We have audited the standalone financial statements of Thomas Cook (India) Limited (the "Company”)and its employee stock option trust which comprise the standalone balance sheet as at 31 March 2024, and the standalone statement of profit and loss (including other comprehensive income), standalone statement of changes in equity and standalone statement of cash flows for the year then ended, and notes to the standalone financial statements, including material accounting policies and other explanatory information (hereinafter referred to as standalone financial statements).
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 ("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 31 March 2024, and its profit and other comprehensive income, changes in equity and its cash flows for the year ended on that date.
Basis for Opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with the Standards on Auditing (SAs) specified under Section 143(10) of the Act. Our responsibilities under those SAs 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 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 we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion on the standalone financial statements.
Key Audit Matter
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most significance in our audit of the standalone financial statements of the current period. 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.
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Key audit matter
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See Note 1.3 of "Material Accounting Policies” and Note 16 - "Revenue Recognition” to standalone financial statements
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The key audit matter
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How the matter was addressed in our audit
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Revenue recognition:
Refer Note 1.3 and 16 -"Revenue recognition” and "Revenue from operations” in the standalone financial statements
Revenue is measured based on consideration paid for services.
As disclosed in note to the standalone financial statements, revenue is recognized on transfer of control of promised services to customers at a consideration which the Company agreed to receive for those services.
Revenue from Travel and Related Services has risk of fraud and reliance on multiple front office IT systems and their integration to back office system. Thus, it has been considered as significant matter for our audit.
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Our audit procedures included
following:
• Assessing the policies in respect of revenue recognition by comparing with applicable accounting standards;
• Evaluating and testing the design, implementation and operating effectiveness of the Company's internal controls over recognition of revenue along with effectiveness of Information Technology controls built in the automized processes;
• Checking of completeness and accuracy of the data used by the Company by testing the controls in operation;
• Performing substantive testing
by selecting statistical samples of revenue transactions recorded for the year and agreeing to the underlying documents;
• Testing the revenue based on agreements, where applicable;
• Performing analyses over revenue from travel and travel related services;
• Assessing journal entries posted to revenue to identify unusual items not already covered by us.
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See Note 5 - "Investment” to standalone financial statements
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The key audit matter
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How the matter was addressed in our audit
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Valuation of Investments:
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Our audit procedures included
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The Company has
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the following:
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investments in subsidiaries.
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• Evaluating the design,
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These investments are
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testing the implementation
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accounted for at cost less
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and operating effectiveness
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any provision for impairment.
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of the Company's internal
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The Company evaluates the
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controls over Impairment of
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indicators of impairment
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Investments
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of the said investments
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• Assessed the indicators of
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regularly by reference to the
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impairment of investments
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requirements under Ind AS 36
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in subsidiaries. We have
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Impairment of Assets.
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evaluated the forecasts based
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The Company carries out
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on historical performance
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impairment assessment for
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and also examined the
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each investment by:
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basis of estimates of the
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• Comparing the carrying
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recoverable amounts of
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value of each investment
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these investments, the
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with the net worth of each
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assumptions used in making
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company based on latest
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such estimates, and the
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financial statements
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allowance for impairment;
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• Comparing the
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• Compared the carrying
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performance of the
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values of the Company's
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investee companies
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investment in subsidiaries
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with projections used for
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with their respective net asset
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valuations and approved
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values, fair values (where
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business plans
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applicable) and assessed the performance and their
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The recoverable amounts
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outlook;
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of the above investments
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are estimated in order to
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• Evaluated key assumptions
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determine the extent of
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in the Company's valuation
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the impairment loss. As
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models used to determine
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impairment assessment
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recoverable amount including
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involves significant
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assumptions of projected
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assumptions and judgment,
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EBITDA, growth rate,
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we regard this as a key audit
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projected revenue, projected
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matter.
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capital expenditure, long term growth rates, discount rates. We involved our internal valuation experts in certain specific valuations;
• Assessed the related disclosures in Note 5 of the standalone financial statements.
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Other Information
The Company's Management and Board of Directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, but does not include the financial statements and auditor's reports thereon. The 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 annual report, if we conclude that there is a material misstatement therein, we are required to communicate the matter to those charged with governance.
