Comfort Intech's record carries a clean audit opinion for the last three years, but that sits against a backdrop of regulatory action, unresolved property-title defects, and accounting choices that have shaped reported profit. The most serious items are a fresh corporate guarantee to a promoter-linked associate, a provisional attachment by the Enforcement Directorate, and a loan-settlement shortfall routed around the profit-and-loss account.
Key findings
- A ₹50 crore corporate guarantee now sits behind a promoter-linked associate while ₹18.78 crore of related-party loans remain repayable on demand with no repayment schedule
Major- On 26 September 2025, Comfort Intech issued a corporate guarantee of ₹50 crore to HDFC Bank for credit facilities availed by Comfort Securities Ltd, an associate with common promoters. The auditor's CARO report for FY2025-26 states that aggregate outstanding loans repayable on demand to related parties stood at ₹18.78 crore, with repayment schedule "Not Applicable". The FY2025-26 AGM notice puts the proposed related-party transaction value at approximately 100% to 200% of annual consolidated turnover. - The Enforcement Directorate provisionally attached ₹13.08 crore of Comfort Intech and subsidiary assets in March 2026, adding to a record of SEBI penalties, a market ban, and an ongoing MCA investigation
Major- On 31 March 2026, the company announced a Provisional Attachment Order dated 25 March 2026 from the Enforcement Directorate, Hyderabad, attaching assets of CIL and subsidiary Liquors India Ltd worth approximately ₹13.08 crore for 180 days. SEBI restrained the company from accessing the securities market for six months in February 2021, a stay on which was obtained in May 2021, and levied penalties of ₹5.28 lakh in December 2021 and ₹1 lakh in September 2022. An MCA investigation notice was received in December 2023, with documents submitted in February 2024. - Audit opinions were qualified for three straight years over unprovided gratuity, then turned clean from FY2023-24 onward, while the same two property-title defects and a GST-inclusive sales-reporting exception to lenders recur in every CARO report
Major- The auditor qualified its opinion for FY2020-21, FY2021-22 and FY2022-23 because gratuity was not provided under Ind AS 19 actuarial valuation, then issued unqualified opinions for FY2023-24 through FY2025-26. The CARO report for FY2025-26 flags a flat at Lal Baug, Mumbai, carrying value ₹1.02 crore, where name transfer in society records is pending, and land at Hyderabad, carrying value ₹2.7 crore, where co-owners obtained a stay on mutation. Both defects appear in every CARO report from FY2021-22 through FY2024-25. - A ₹19.37 crore loan against pledged shares was settled by booking the frozen security as a long-term investment, with a ₹3.33 crore shortfall pushed to OCI rather than profit or loss
Major- A loan of ₹19.37 crore outstanding as at 31 March 2021 was secured by a pledge of shares whose demat account was frozen by a statutory authority. In FY2021-22, management settled the loan by transferring the invoked security to long-term investment, and the negative difference of ₹3.32-3.33 crore was recognised in Other Comprehensive Income "as per company policy" rather than as an impairment charge. - Comfort Intech's reported profits rest on accounting-policy choices that shifted from non-compliant cash-basis gratuity accounting to retrospective restatement
Major- For FY2020-21 through FY2022-23, gratuity and leave encashment were accounted for on a payment basis, not accrual. In FY2023-24, the company changed its policy to comply with Ind AS 19, with effect given retrospectively. The company stated it was "in the process of ascertaining the fair value" of investment properties in FY2020-21 through FY2023-24, before disclosing a Level 2 fair value of ₹24.02 crore in FY2024-25 and FY2025-26. - Comfort Intech converted its long-held associate Liquors India Limited into a 65.30% subsidiary via a rights-issue subscription in January 2024, recognising a ₹5.65 crore bargain purchase gain
Minor- Liquors India Limited became a subsidiary effective 20 January 2024, after Comfort Intech subscribed to a rights issue and was allotted 43,78,950 shares, taking its holding to 65.30%. The business combination resulted in a bargain purchase gain of ₹5.65 crore recognised in the consolidated balance sheet. - Operating cash flow does not back reported profit across the cycle, while dividends continue to be declared
Minor- Cumulative CFO over the nine years through FY2026 was ₹0 crore against cumulative PAT of ₹37 crore, with the group including a financial-services segment whose lending book consumes CFO by design. FY2026 standalone CFO was ₹-5.56 crore against PAT of ₹2.18 crore, and FY2025 was the only year in the FY2023-FY2026 window where CFO exceeded PAT. ROCE was 2.84% in FY2026, and the company's own MD&A lists "Low operating margins and ROCE" and "Profit volatility" as weaknesses. The Board recommended a final dividend of ₹0.05 per share for FY2025-26 on 14 May 2026.
What to watch
- ED attachment challenge. Outcome of the company's challenge to the Provisional Attachment Order dated 25 March 2026, attaching assets of approximately ₹13.08 crore for 180 days.
- Frozen demat account. Resolution of the company's application before the High Court at Hyderabad to unfreeze the demat account holding certain investments, as disclosed in the FY2025-26 Annual Report.
- Hyderabad land suit. Outcome of the company's suit against the stay on mutation of the Hyderabad land, pending as of the FY2025-26 Annual Report.
- MCA investigation. Further directions from the Regional Director, Western Region, following the company's submission of documents on 19 February 2024.
Bottom line: This is a record with a clean audit opinion for three years, but the clean opinion sits alongside unresolved regulatory and property-title matters, and accounting choices that have moved losses out of reported profit. The character of the risk is a company whose related-party dealings, regulatory exposure, and accounting policies each warrant scrutiny. Watch the ED attachment challenge, the frozen demat account, and the MCA investigation for how these matters resolve.