Solid Fuel Carbon Tax compliance
Solid Fuel Carbon Tax (SFCT) is an excise duty that applies to solid fuel supplied in Ireland on or after 1 May 2013. Revenue has just updated the Solid Fuel Carbon Tax Compliance (SFCT) Compliance Procedures Manual. Solid fuel includes coal, peat briquettes, milled peat and other peat (for example, sod turf). Suppliers bringing solid fuel into the state, or producing it within the state, for onward supply in the state should register with Revenue. Anyone extracting peat for their own use is not liable to SFCT tax and does not need to register with Revenue. Wood is not liable for SFCT.
Renewable electricity
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has published an exposure draft on a proposed narrow-scope amendment to the accounting for renewable energy electricity, in response to the rapidly growing global market. The IASB says that renewable electricity markets have unique characteristics: sources depend on nature and supply cannot be guaranteed; and contracts often require buyers to take and pay for whatever amount of electricity is produced, even if it does not match the buyer’s needs at the time of production. These have created accounting challenges in applying the current accounting requirements, especially for long-term contracts.
The EU has been incrementally tightening anti-money laundering requirements for 15 years
Audit fines
Crowe UK was sanctioned by the UK regulator over failings in its audit of Aseana Properties. The Financial Reporting Council considered the audit of financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2019 to be unsatisfactory and of ‘poor quality’. The most significant failing was in respect of the carrying value of inventory, and there were other areas of concern in the assessment of fraud risk and engagement quality control review oversight.
Anti-money laundering
The EU has been incrementally tightening the anti-money laundering requirements for the past 15 years and the new package of measures just adopted by the EU Council continues this trend. Ireland and other member states will have two years to transpose some parts of the new directive and three years for others. One of the more impactful aspects will be a requirement to customer due diligence for cash payments of between €3,000 and €10,000 and a ban on using cash for payments in excess of €10,000.
There are just over 11,500 registered charities in Ireland, including almost 3,700 schools
Regulatory reports
The Data Protection Commission has published its 2023 annual report.
The Central Bank has published its Annual Report and Performance Statement for 2023.
Charity sector
The Charity Regulator has analysed the financial and other information provided by charities in their annual reports for 2019 to 2022. There are currently just over 11,500 registered charities in Ireland, including almost 3,700 schools. One finding shows that government funding to charities increased by 25% over the four years, while income from non-government sources has remained mostly static over the period. Watch a presentation on the report.
EU taxonomy regulation
The EU taxonomy for sustainable activities is a classification system that defines criteria for economic activities that are aligned with a net-zero trajectory by 2050 and the broader environmental goals other than climate. The Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority undertook a desktop examination of the Taxonomy Regulation disclosures of a sample of issuers’ financial statements and has published a report setting out its findings.
EFRAG has published guidance on European Sustainability Reporting Standards
ESRS guidance
The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has issued three new guidance documents for companies that are preparing sustainability reports under European Sustainability Reporting Standards: EFRAG IG 1: Materiality Assessment; EFRAG IG 2: Value Chain; and EFRAG IG 3: List of ESRS Data Points. All Large Irish companies come in scope of ESRS Sustainability Reporting from 1 January 2025. Access the guidance on EFRAG’s website.
EFRAG has also published 68 explanations/answers to technical questions on ESRS implementation. These are included on its ESRS Q&A Platform.
IASB update
The IASB’s May update includes commentary on financial instruments with characteristics of equity, IFRS 15, IFRS 9, rate-regulated activities and a proposed updated to the IFRS Standards accounting taxonomy.
