Key Highlights on the New Companies (Indian Accounting Standard) Amendment Rules

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) vide Notification dated 18 June 2021 has issued new Companies (Indian Accounting Standard) Amendment Rules, 2021 in consultation with the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA).

The notification states that these rules shall be applicable with immediate effect from the date of the notification. This means that the amendments are effective for the financial year ended 31 March 2022 onwards and also for interim financial periods i.e. quarters ending 30 June 2021, 30 September 2021, 31 December 2021.

The amendments are intended to keep the Ind ASs aligned with the amendments made in IFRS. While, largely, the amendments are clarificatory or editorial in nature, there are significant amendments relating to the extension of COVID 19 related to practical expedient under Ind AS 116 for lease concessions and practical expedient due to the interbank offered rate (IBOR) interest rates for financial instruments.

The amendments to Ind ASs are in terms of insertion of certain paragraphs, substituting the definition of certain terms used in the standard along with aligning the bare text of Standards with Conceptual Framework of Financial reporting under Ind ASs.

Major amendments notified in the Companies (Ind AS) Amendment Rules, 2021 are provided below:-

(a) Ind AS 116 | Leases – The amendments extend the benefits of the COVID 19 related rent concession that were introduced last year (which allowed lessees to recognize COVID 19 related rent concessions as income rather than as lease modification) from 30 June 2021 to 30 June 2022.

(b) Ind AS 109 | Financial Instruments – The amendment provides a practical expedient for assessment of contractual cash flow test, which is one of the criteria for being eligible to measure a financial asset at amortized cost, for the changes in the financial assets that may arise as a result of Interest Rate Benchmark Reform along. An additional temporary exception from applying hedge accounting is also added for Interest Rate Benchmark Reform.

(c) Ind AS 101 | Presentation of Financial Statements – The amendment substitutes the item (d) mentioned in paragraph BI as ‘Classification and measurement of financial instruments’. The term ‘financial asset’ has been replaced with ‘financial instruments’.

(d) Ind AS 102 | Share-Based Payment – The amendments to this standard are made in reference to the Conceptual Framework of Financial Reporting under Ind AS in terms of defining the term ‘Equity Instrument’ which shall be applicable for the annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2021.

(e) Ind AS 103 | Business Combinations – The amendment substitutes the definition of ‘assets’ and ‘liabilities’ in accordance with the definition given in the framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements in accordance with Ind AS for qualifying the recognition criteria as per acquisition method.

(f) Ind AS 104 | Insurance Contracts – The amendment covers the insertion of certain paragraphs in the standard in order to maintain consistency with IFRS 4 and also incorporates the guidance on accounting treatment for amendments due to Interest Rate Benchmark Reform.

(g) Ind AS 105 | Non-current assets held for sale and discontinued operations – The amendment substitutes the definition of ― “fair value less costs to sell” with “fair value less costs of disposal”

(h) Ind AS 106 | Exploration for and evaluation of mineral resources – The amendment has been made in reference to the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting under Indian Accounting Standards in respect of expenditures that shall not be recognized as exploration and evaluation assets.

(i) Ind AS 107 | Financial Instruments: Recognition, Presentation and Disclosure – The amendment clarifies the certain additional disclosures to be made on account of Interest Rate Benchmark Reform like

(i) the nature and extent of risks to which the entity is exposed arising from financial instruments subject to interest rate benchmark reform;

(ii) the entity‘s progress in completing the transition to alternative benchmark rates, and how the entity is managing the transition.

(j) Ind AS | 111 Joint Arrangements – In order to maintain consistency with the amendments made in Ind AS 103, respective changes have been made in Ind AS 111.

(k) Ind AS 114 | Regulatory Deferral Accounts – The amendment clarifies that an entity may only change its accounting policies for the recognition, measurement, and impairment & derecognition of regulatory deferral account balances if the change makes the financial statements more relevant to the economic decision-making needs of users and no less reliable. 

(l) Ind AS 115 | Revenue from Contracts with Customers – Certain amendments have been made in order to maintain consistency with number of paragraphs of IFRS 15.

(m) Ind AS 8 | Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors – In order to maintain consistency with the amendments made in Ind AS 114 and to substitute the word ‘Framework’ with the ‘Conceptual Framework of Financial Reporting in Ind AS’, respective changes have been made in the standard.

(n) Ind AS 16 | Property, Plant and Equipment –The amendment has been made by substituting the words “Recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s fair value less costs to sell and its value in use” with “Recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s fair value less costs of disposal and its value in use”.

(o) Ind AS 34 | Interim Financial Reporting –The amendments to this standard are made in reference to the conceptual framework of Financial Reporting in Ind AS.

(p) Ind AS 37 | Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets – The amendment substitutes the definition of the term ‘Liability’ as provided in the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting under Indian Accounting Standards.

(q) Ind AS 38 | Intangible Assets – The amendment substitutes the definition of the term ‘Asset’ as provided in the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting under Indian Accounting Standards.