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Rate-regulated activities

Background

Rate regulation is the setting by regulatory bodies or governments of prices that can be charged to customers for services or products through regulations, often where an entity has a monopoly or dominant market position that gives it significant market power.

The issue to be addressed by this project is whether IFRSs should require entities operating in rate-regulated environments to recognise assets and liabilities arising from the effects of rate regulation. Some national GAAP provides specific guidance on this matter, but there is no equivalent guidance in IFRSs.

The IASB reactivated this project as part of its response to the Agenda Consultation 2011, and will consider an interim standard for entities adopting IFRS that would allow entities adopting IFRS to continue to use their local GAAP requirements for rate-regulated activities until the comprehensive project is completed.

 

Current status of the project

This project was reactivated in 2012, and is expected to be completed in two phases:

PhaseCurrent status
Interim standard (to allow previous GAAP to be used) Exposure Draft ED/2013/5 Regulatory Deferral Accounts was issued on 25 April 2013, with comments due by 4 September 2013
Comprehensive project Request for Information Rate Regulation issued in the first quarter of 2013, to be followed by a Discussion Paper in the fourth quarter of 2013

 

Project milestones

DateDevelopmentComments
December 2008 Added to the IASB's active agenda
22 July 2009 Exposure Draft ED/2009/8 Rate-regulated Activities issued Comment deadline 20 November 2009
September 2010 IASB decided to defer the project
December 2012 Reactivated as an active project The IASB will consider an interim standard for entities adopting IFRS before completing a comprehensive project
28 March 2013 Request for Information Rate Regulation issued Comment deadline 30 May 2013
25 April 2013 Exposure Draft ED/2013/5 Regulatory Deferral Accounts issued
Comment deadline 4 September 2013
29 April 2013 Consultative group established Details

Related Discussions

  • Review of breakout sessions held in October 2012

  • Feb 26, 2013

  • Council members agreed that the summaries of issues raised in two series of breakout sessions during the October 2012 meeting (rate-regulated activities and establishing a research capacity at the IFRS Foundation) were a fair record of those discussions.

  • Rate-regulated activities (IASB only)

  • Feb 22, 2013

  • The Board discussed the proposed interim Standard for Rate-regulated Activities that would allow entities adopting IFRS to continue to use their local GAAP requirements for rate-regulated activities until the comprehensive project is completed. Several application issues were identified by the staff in drafting. The purpose of this meeting was to clarify these issues and ask the IASB to decide whether to include application guidance in the proposed interim Standard or to make consequential amendments to other Standards.

  • Rate-regulated activities (IASB only)

  • Jan 31, 2013

  • The IASB staff presented their recommendations to the Board for the content of the interim standard that will permit the continuation (‘grandfathering’) of existing practice for many entities that currently recognise regulatory deferral account balances in their financial statements, in accordance with their jurisdictionally accepted accounting principles (local GAAP).

  • Rate regulated activities

  • Dec 17, 2012

  • the Board discussed issues to be addressed in the DP on rate-regulated activities, the need for an interim Standard and a proposed project plan.

  • IAS 18, IAS 37 and IAS 39 — Regulatory assets and liabilities

  • Nov 14, 2012

  • The Interpretations Committee received a request seeking clarification on whether a regulatory asset or regulatory liability should be recognised in a particular situation in which a regulated entity is permitted to recover costs, or required to refund some amounts, independently of the delivery of future services.

  • Rate-regulated activities

  • Oct 22, 2012

  • The IASB staff presented an overview of why it had been decided to re-activate the IASB’s project on whether and, if so, how IFRSs should reflect the effects of rate regulation.

  • Rate regulated activities

  • Sep 26, 2012

  • This meeting discussed the staff’s proposal that they develop a Discussion Paper on rate-regulated activities using the existing research from the 2008–2010 project to assess whether the IASB should develop an IFRS or amend existing IFRSs.

  • IAS 18, IAS 37 and IAS 39 — Regulatory assets and liabilities

  • Jul 10, 2012

  • The Committee received a request to address issues related to rate-regulated activities in circumstances where the local laws permit a regulated entity to recover costs, or be required to refund some amounts, irrespective of whether services are delivered in future periods, although for administrative convenience recovery and refund will normally take place through future billings.

  • IFRS Interpretations Committee update

  • Jun 14, 2012

  • The IASB received an update from the May 2012 meeting of the IFRS Interpretations Committee and discussed the Committee’s intentions regarding the issue of recognition of regulatory assets and liabilities.

  • IAS 18, IAS 37 and IAS 39 — Regulatory assets and liabilities

  • May 16, 2012

  • The IFRS Interpretations Committee considered a request to address issues related to rate-regulated activities (i.e. to clarify whether a population of customers can be regarded as a single unit of account, and if so, whether a regulated entity should recognise a regulatory asset or liability when the entity has a right to recover specific costs, or an obligation to refund some amounts of collections irrespective of whether services are rendered in future periods).

  • Rate-regulated activities

  • Sep 16, 2010

  • The IASB was presented with the staff's research and analysis on the accounting for regulatory assets and liabilities in accordance with the existing accounting requirements.

  • Rate Regulated Activities

  • Aug 26, 2010

  • It was noted there was 'not much support' [in Europe] for the IASB's proposals on rate-regulation. At present, a 'fully-fledged IFRS' on the topic was not seen as necessary or desirable.

  • Rate-regulated activities

  • Jul 22, 2010

  • The IASB continued its discussion from earlier in the week regarding the accounting for rate regulated activities, considering four potential alternatives of how to move forward with the project.

  • Rate-regulated activities

  • Jun 20, 2010

  • The staff presented the IASB with a detailed analysis of various regulatory environments, an analysis of the scope, a comparison of the rate-regulated activities project to current IFRSs as well as to current IASB projects and a summary of the outreach efforts.

  • Review of Tentative Agenda Decisions published in November IFRIC Update

  • Mar 05, 2009

  • The IFRIC redeliberated its tentative agenda decisions published in the November 2008 IFRIC Update: IFRS 3 (customer-related intangible assets), IAS 32 (classification of puttable and perpetual instruments), IAS 37/IAS 38 (regulatory assets and liabilities), IAS 39 (derecognition), IAS 39 (inactive markets).

  • Regulatory assets and liabilities

  • Nov 06, 2008

  • The staff presented the IFRIC with its recommendation on regulatory assets and liabilities based on the background information research it undertook. The IFRIC agreed by a majority vote tentatively not to add the item to the agenda and not to recommend that the item be referred to the IASB.

  • Regulatory assets and liabilities

  • Sep 05, 2008

  • The IFRIC held an educational session devoted to accounting for the effects of rate regulation in the context of reporting under IFRS.

All Related