with the relevant books of account and the financial statements received from joint operations and trusts.
(d) In our opinion, the aforesaid standalone financial statements comply with the Indian Accounting Standards specified under Section 133 of the Act.
(e) On the basis of the written representations received from the directors as on April 01, 2025, taken on record by the Board of Directors and the reports of the auditors of joint operations, none of the directors is disqualified as on March 31, 2025, from being appointed as a director in terms of Section 164(2) of the Act.
(f) With respect to the maintenance of accounts and other matters connected therewith, reference is made to our remarks in paragraph 18(b) above on reporting under Section 143(3)(b) of the Act and paragraph 18(h)(vi) below on reporting under Rule 11(g) of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 (as amended).
(g) With respect to the adequacy of the internal financial controls with reference to financial statements of the Company and its joint operations, and the operating effectiveness of such controls, refer to our separate Report in “Annexure A”.
(h) With respect to the other matters to be included in the Auditor’s Report in accordance with Rule 11 of the
Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 (as amended), in our opinion and to the best of our information and
according to the explanations given to us:
i. The standalone financial statements disclose the impact of pending litigations on the standalone financial position of the Company, its joint operations and trusts - Refer Notes 6, 7, 13 and 31 to the standalone financial statements;
ii. The Company, its joint operations and trust 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 - Refer Notes 5F, 7 and 13 to the standalone financial statements;
iii. Except as referred to in Note 12C to the standalone financial statements, there has been no delay in transferring amounts, required to be transferred, to the Investor Education and Protection Fund by the Company. Further, no amounts were required to be transferred to the Investor Education and Protection Fund by the joint operations of the Company during the year.
iv. (a) The respective managements of the Company and its joint operations whose financial statements have
been audited under the Act, have represented to us and the other auditors of such joint operations, respectively that, to the best of our 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 or any of such joint operations to or in any other persons or entities, including foreign entities (“Intermediaries”), with the understanding, whether recorded in writing or otherwise, that the Intermediary shall, whether directly or indirectly, lend or invest in other persons or entities identified in any manner whatsoever by or on behalf of the Company or any of such joint operations (“Ultimate Beneficiaries”) or provide any guarantee, security or the like on behalf of the Ultimate Beneficiaries (Refer Note 38(c)(viii) to the standalone financial statements);
(b) The respective managements of the Company and its joint operations whose financial statements have been audited under the Act, have represented to us and the other auditors of such joint operations, respectively that, to the best of our knowledge and belief, no funds have been received by the Company or any of such joint operations from any persons or entities, including foreign entities (“Funding Parties”), with the understanding, whether recorded in writing or otherwise, that the Company or any
of such joint operations 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 (Refer Note 38(c)(viii) to the standalone financial statements); and
(c) Based on such audit procedures that has been considered reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances, performed by us and those performed by the auditors of joint operations whose financial statements have been audited under the Act, nothing has come to our or other auditor’s notice that has caused us to believe that the representations under sub-clause (a) and (b) contain any material misstatement.
v. The dividend declared and paid by the Company during the year is in compliance with Section 123 of the Act. The joint operations have not declared or paid any dividend during the year.
vi. Based on our examination, which included test checks, and that performed by the respective auditors of the joint operations, the Company and its joint operations has used multiple accounting software for maintaining its books of account, which have a feature of recording audit trail (edit log) facility and that has operated throughout the year for all relevant transactions recorded in the software, except that:
(a) In case of the Company, at the application level, the audit trail feature for four application software operated for part of the fi nancial year; and
(b) In case of the Company, at the database level, the audit trail feature for three accounting software operated for part of the financial year; for two accounting software the audit trail feature was not enabled; for two accounting software the service auditor’s report on the software provided by the software service provider does not cover reporting on audit trail over direct database changes and for one accounting software the audit trail feature was operating for part of the year and it did not capture the pre-modified values;
(c) In case of one joint operation, the other auditor has observed that the said joint operation has failed to maintain books of accounts in software which has a feature of recording audit trail (edit log) facility and accordingly, the same has not been operated throughout the year for all relevant transactions recorded in the software. Also, since the said joint operation does not have an Audit Trail (edit log) facility the preservation of the same has not been followed.
During the course of performing our procedures and those performed by the auditors of joint operations whose financial statements have been audited under the Act, except for the aforesaid instances at the application and the database levels, where the question of our commenting on whether the audit trail has been tampered with does not arise, we did not notice any instance of the audit trail feature being tampered with. Further, the audit trail, to the extent maintained in the prior year, has been preserved by the Company as per the statutory requirements for record retention.
19. The Company has paid/ provided for managerial remuneration in accordance with the requisite approvals mandated by the provisions of Section 197 read with Schedule V to the Act. The joint operations of the Company have not paid/ provided for managerial remuneration during the year.
For Price Waterhouse & Co Chartered Accountants LLP
Firm Registration Number: 304026E/E-300009
Sarah George
Partner
Membership Number: 045255
UDIN: 25045255BMPQPE3548
Place: Mumbai
Date: May 20, 2025
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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 standalone financial statements in place and the operating effectiveness of such controls.
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