India, Nov. 6 -- The Securities and Exchange Board of India's (SEBI) order against EKI Energy Services Ltd has put a technical accounting question at the centre of an enforcement case: at what point in a multi-year carbon credit project can a developer count its contract money as revenue?

The regulator's October 30 order found that the Indore-based carbon credit developer recognised Rs 197.04 crore of revenue early across the first three quarters of FY 2022-23. In SEBI's view, distributing and registering cookstoves under EKI's clean cooking projects did not complete the company's obligations under the contracts, because the verification and delivery of carbon credits were still pending.

While SEBI's Rs 197.04 crore finding rests on the...