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Commission Regulation (EC) No 1725/2003 of 29 September 2003 adopting certain international accounting standards in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council

Content

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Objective

Income is defined in the framework for the preparation and presentation of financial statements as increases in economic benefits during the accounting period in the form of inflows or enhancements of assets or decreases of liabilities that result in increases in equity, other than those relating to contributions from equity participants. Income encompasses both revenue and gains. Revenue is income that arises in the course of ordinary activities of an enterprise and is referred to by a variety of different names including sales, fees, interest, dividends and royalties. The objective of this Standard is to prescribe the accounting treatment of revenue arising from certain types of transactions and events.

The primary issue in accounting for revenue is determining when to recognise revenue. Revenue is recognised when it is probable that future economic benefits will flow to the enterprise and these benefits can be measured reliably. This Standard identifies the circumstances in which these criteria will be met and, therefore, revenue will be recognised. It also provides practical guidance on the application of these criteria.

Scope

1. This Standard should be applied in accounting for revenue arising from the following transactions and events:

(a) the sale of goods;

(b) the rendering of services; and

(c) the use by others of enterprise assets yielding interest, royalties and dividends.

2. This Standard supersedes IAS 18, revenue recognition, approved in 1982.

3. Goods includes goods produced by the enterprise for the purpose of sale and goods purchased for resale, such as merchandise purchased by a retailer or land and other property held for resale.

4. The rendering of services typically involves the performance by the enterprise of a contractually agreed task over an agreed period of time. The services may be rendered within a single period or over more than one period. Some contracts for the rendering of services are directly related to construction contracts, for example, those for the services of project managers and architects. Revenue arising from these contracts is not dealt with in this Standard but is dealt with in accordance with the requirements for construction contracts as specified in IAS 11, construction contracts.

5. The use by others of enterprise assets gives rise to revenue in the form of:

(a) interest - charges for the use of cash or cash equivalents or amounts due to the enterprise;

(b) royalties - charges for the use of long-term assets of the enterprise, for example, patents, trademarks, copyrights and computer software; and

(c) dividends - distributions of profits to holders of equity investments in proportion to their holdings of a particular class of capital.

6. This Standard does not deal with revenue arising from:

(a) lease agreements (see IAS 17, leases);

(b) dividends arising from investments which are accounted for under the equity method (see IAS 28, accounting for investments in associates);

(c) insurance contracts within the scope of IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts;

(d) changes in the fair value of financial assets and financial liabilities or their disposal (see IAS 39, financial instruments: recognition and measurement);

(e) changes in the value of other current assets;

(f) initial recognition and from changes in the fair value of biological assets related to agricultural activity (see IAS 41, agriculture);

(g) initial recognition of agricultural produce (see IAS 41, agriculture); and

(h) the extraction of mineral ores.

Definitions

7. The following terms are used in this Standard with the meanings specified:

Revenue is the gross inflow of economic benefits during the period arising in the course of the ordinary activities of an enterprise when those inflows result in increases in equity, other than increases relating to contributions from equity participants.
Fair value is the amount for which an asset could be exchanged, or a liability settled, between knowledgeable, willing parties in an arm's length transaction.

8. Revenue includes only the gross inflows of economic benefits received and receivable by the enterprise on its own account. Amounts collected on behalf of third parties such as sales taxes, goods and services taxes and value added taxes are not economic benefits which flow to the enterprise and do not result in increases in equity. Therefore, they are excluded from revenue. Similarly, in an agency relationship, the gross inflows of economic benefits include amounts collected on behalf of the principal and which do not result in increases in equity for the enterprise. The amounts collected on behalf of the principal are not revenue. Instead, revenue is the amount of commission.

Measurement of revenue

9. Revenue should be measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable.

10. The amount of revenue arising on a transaction is usually determined by agreement between the enterprise and the buyer or user of the asset. It is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable taking into account the amount of any trade discounts and volume rebates allowed by the enterprise.

11. In most cases, the consideration is in the form of cash or cash equivalents and the amount of revenue is the amount of cash or cash equivalents received or receivable. However, when the inflow of cash or cash equivalents is deferred, the fair value of the consideration may be less than the nominal amount of cash received or receivable. For example, an enterprise may provide interest free credit to the buyer or accept a note receivable bearing a below-market interest rate from the buyer as consideration for the sale of goods. When the arrangement effectively constitutes a financing transaction, the fair value of the consideration is determined by discounting all future receipts using an imputed rate of interest. The imputed rate of interest is the more clearly determinable of either:

(a) the prevailing rate for a similar instrument of an issuer with a similar credit rating; or

(b) a rate of interest that discounts the nominal amount of the instrument to the current cash sales price of the goods or services.

