ANNOUNCEMENT

Applicability of Accounting Standards to an Unlisted Indian Company, which is a Subsidiary of a Foreign Company Listed Outside India

1.

The Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has issued an Announcement (see 'The Chartered Accountant', November 2003 (pp. 480-489)) on 'Applicability of Accounting Standards' with a view to lay down the scheme of applicability of Accounting Standards to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). As per the said scheme, all accounting standards are applicable to Level I enterprises. Level I enterprises, inter alia, include (i) enterprises whose equity or debt securities are listed whether in India or outside India, and (ii) holding or a subsidiary of a Level I enterprise.

 

2.

With regard to above, an issue has been raised as to whether, as per the above scheme, a foreign company which is incorporated and listed outside India would also be considered as a Level I enterprise and consequent to this, whether an unlisted Indian company, which is a subsidiary of this foreign company, would become a Level I enterprise merely because of it being a subsidiary of the said foreign company.

 

3.

It is clarified that, in the above-stated scheme, the term 'enterprise' includes all entities that are required to prepare their financial statements as per the Indian GAAPs. Accordingly, all Indian entities, i.e., the entities which are incorporated in India, are covered in the said scheme. The scheme also covers those foreign entities which are required to prepare their financial statements as per the Indian GAAPs. Thus, in case a foreign company, which is incorporated and listed outside India, is required to prepare its financial statements as per the Indian GAAPs, it will be considered as a Level I enterprise. In such a case, the Indian company, which is a subsidiary of the aforesaid foreign company, would also be considered as a Level I enterprise for the reason that it is a subsidiary of another Level I enterprise. In case the parent foreign company is not required to prepare its financial statements as per the Indian GAAPs, its Indian subsidiary would not be considered to be a Level I enterprise provided it does not meet any other criteria for becoming Level I enterprise as per the said scheme. Thus, in such a situation, the status of the Indian company under the above scheme will be determined independent of the status of its parent foreign company.