The IFRIC considered a request to add an item to its agenda to provide guidance on the circumstances in which a non-contractual customer relationship arises in a business combination.

The submission noted that IFRS 3 Business Combinations (Revised 2008) requires an acquirer to recognise the identifiable intangible assets of the acquiree separately from goodwill. An intangible asset is identifiable if it meets either the contractual-legal criterion or the separability criterion. Customer-related intangible assets might be either contractual or non-contractual. Contractual customer relationships are always recognised separately from goodwill as they meet the contractual-legal criterion. However, non-contractual customer relationships are recognised separately from goodwill only if they meet the separability criterion. Consequently, determining whether a relationship is contractual is critical to identifying and measuring both separately recognised customer relationship intangible assets and goodwill.

The IFRIC Coordinator recommended that this item be added to the agenda – not necessarily to develop an Interpretation but to explore whether IFRS 3 or IAS 38 need clarification or improvement. After a short discussion, the IFRIC agreed to this approach.