Press Release

Press Release

March 31, 2026

PAUL & COMPANY STEEL MERCHANTS PRIVATE LIMITED
Rating Downgraded and Issuer not co-operating

Product	Quantum (Rs. Cr)	Long Term Rating	Short Term Rating
Bank Loan Ratings	32.00	ACUITE B \| Downgraded \| Issuer not co-operating*	-
Total Outstanding	32.00	-	-
Total Withdrawn	0.00	-	-
* The issuer did not co-operate; based on best available information.

Rating Rationale

Acuité has downgraded the long-term rating to ‘ACUITE B’ (read as ACUITE B) from 'ACUITE B+' (read as ACUITE B plus) on the Rs.32.00 crore bank facilities of Paul & Company Steel Merchants Private Limited on account of information risk. The rating continues to be flagged as "Issuer Not-Cooperating" and is based on the best available information.

About the Company

Kolkata based Paul & Company Steel Merchants Private Limited was incorporated in 2009. It is engaged in trading as sole distributor of Tata Tiscon (Tata Steel) in West Bengal for Howrah and Hooghly district. The company facilitates distributorship through 2 branches in West Bengal managing 120 dealers in two districts. Exclusivity arrangement with TATA Steel apart from Paul & Co, Tata Steel has 6 other distributors in other regions of West Bengal. Mr. Suvajit Paul, Mr. Krishna Paul, Mr. Surajit Paul and Mr. Sunil Krishna Paul are directors of the entity.

Unsupported Rating

Not Applicable

Non-cooperation by the issuer/borrower:

Acuité has been requesting for data, information and undertakings from the rated entity for conducting surveillance & review of the rating. However, the issuer/borrower failed to submit such information before the due date.
Acuité believes that information risk is a critical component in such ratings, and non-cooperation by the issuer along with unwillingness to provide information could be a sign of potential deterioration in its overall credit quality.
This rating is, therefore, being flagged as “Issuer not-cooperating”, in line with prevailing SEBI regulations and Acuité’s policies.

Limitation regarding information availability

This rating is based on information available from sources other than the issuer / borrower (in the absence of information provided by the issuer / borrower) . Acuite endeavoured to gather information about the entity/industry from the public domain. Any rating with the suffix 'Issuer not cooperating' is assigned without any management interaction with the issuer entity or any data / information from the entity. Sometimes this non co-operation by a rated entity may be due to a result of deterioration in the credit risk profile of the entity. Therefore, Acuité cautions lenders and investors regarding the use of such information, on which the indicative credit rating is based.

Rating Sensitivity

Potential triggers (individual or collective) for an upward rating action:

"No information provided by the issuer / available for Acuite to comment upon."

Potential triggers (individual or collective) for a downward rating action:

"No information provided by the issuer / available for Acuite to comment upon."

Liquidity Position

"No information provided by the issuer / available for Acuite to comment upon."

Outlook

Not Applicable

Other Factors affecting Rating

None

Key Financials

Particulars	Unit	FY 23 (Actual)	FY 22 (Actual)
Operating Income	Rs. Cr.	207.37	168.15
PAT	Rs. Cr.	1.91	3.54
PAT Margin	(%)	0.92	2.11
Total Debt/Tangible Net Worth	Times	1.30	0.70
PBDIT/Interest	Times	2.18	4.06

Status of non-cooperation with previous CRA

Not Applicable

Any other information

None

Applicable Criteria

• Trading Entities: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-61.htm
• Default Recognition: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-52.htm
• Application Of Financial Ratios And Adjustments: https://www.acuite.in/view-rating-criteria-53.htm

Note on complexity levels of the rated instrument

In order to inform the investors about complexity of instruments, Acuité has categorized such instruments in three levels: Simple, Complex and Highly Complex. Acuite’s categorisation of the instruments across the three categories is based on factors like variability of the returns to the investors, uncertainty in cash flow patterns, number of counterparties and general understanding of the instrument by the market. It has to be understood that complexity is different from credit risk and even an instrument categorized as 'Simple' can carry high levels of risk. For more details, please refer Rating Criteria “Complexity Level Of Financial Instruments” on www.acuite.in.

Rating History

Date	Name of Instruments/Facilities	Term	Amount (Rs. Cr)	Rating/Outlook
02 Jan 2025	Secured Overdraft	Long Term	11.00	ACUITE B+ (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE BB-)
	Inventory Funding	Long Term	10.00	ACUITE B+ (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE BB-)
	Secured Overdraft	Long Term	6.00	ACUITE B+ (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE BB-)
	Inventory Funding	Long Term	5.00	ACUITE B+ (Downgraded & Issuer not co-operating* from ACUITE BB-)
05 Oct 2023	Secured Overdraft	Long Term	17.00	ACUITE BB- (Reaffirmed & Issuer not co-operating*)
05 Oct 2023	Inventory Funding	Long Term	15.00	ACUITE BB- (Reaffirmed & Issuer not co-operating*)
* The issuer did not co-operate; based on best available information.

Annexure - Details of instruments rated

Lender’s Name	ISIN	Facilities	Date Of Issuance	Coupon Rate	Maturity Date	Quantum (Rs. Cr.)	Complexity Level	Rating
AXIS BANK LIMITED	Not avl. / Not appl.	Inventory Funding	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	10.00	Simple	ACUITE B \| Downgraded \| Issuer not co-operating* ( from ACUITE B+ )
Tata Capital Limited	Not avl. / Not appl.	Inventory Funding	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	5.00	Simple	ACUITE B \| Downgraded \| Issuer not co-operating* ( from ACUITE B+ )
ICICI BANK LIMITED	Not avl. / Not appl.	Secured Overdraft	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	11.00	Simple	ACUITE B \| Downgraded \| Issuer not co-operating* ( from ACUITE B+ )
H D F C Bank Limited	Not avl. / Not appl.	Secured Overdraft	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	Not avl. / Not appl.	6.00	Simple	ACUITE B \| Downgraded \| Issuer not co-operating* ( from ACUITE B+ )

* The issuer did not co-operate; based on best available information.

Disclosure of list of non-cooperative issuers

• Listed :- https://www.acuite.in/Non-Cooperative_Issuer_Listed.php
• Unlisted :- https://www.acuite.in/Non-Cooperative_Issuer_Unlisted.php

Contacts

Mohit Jain
Chief Analytical Officer - Rating Operations

Sahil Sawant
Associate Analyst - Rating Operations

Contact details exclusively for investors and lenders

Mob: +91 8591310146
Email ID: analyticalsupport@acuite.in

About Acuité Ratings & Research

Acuité is a full-service Credit Rating Agency registered with the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The company received RBI Accreditation as an External Credit Assessment Institution (ECAI) for Bank Loan Ratings under BASEL-II norms in the year 2012. Acuité has assigned ratings to various securities, debt instruments and bank facilities of entities spread across the country and across a wide cross section of industries. It has its Registered and Head Office in Kanjurmarg, Mumbai.

Disclaimer: An Acuité rating does not constitute an audit of the rated entity and should not be treated as a recommendation or opinion that is intended to substitute for a financial adviser's or investor's independent assessment of whether to buy, sell or hold any security. Ratings assigned by Acuité are based on the data and information provided by the issuer and obtained from other reliable sources. Although reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the data and information is true, Acuité, in particular, makes no representation or warranty, expressed or implied with respect to the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of the information relied upon. Acuité is not responsible for any errors or omissions and especially states that it has no financial liability whatsoever for any direct, indirect or consequential loss of any kind, arising from the use of its ratings. Ratings assigned by Acuité are subject to a process of surveillance which may lead to a revision in ratings as and when the circumstances so warrant. Please visit our website (www.acuite.in) for the latest information on any instrument rated by Acuité. Please visit https://www.acuite.in/faqs.htm to refer FAQs on Credit Rating.

Note: None of the Directors on the Board of Acuité Ratings & Research Limited are members of any rating committee and therefore do not participate in discussions regarding the rating of any entity.