Standard Batteries' record is thin: six years of zero revenue, total assets of just ₹2.14 crore, and a statutory auditor who has been in place since at least FY2020. The real story sits in a single inter-corporate loan to a promoter entity, overdue for more than 90 days, earning no interest, and now flagged by the auditor as prejudicial and non-compliant with company law, even as the audit opinion itself was cleaned up.
Key findings
- Audit opinion cleaned up, but the same loan still draws CARO flags
Major- V. Singhi & Associates issued qualified opinions for three consecutive years from FY2020 through FY2022, each time citing non-recognition of interest income and inability to comment on recoverability of the same inter-corporate loan. The FY26 opinion is unqualified, yet CARO continues to report the loan as overdue for more than 90 days, prejudicial, and non-compliant with Section 186. Separately, the company's Note 32(c) discloses the accounting software lacked an audit trail feature for certain modules, while the auditor's report states the feature was consistently operated throughout the year for all relevant transactions. - Zero revenue for six years, total assets of ₹2.14 crore
Minor- Revenue was ₹0.00 in each of FY2021 through FY2026, and trade receivables fell from ₹50.33 lakhs to zero over the same window. Total assets stood at ₹2.14 crore as of FY26, consisting primarily of cash and other assets, with no borrowings, no capital work in progress, and no property, plant and equipment. The Board acknowledged in FY25 that nil sales had produced a negative return on net worth. - Statutory auditor stable since FY2020, internal auditor resigned in 2022
Minor- M/s. V Singhi & Associates has served as statutory auditor continuously from at least FY2019-20, with a five-year re-appointment approved at the 75th AGM in 2022. The internal auditor, M/s. Kiran Solanki & Associates, resigned effective 23 August 2022, and a replacement was appointed the following month. The statutory auditor's engagement partner, Naveen Taparia, was not present at the 78th AGM held on 22 September 2025.
What to watch
- Recovery of the ₹4.7 crore ICD. The company has issued reminders and the auditor continues to flag prejudicial terms and non-compliance with Section 186 as of the FY2025-26 CARO report.
- ₹4.7 crore loan to Williamson Financial Services. The loan had no movement in FY2026 and is repayable on demand.
- Audit trail contradiction. Resolution of the conflicting disclosures between the auditor's statement and Note 32(c) of the FY26 financial statements regarding the accounting software's edit-log feature.
- Promoter pledge disclosure. Next disclosure of promoter pledge level in the FY2026-27 Annual Report.
Bottom line: This is a disclosed but dormant record, zero revenue, negligible assets, and a single loan that has defined the audit conversation for half a decade. The audit opinion is now clean, but the CARO annexure tells a different story: the same inter-corporate loan remains overdue, prejudicial, and non-compliant. Read the contradiction between the opinion and the CARO flags with care, and watch whether the loan is recovered or provided for again.