Stock Audit Across Chennai

The Reserve Bank's Master Direction and related circulars on loans and advances set the prudential basis for how banks assess working-capital limits and compute Drawing Power (DP). DP is the amount a cash-credit or overdraft borrower may draw against hypothecated current assets, worked out as paid-for stock plus eligible book debts, less the stipulated margin. Stock audit is the lender's mechanism to independently verify that the stock and receivables reported in monthly statements actually exist and support the sanctioned limit. This framework is guidance for banks, not a statute imposing duties on the borrower; the borrower's obligations flow from the sanction letter that adopts these norms.

The IRAC (Income Recognition, Asset Classification and Provisioning) norms govern when a loan account is downgraded to a Non-Performing Asset. A cash-credit or overdraft account is treated as out of order, and can be classified as an NPA, where the outstanding stays continuously over the sanctioned limit or Drawing Power, or where there are no credits sufficient to cover interest, for a prescribed period (broadly 90 days). Stock audit findings that cut DP below the outstanding balance can therefore directly trigger NPA classification. Understanding these norms helps a borrower correct discrepancies before an account slips, protecting both the limit and the credit rating.

The SARFAESI Act, 2002 lets a secured creditor enforce its security interest without court intervention once an account is classified as an NPA. Hypothecation of stock and book debts is a security interest under the Act. Stock audit protects both sides here: it confirms that the charged current assets exist and are adequately valued, which is the very collateral a bank could look to under SARFAESI if the account defaults. Where audit shows the security has eroded, the bank may reduce exposure or seek additional cover. We describe the Act's role in general terms and do not read specific enforcement steps into a routine stock-audit engagement.

Where the borrower is a company, Section 77 of the Companies Act, 2013 requires that a charge created over its assets, including hypothecation of stock and book debts to secure working-capital finance, be registered with the Registrar of Companies in Form CHG-1, generally within 30 days of creation. A registered charge establishes the bank's priority and is often verified during stock audit to confirm the security is perfected. For proprietorships and partnerships, no ROC registration applies and the charge rests on the hypothecation deed alone. This is a company-law compliance point that sits alongside, but is separate from, the audit of physical stock.

A borrower's duty to permit stock audit does not come from a single statute; it comes from the loan sanction letter and the hypothecation agreement signed with the bank. These documents typically require periodic stock and book-debt statements, an annual (or more frequent) stock audit for limits above a threshold, the right of bank-appointed auditors to inspect premises and records, and maintenance of the agreed margin. Because the obligation is contractual, the exact cadence, threshold and margin vary by bank and by sanction. We read each borrower's sanction terms first rather than assume a standard rule, since breach of these covenants is what actually triggers penal action.

Where a borrower's working-capital needs are met by more than one bank, RBI guidance on consortium and multiple banking arrangements expects lenders to share information on limits, security and conduct of the account. Stock audit is important here because the same pool of stock and receivables cannot be double-counted to draw against limits with different banks. Auditors check that DP claimed to each lender is supported by distinct, unencumbered assets and that charges are correctly ranked (first or second charge). Poor information sharing across banks is a recognised risk area, and a clean stock audit gives each lender comfort that its share of security is intact.

Bank working-capital limits are sized using assessment methods that RBI has, over time, recommended or accepted: the Maximum Permissible Bank Finance approach from the Tandon and Chore Committees for larger borrowers, and the simplified turnover method (associated with the Nayak Committee) under which limits for smaller units are pegged to a percentage of projected turnover with a defined margin. Stock audit is the after-the-fact check that the current assets actually held justify the limit that these methods produced. Knowing which method sized a limit tells the auditor what level of stock and receivables to expect, and flags cases where drawings have outrun the underlying business.

Hypothecation of stock is fundamentally a contract: the borrower retains possession and use of the goods while creating a charge in the bank's favour, unlike a pledge where the lender holds possession. The Indian Contract Act, 1872 provides the general law of contract that underpins the hypothecation agreement and related undertakings, while SARFAESI gives the statutory definition and enforcement route for the security interest so created. This distinction matters in stock audit: because the borrower keeps and turns over the goods, independent verification of quantity, condition and ownership is the only reliable way for the lender to know its security still exists.