Andrew Yule & Company Ltd Forensic Report - SOIC x StockScans Report

as of Sep 2026

Andrew Yule's record is dominated by a decade of unresolved disputes, regulatory penalties, and accounting choices that auditors have repeatedly qualified or flagged. The one clean line in the file is the statutory auditor's own record: a single C&AG-appointed transition in six years, with no resignations or adverse actions. The substance of the financial statements, however, carries critical and major findings across controls, cash flow, and governance.

Key findings

  1. Seven straight years of qualified or adverse audit findings on internal financial controls Critical - The standalone internal financial controls opinion was adverse in FY2020, FY2021, FY2022, FY2023-24 and FY2025-26, stating controls were "inadequate" each year. The FY2025-26 unqualified opinion was undermined by C&AG-identified misstatements of ₹51.69 lakh, ₹4.86 crore, ₹42.22 crore and ₹33.47 crore across cash, payables and cash-flow classifications. The FY2025-26 report was revised twice before final issuance on 18.07.2026 after the C&AG supplementary audit.
  2. Reported profits shaped by write-backs, depreciation lives, and selective Ind AS application Major - In FY2021-22, the company wrote off ₹114.29 crore of old debtors while writing back ₹115.91 crore of provisions, with the auditor qualifying the accounts because individual details were not made available and debts may be barred by limitation. The company depreciates Plant & Machinery over 15 to 25 years per Technical Evaluation, deviating from Schedule II, and does not apply Ind AS 116 to Assam tea garden land leases, both disclosed consistently from FY2019-20 through FY2025-26.
  3. Operating cash flow persistently negative or misstated, with no dividends for six of seven years Major - Operating cash flow was negative at ₹80.41 crore in FY2025-26, ₹11.05 crore in FY2024-25, and ₹63.21 crore in FY2021-22. The C&AG found ₹21.11 crore of interest expense was misclassified, understating operating cash flow and overstating financing cash flow by ₹42.22 crore each in FY2025-26. Capital WIP included nurturing costs of young tea plants of ₹44.4 crore in FY2025-26, and no dividend was recommended for five of the last six years citing insufficient free cash position.
  4. Fined by BSE/SEBI every year since FY2020 for board-composition failures Major - BSE levied fines for non-compliance with SEBI LODR Regulations 17 to 21 from the June 2019 quarter through FY2021-22, which the company did not pay or provide for because director appointments are made by the administrative ministry. BSE imposed a penalty of ₹60.73 lakh for non-compliance up to December 2025, which the company provided for "as a matter of abundant precaution" while requesting a waiver. NSE suspended trading of AYCL shares from November 2023 onwards, leaving BSE as the trading venue.
  5. Shareholder resolution to remove the Chairman & Managing Director Major - A shareholder-proposed resolution seeks removal of Shri Ananta Mohan Singh, CMD, from office with effect from the 78th AGM. The Board stated it does not recommend or comment on the resolution and has expressed no opinion on its validity. Secretarial audits from FY2019-20 through FY2025-26 have each reported non-compliance with board composition, independent director counts, or woman director requirements.
  6. Revenue recognition flagged as a key audit matter, with weak receivables ageing and provisioning Major - In FY2020-21 and FY2021-22, the auditor identified revenue recognition as Key Audit Matter 1, citing the risk of revenue being recorded before control is transferred. In FY2023-24, the auditor stated the company has no policy to provide for receivables on the basis of age, with debtors outstanding for more than 36 months disclosed. As on 31.03.2026, receivables over 36 months were ₹28.58 crore against provisions of ₹29.02 crore.
  7. Interest-free advances to 100% subsidiaries and a partially recovered Webfil exposure Major - The company granted unsecured loans to 100% subsidiaries in FY2025-26 with no repayment schedule stipulated, as loans were provided to meet statutory requirements. The moratorium on the Webfil Ltd bond expired on 21/12/2022 and on preference shares on 01/04/2022, with a balance receivable of ₹50 lakhs as on 31.03.2026. The company received partial recoveries from Webfil between April-23 and February-26, with effects given as and when realised.
  8. Statutory auditor changed once in six years, with no resignations or adverse actions Clean - M/s. S. K. Basu & Co. was the statutory auditor for FY2019-20 through FY2022-23, appointed by the C&AG under Section 143(5). M/s. N.C. Banerjee & Co. took over from FY2023-24 onward. CARO reported "no resignation of statutory auditors during the year" in FY2021-22, FY2022-23, FY2023-24, and FY2025-26, and neither auditor rendered services to subsidiaries or network firms in any year.

What to watch

Bottom line: This is a record of sustained audit qualifications, regulatory penalties, and unresolved disputes that the company itself attributes to its government ownership. The risk is not hidden in a single line item but spread across the entire control environment, from cash-flow classification to board composition. Read the receivables and related-party lines with the auditor's inability to confirm provisions in mind, and watch the AGM vote and the waiver requests for signs of whether the governance logjam is breaking.