To the Members of CESC Limited

Report on the Audit of the Standalone Financial StatementsOPINION

We have audited the accompanying standalone financial statements of CESC Limited ("the Company"), which comprise the Balance Sheet as at March 31 2023, the Statement of Profit and Loss, including the statement of Other Comprehensive Income, 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 significant 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, 2023, its profit including other comprehensive income, 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.

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, 2023. 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.

1. Accrual of regulatory income/expense and corresponding asset / liability (Refer note 39)Key Audit Matters:

The Company recognizes regulatory income/ expense/ assets/ liability basis its understanding and interpretation of Tariff orders and regulations notified by the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission (WBERC), which are subject matter of Annual Performance Review (APR) and will be adjusted in tariffs to be notified in the future years. Management exercises judgement in estimating such amounts using experience from the issued Tariff/ APR orders including interpretation of the regulations. Such regulatory deferral balances are discounted over an estimated period of recovery using appropriate discounting rate.

In consideration of the significance of the amount of the regulatory balances, complexity and high degree of estimation involved in computation thereof and pending annual performance reviews, we identified accrual of regulatory balances as a key audit matter.

How our audit addressed the key audit matter:

Our audit procedures comprised of the following:

• We obtained an understanding from the management, assessed and tested the design and operating effectiveness of the Company's key controls related to accrual of such regulatory balances.

• We considered the Company's accounting policies with respect to accrual for regulatory deferral account balances and assessed compliance with Ind AS 114 "Regulatory Deferral Accounts".

• We discussed with the management on the key assumptions and estimates used for recognition of these regulatory balances and corroborated them with the applicable regulatory provisions, APR orders, Tariff orders and underlying records of the Company.

• We discussed with the management on the consistency of its key assumptions and basis of estimation for all the years for which APR assessments are pending to be completed and also verified the arithmetical accuracy of such workings.

• We enquired from the management for notifications and correspondences with the regulator on the pending APR assessments.

• We also assessed the discounting rate and the estimated period of recovery considered by the management with reference to the APR process and the tariff regulations.

• We assessed the adequacy of disclosures in accordance with the requirements of Ind AS 114 "Regulatory Deferral Accounts".

2. Investments in subsidiaries of the Company (Refer Note 7)Key Audit Matter:

The Company carries its investment in subsidiaries at cost and performs an impairment assessment, wherever required as per applicable Ind AS.

For these assessments, the Company involves a valuer to determine the recoverable value of such investments using the discounted cash flow method of valuation, which is highly sensitive to changes in inputs used in valuation and involves judgement due to inherent uncertainty in the assumptions used for forecasting the future cash flows.

Accordingly, the impairment assessment of investments in subsidiary companies, wherever required, was determined to be a key audit matter in our audit of the standalone financial statements.

How our audit addressed the key audit matter:

Our audit procedures included the following:

• We obtained an understanding from the management, assessed and tested the design and operating effectiveness of the Company's key controls over the impairment assessment of such investments.

• We discussed with the management the methodology and assumptions used in the valuation including discount rates, expected growth rates and terminal growth rates.

• We read and evaluated the audited financial statements of these subsidiary companies of past few years. We discussed potential changes in key drivers as compared to previous year / actual performance with management to evaluate the inputs and assumptions used in the forecasts.

• We evaluated the objectivity, independence and competence of the external valuation specialists involved by the management for such valuation.

• In performing the above procedures, we involved internal valuation specialists to perform an independent review of methodology and key assumptions used in the valuation. We also evaluated the objectivity and competence of such internal valuation specialists involved in such independent review.

• We obtained suitable management representation on the projections of future cash flows and the various assumptions used in the valuation.

• We tested the arithmetical accuracy of the financial projections.

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 Board of Directors 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, 2023 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 that:

(a) We have sought and obtained all the information and explanations which to the best of our knowledge and belief were necessary for the purposes of our audit;

(b) In our opinion, proper books of account as required by law have been kept by the Company so far as it appears from our examination of those books;

(c) The Balance Sheet, the Statement of Profit and Loss including the Statement of Other Comprehensive Income, the 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, 2023 taken on record by the Board of Directors, none of the directors is disqualified as on March 31, 2023 from being appointed as a director in terms of Section 164 (2) of the Act;

(f) 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;

(g) In our opinion, the managerial remuneration for the year ended March 31, 2023 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;

(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 Company has disclosed the impact of pending litigations on its financial position in its standalone financial statements -Refer note 31 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(s) or entity(ies), including foreign entities ("Intermediaries"), with the understanding, whether recorded in writing or otherwise, that the Intermediary shall, whether, directly or indirectly lend or invest in other persons or entities identified in any manner whatsoever by or on behalf of the Company ("Ultimate Beneficiaries") or provide any guarantee, security or the like on behalf of the Ultimate Beneficiaries;

b) The management has represented that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, no funds have been received by the Company from any person(s) or entity(ies), including foreign entities ("Funding Parties"), with the understanding, whether recorded in writing or otherwise, that the Company shall, whether, directly or indirectly, lend or invest in other persons or entities identified in any manner whatsoever by or on behalf of the Funding Party ("Ultimate Beneficiaries") or provide any guarantee, security or the like on behalf of the Ultimate Beneficiaries; 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 interim dividend declared and paid by the Company during the year and until the date of this audit report is in accordance with section 123 of the Act.

vi. As proviso to Rule 3(1) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 is applicable for the Company only w.e.f. April 1, 2023, reporting under this clause is not applicable.

For S.R. Batliboi & Co. LLP

Chartered Accountants ICAI Firm Registration Number 301003E/E300005

per Navin Agrawal

Partner

Place of Signature Kolkata Membership Number 056102

Date May 22, 2023 UDIN 23056102BGUUOX1155