The difference between the fair value and the nominal amount of the consideration is recognised as interest revenue in accordance with paragraphs 29 and 30 and in accordance with IAS 39, financial instruments: recognition and measurement.

12. When goods or services are exchanged or swapped for goods or services which are of a similar nature and value, the exchange is not regarded as a transaction which generates revenue. This is often the case with commodities like oil or milk where suppliers exchange or swap inventories in various locations to fulfil demand on a timely basis in a particular location. When goods are sold or services are rendered in exchange for dissimilar goods or services, the exchange is regarded as a transaction which generates revenue. The revenue is measured at the fair value of the goods or services received, adjusted by the amount of any cash or cash equivalents transferred. When the fair value of the goods or services received cannot be measured reliably, the revenue is measured at the fair value of the goods or services given up, adjusted by the amount of any cash or cash equivalents transferred.

Identification of the transaction

13. The recognition criteria in this Standard are usually applied separately to each transaction. However, in certain circumstances, it is necessary to apply the recognition criteria to the separately identifiable components of a single transaction in order to reflect the substance of the transaction. For example, when the selling price of a product includes an identifiable amount for subsequent servicing, that amount is deferred and recognised as revenue over the period during which the service is performed. Conversely, the recognition criteria are applied to two or more transactions together when they are linked in such a way that the commercial effect cannot be understood without reference to the series of transactions as a whole. For example, an enterprise may sell goods and, at the same time, enter into a separate agreement to repurchase the goods at a later date, thus negating the substantive effect of the transaction; in such a case, the two transactions are dealt with together.

Sale of goods

14. Revenue from the sale of goods should be recognised when all the following conditions have been satisfied:

(a) the enterprise has transferred to the buyer the significant risks and rewards of ownership of the goods;

(b) the enterprise retains neither continuing managerial involvement to the degree usually associated with ownership nor effective control over the goods sold;

(c) the amount of revenue can be measured reliably;

(d) it is probable that the economic benefits associated with the transaction will flow to the enterprise; and

(e) the costs incurred or to be incurred in respect of the transaction can be measured reliably.

15. The assessment of when an enterprise has transferred the significant risks and rewards of ownership to the buyer requires an examination of the circumstances of the transaction. In most cases, the transfer of the risks and rewards of ownership coincides with the transfer of the legal title or the passing of possession to the buyer. This is the case for most retail sales. In other cases, the transfer of risks and rewards of ownership occurs at a different time from the transfer of legal title or the passing of possession.

16. If the enterprise retains significant risks of ownership, the transaction is not a sale and revenue is not recognised. An enterprise may retain a significant risk of ownership in a number of ways. Examples of situations in which the enterprise may retain the significant risks and rewards of ownership are:

(a) when the enterprise retains an obligation for unsatisfactory performance not covered by normal warranty provisions;

(b) when the receipt of the revenue from a particular sale is contingent on the derivation of revenue by the buyer from its sale of the goods;

(c) when the goods are shipped subject to installation and the installation is a significant part of the contract which has not yet been completed by the enterprise; and

(d) when the buyer has the right to rescind the purchase for a reason specified in the sales contract and the enterprise is uncertain about the probability of return.

17. If an enterprise retains only an insignificant risk of ownership, the transaction is a sale and revenue is recognised. For example, a seller may retain the legal title to the goods solely to protect the collectability of the amount due. In such a case, if the enterprise has transferred the significant risks and rewards of ownership, the transaction is a sale and revenue is recognised. Another example of an enterprise retaining only an insignificant risk of ownership may be a retail sale when a refund is offered if the customer is not satisfied. Revenue in such cases is recognised at the time of sale provided the seller can reliably estimate future returns and recognises a liability for returns based on previous experience and other relevant factors.

18. Revenue is recognised only when it is probable that the economic benefits associated with the transaction will flow to the enterprise. In some cases, this may not be probable until the consideration is received or until an uncertainty is removed. For example, it may be uncertain that a foreign governmental authority will grant permission to remit the consideration from a sale in a foreign country. When the permission is granted, the uncertainty is removed and revenue is recognised. However, when an uncertainty arises about the collectability of an amount already included in revenue, the uncollectable amount or the amount in respect of which recovery has ceased to be probable is recognised as an expense, rather than as an adjustment of the amount of revenue originally recognised.

19. Revenue and expenses that relate to the same transaction or other event are recognised simultaneously; this process is commonly referred to as the matching of revenues and expenses. Expenses, including warranties and other costs to be incurred after the shipment of the goods can normally be measured reliably when the other conditions for the recognition of revenue have been satisfied. However, revenue cannot be recognised when the expenses cannot be measured reliably; in such circumstances, any consideration already received for the sale of the goods is recognised as a liability.

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