Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) are based on the IFRS Standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) of IFRS Foundation. The IASB, before issuing the new/amendments to IFRS Standards, issues the Exposure Draft (ED) for public comments across the globe. The Accounting Standards Board (ASB) of ICAI with the aim to provide an opportunity to the various stakeholders in India to raise their concerns at the initial International Standard-setting stage (ED stage) itself, invites comments on the ED issued by the IASB. At present, following ED issued by IASB is open for comments:

• Covid-19-Related Rent Concessions beyond 30 June 2021- Proposed amendment to IFRS 16

The IASB issued Covid-19-Related Rent Concessions, which amended IFRS 16 Leases, in May 2020. The 2020 amendment permitted lessees, as a practical expedient, not to assess whether particular rent concessions occurring as a direct consequence of the covid-19 pandemic are lease modifications and, instead, to account for those rent concessions as if they were not lease modifications. Among other conditions, the 2020 amendment permitted lessees to apply the practical expedient only to rent concessions for which any reduction in lease payments affects only payments originally due on or before 30 June 2021.

The objective of the proposal in the attached ED is to continue providing lessees with practical relief during the on-going Covid-19 pandemic while enabling them to continue providing useful information about their leases to users of financial statements.

The ED extends the availability of the practical expedient in paragraph 46A so that it applies to rent concessions for which any reduction in lease payments affects only payments originally due on or before 30 June 2022, provided the other conditions for applying the practical expedient are met.

The above mentioned ED is hosted on the website of the ICAI for public comments with last date as February 21, 2021, and can be accessed at the following link: https://resource.cdn.icai.org/63042asb51003.pdf

How to Comment:

Comments on the abovementioned ED may be submitted through any of the following modes: