NBCC restores Rs 80.16 crore Kochi inventory write-down

NBCC (India) Limited restored its Kochi project inventory to the original cost of Rs 87.01 crore in FY 2025-26 after reversing a Rs 80.16 crore write-down, but sales remained on hold at September 30, 2026 because environmental clearance and other statutory approvals were pending and the project’s RERA registration renewal was under process.

Why did NBCC reverse the Kochi inventory write-down?

NBCC reversed the Rs 80.16 crore write-down after the Supreme Court, in a November 18, 2025 review judgment, recalled its May 16, 2025 decision and restored the original writ petitions and civil appeals to file. The May 2025 judgment had struck down the 2017 notification, the 2021 Office Memorandum and related measures relevant to the project’s environmental-clearance route.

The company had written down Kochi inventory by Rs 80.16 crore as an exceptional item in FY 2024-25 after the May 2025 ruling, treating the land and unsold units as realisable only at scrap value. In FY 2025-26, NBCC reversed that amount as an exceptional item and reinstated the development under real-estate inventory, or work in progress, at original total cost following a valuation by an Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India-registered valuer.

The reversal restored an accounting carrying value rather than recording unit sales. NBCC’s consolidated results for the year ended March 31, 2026 show a Rs 80.16 crore reversal of the Kochi inventory write-down, while the quarter and six months ended September 30, 2026 show no exceptional item for the project.

What is preventing sales at NBCC's Kochi project?

NBCC says sales remain on hold because the Kochi project lacks environmental clearance, or EC, and other statutory approvals. The project’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority, or RERA, registration expired in December 2024, and renewal was under process as of September 30, 2026. The filing does not provide a date for a sales restart, projected revenue or the number of units sold.

The State Expert Appraisal Committee, or SEAC, recommended grant of EC at its 147th meeting on July 21, 2023. Its recommendation was under Office Memorandums dated July 7, 2021 and January 28, 2022 issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The EC process was then put on hold following the Supreme Court’s January 2, 2024 stay on those memorandums.

In a July 29, 2026 judgment, the Supreme Court directed authorities to reconsider EC applications dismissed, returned or delisted solely because of the January 2024 stay or the Vanashakti judgment. NBCC said it had written to the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority, or SEIAA, on August 5, 2025 seeking reconsideration and grant of EC, but disclosed no SEIAA decision by September 30, 2026.

What does NBCC's Kochi project include and cost?

NBCC’s group-housing project in Kochi, Kerala comprises 320,215 square feet of residential area and 4,424 square feet of commercial area. The development stands on a 3.18-acre freehold land parcel with a disclosed land value of Rs 2.82 crore, bringing the stated constructed area to 324,639 square feet.

Total project cost, including land, was Rs 87.01 crore at September 30, 2026 and remained Rs 87.01 crore at March 31, 2026. The unchanged amount indicates that the filing reports no additional project cost during the six months ended September 30, 2026. The Rs 2.82 crore land value is included within, rather than additional to, the Rs 87.01 crore total cost.

NBCC has not disclosed the number of residential or commercial units, the saleable area, buyer bookings or unsold inventory for Kochi. Its September 2026 disclosure instead identifies the environmental-clearance process, other approvals and RERA renewal as the unresolved conditions affecting the completed development’s ability to resume sales.

How does Kochi compare with NBCC's wider real-estate business?

NBCC reported real-estate segment revenue of Rs 75.68 crore for the six months ended September 30, 2026, compared with Rs 30.78 crore in the corresponding period of 2025. The increase was Rs 44.90 crore, while the Rs 87.01 crore Kochi carrying cost exceeded first-half segment revenue; however, inventory cost and revenue are different measures and NBCC did not allocate segment revenue to Kochi.

Real-estate segment profit before tax and interest was Rs 41.97 crore for the first half of FY 2026-27, up from Rs 9.28 crore a year earlier. Segment assets rose to Rs 1,854.47 crore at September 30, 2026 from Rs 1,214.54 crore at September 30, 2025, while segment liabilities fell to Rs 209.11 crore from Rs 223.04 crore. These are segment-wide measures, not a separate profit or valuation for Kochi.

At the consolidated level, NBCC’s inventory was Rs 1,175.07 crore at September 30, 2026, down from Rs 1,194.12 crore at March 31, 2026. Consolidated revenue from operations rose to Rs 5,655.30 crore in the first six months of FY 2026-27 from Rs 5,306.42 crore a year earlier, but the company did not state whether Kochi contributed to that increase.

What needs to happen for NBCC to revive Kochi sales?

NBCC needs an outcome on the pending EC process and progress on renewal of the RERA registration that expired in December 2024 before the disclosed sales hold can be resolved. The July 29, 2026 Supreme Court directions provide for reconsideration of qualifying applications, but they do not constitute an EC grant for NBCC’s project.

The next material disclosures would be a SEIAA decision on EC, renewal of RERA registration, or an announced plan to relaunch sales. NBCC has restored the Rs 87.01 crore cost after the FY 2025-26 reversal, but the filing does not set a target date for approvals, marketing, unit sales or revenue recognition from the 324,639-square-foot development.

Conclusion

NBCC has removed the Rs 80.16 crore Kochi inventory reduction by reversing it in FY 2025-26 and restoring the project to original cost. The reversal followed the Supreme Court’s November 18, 2025 review decision, but it did not establish a saleable operating status for the project because environmental clearance and other approvals remained unresolved at September 30, 2026.

The key items to watch are a SEIAA decision on the EC reconsideration request and renewal of the RERA registration that expired in December 2024. NBCC’s future disclosure on resumption of sales, bookings or revenue would show whether the restored Rs 87.01 crore inventory can move from work in progress into completed transactions.