Management's and Board of Directors'/Board of Trustees' Responsibilities for the Standalone Financial Statements
The Company's Management and Board of Directors are 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 state of affairs, profit/ loss and other comprehensive income, changes in equity and cash flows 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. The respective Management and Board of Directors of the company/Board of Trustees of the employee stock option trusts ("Trust”) are responsible for maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Act for safeguarding of the assets of each company/trust 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 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, the respective Management and Board of Directors/Board of Trustees are responsible for assessing the ability of each company/trust 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/Board of Trustees either intends to liquidate the company/trust or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.
The respective Board of Directors/Board of Trustees are responsible for overseeing the financial reporting process of each company/trust.
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 the Management and Board of Directors.
• Conclude on the appropriateness of the Management and Board of Directors use of the going concern basis of accounting in preparation of standalone financial statements 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 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 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 of the Company 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 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.
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 Section 143(11) of the Act, we give in the "Annexure A” a statement on the matters specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Order, to the extent applicable.
2 A. 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 except for the matters stated in the paragraph 2B(f) below on reporting under Rule 11(g) of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014.
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 books of account.
d. In our opinion, the aforesaid standalone financial statements comply with the Ind AS specified under Section 133 of the Act.
e. On the basis of the written representations received from the directors as on 31 March 2023 taken on record by the Board of Directors, none of the directors is disqualified as on 31 March 2024 from being appointed as a director in terms of Section 164(2) of the Act.
f. the modification relating to the maintenance of accounts and other matters connected therewith are as stated in the paragraph 2A(b) above on reporting under Section 143(3)(b) and paragraph 2B(f) below on reporting under Rule 11(g) of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014.
g. With respect to the adequacy of the internal financial controls with reference to financial statements of the Company and the operating effectiveness of such controls, refer to our separate Report in "Annexure B”.
B. 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, in our opinion and to the best of our information and according to the explanations given to us:
a. The Company has disclosed the impact of pending litigations as at 31 March 2024 on its financial position in its standalone financial statements - Refer Note 25 to the standalone financial statements.
b. The Company did not have any long-term contracts including derivative contracts for which there were any material foreseeable losses.
c. There has been no delay in transferring amounts, required to be transferred, to the Investor Education and Protection Fund by the Company..
d (i) The management of the Company has represented to us that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, as disclosed in the Note 42(iv)to the standalone financial statements, 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 persons or entities, including foreign entities ("Intermediaries”), with the understanding, whether recorded in writing or otherwise, as on the date of this audit report that the Intermediary shall 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.
(ii) The management of the Company has represented to us that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, as disclosed in the Note 42(v) to the standalone financial statements, no funds have been received by the Company from any persons or entities, including foreign entities ("Funding Parties”), with the understanding, whether recorded in writing or otherwise, as on the date of this audit report, that the Company shall directly or indirectly, lend or invest in other persons or entities identified in any manner whatsoever by or on behalf of the Funding Parties ("Ultimate Beneficiaries”) or provide any guarantee,
security or the like on behalf of the Ultimate Beneficiaries.
(iii) Based on such audit procedures as 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 (d) (i) and (d) (ii) contain any material mis-statement.
e. 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 43 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.
f. Based on our examination which included test checks, the Company has used accounting software for maintaining its books of account which have a feature of recording audit trail (edit log) facility except that, the audit trail was not enabled for data changes performed by users having privileged access till 1st February 2024 at application layer of the accounting software used to maintain general ledger and audit trail was also not enabled at the database level to log any direct data changes for software used to maintain general ledger.
For accounting software for which audit trail feature is enabled, the audit trail facility has been operating throughout the year for all relevant transactions recorded in the software and we did not come across any instance of audit trail feature being tampered with during the course of our audit.
C. With respect to the matter to be included in the Auditor's Report under Section 197(16) of the Act:
In our opinion and according to the information and explanations given to us the remuneration paid by the Company to its directors during the current year is in accordance with the provisions of Section 197 of the Act. The remuneration paid to any director is not in excess of the limit laid down under Section 197 of the Act. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has not prescribed other details under Section 197(16) of the Act which are required to be commented upon by us.
For B S R & Co. LLP
Chartered Accountants Firm's Registration No.:101248W/W-100022
Partner
Place: Mumbai Membership No.: 042070
Date: 15 May 2024 ICAI UDIN:24042070BKCQUX7285
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