Chartered Logistics Ltd Forensic Report - SOIC x StockScans Report

as of Sep 2026

Chartered Logistics' record carries seven consecutive unqualified audit opinions, yet those clean reports sit beside a recurring set of disclosures that point the same direction every year: loans to non-subsidiary parties with no repayment or interest terms, repeated SEBI compliance failures, and a board controlled by a father-son promoter duo. The most serious item is the loan book, which has grown every year while the board repeatedly certified there were no material related-party dealings.

Key findings

  1. Loans with no terms or interest keep growing while the board says there are no related-party deals Critical - Loans and advances to parties other than subsidiaries, joint ventures, and associates stood at ₹22.37 crore at 31 March 2026, up from ₹18.38 crore a year earlier and ₹14.74 crore in FY2023-24. The auditor's CARO report states these loans carry no stipulated repayment of principal or payment of interest in each of those three years. The Board's Report for seven straight years, FY2019-20 through FY2025-26, stated there were no materially significant related party transactions with promoters, directors, or key managerial personnel.
  2. Clean audit opinions sit alongside audit-trail gaps, bank-filing mismatches, and the same no-terms loans Major - Prakash Tekwani & Associates issued an unqualified opinion on the standalone financial statements for each year from FY2021-22 through FY2025-26, and Vidya & Co. did the same for FY2019-20 and FY2020-21. The auditor reported under Section 143(3) that the audit trail feature was not enabled at the database layer for the accounting software in FY2023-24, FY2024-25, and FY2025-26. CARO reported loans with no stipulated repayment or interest terms in each of the five years from FY2021-22 through FY2025-26, and quarterly returns filed with banks on working capital limits showed disclosed exceptions in every one of those years.
  3. Every rupee of debt is secured, the board keeps seeking ₹250 crore borrowing power, and loan repayments keep getting postponed Major - The working capital loan from the bank stood at ₹10.94 crore in FY2024-25, secured by hypothecation of truck vehicles and book debts, mortgage by deposit of title deeds, and personal guarantees of directors. The board sought and obtained shareholder approval to borrow up to ₹250 crore at the AGM held on 28 September 2023, exceeding paid-up capital and free reserves. The company availed the option to postpone repayment of principal amounts due on its outstanding loans in each of the five years from FY2019-20 through FY2023-24.
  4. Revenue recognition has been a fraud-risk audit focus for six years, and receivables stay high Major - The auditor's Key Audit Matter on revenue recognition cites high-volume daily cash-settled transactions, presumed fraud risk, and management judgement on contract identification and delayed billing, in every annual report from FY2019-20 through FY2024-25. Trade receivables stood at 25.18 crore at 31 March 2026 against revenue of ₹71.55 crore for the year. Receivable days were 133 in FY24, 130 in FY25, and 128 in FY26.
  5. A father-son promoter duo runs the board, with repeated SEBI disclosure failures and a land sale to the MD's wife Major - Lalit Kumar Gandhi (Managing Director) and Harsh Lalitkumar Gandhi (Whole Time Director) are father and son, and the board comprised five directors as of 31 March 2026. Lalit Kumar Gandhi took no remuneration in any year from FY2020-21 through FY2024-25, and Harsh Gandhi took none from FY2021-22 through FY2024-25, despite the company initiating an offer of remuneration to both from FY2024-25. The FY2023-24 AGM notice sought approval for disposal of land at Chartered House, Ahmedabad to Mrs. Taru Gandhi, wife of the MD, for ₹4.50 crore. Harsh Gandhi resigned as Whole Time Director effective 25 June 2026.
  6. SEBI compliance failures repeat across four years, with no penalties imposed Major - In FY2025-26, the company did not disclose encumbered shares under Regulation 31(4) of the SEBI (SAST) Regulations, and the Secretarial Auditor observed delayed filing and belated entries in the Structured Digital Database. In FY2023-24, the company failed to provide SDD Compliance Certificates for two quarters, delayed its Q1 FY24 results by four minutes, and left out a trading window closure intimation under SEBI (PIT) Regulations. The Secretarial Auditor confirmed violations of SEBI (LODR), (PIT), and (SAST) Regulations in FY2023-24, FY2024-25, and FY2025-26, while the company stated no penalty was imposed in any of those years.
  7. Operating cash flow swings widely against profit, and no dividends have been paid Minor - Operating cash flow was ₹6.94 crore against a net loss of ₹2.32 crore in FY26, and ₹13.16 crore against profit of ₹0.67 crore in FY24. Interest coverage was 0.7x in the latest period. The board recommended no dividend for FY2021-22, FY2022-23, or FY2023-24.
  8. A single new IFSC subsidiary is audited by a different auditor, with no modification to the group opinion Minor - The company had no subsidiaries from FY2019-20 through FY2023-24, then acquired a 99.9997% stake in newly incorporated Chartered Comcare IFSC Limited during FY2024-25. The consolidated auditor's report for FY2024-25 and FY2025-26 states the subsidiary's financial statements were audited by another auditor, and the group opinion relies solely on that report without modification.

What to watch

Bottom line: This is a record with clean audit opinions and a disclosed, if volatile, cash flow story. The risk is not hidden in the financial statements; it sits in the gap between what the board certifies and what the auditor reports, no-terms loans to non-subsidiary parties that grow every year, a fully secured and personally guaranteed debt stack with repeated repayment deferrals, and a promoter board that has repeatedly missed SEBI disclosure deadlines. Watch the next AGM's related-party votes and whether the ₹250 crore borrowing power is renewed again.