APB APPROVES TWO AC 500 INTERPRETATIONS AS STATEMENTS OF GAAP
At its meeting held on 18 March 2009, the Accounting Practices Board (APB) approved the following South African Interpretations as Statements of Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP);
AC 504 – IAS 19(AC 116) – The Limit on a Defined Benefit Asset, Minimum Funding Requirements and their Interaction in the South African Pension Fund Environment – to read more please visit www.accountancysa.org.za
Revised AC 503 – Accounting for Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) Transactions
AC 503, which was initially issued in May 2006, has been revised to take into account the recent amendments to IFRS 2(AC 139) – Share-based Payments, which are effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2009. The amendments to IFRS 2(AC 139) amended the definition of vesting conditions and provided guidance on the accounting for non-vesting conditions. Vesting conditions can either be service or performance conditions. The definition of a service condition has remained unchanged. However, the definition of a performance condition has been amended to include a service requirement, in addition to performance targets. Therefore, conditions that do not include a service requirement are considered non-vesting conditions and the related goods or services are recognised immediately. The revisions to AC 503 are also effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2009.
Both AC 504 and the revised AC 503 can be downloaded from the SAICA on-line handbook.
As result, the following exposure drafts have been removed;
• ED 235 – AC 504 – The Limit on a Defined Benefit Asset, Minimum Funding Requirements and their Interaction.
• ED 243 – Accounting for Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) Transactions.
APB APPROVES AMENDMENTS TO STANDARD ISSUED BY THE IASB/IFRIC
At its meeting held on 18 March 2009, the Accounting Practices Board (APB) approved the following amendments and revisions to Standards or Interpretations issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) or the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) as Statements of GAAP:
• Improving Disclosures about Financial Instruments – Amendments to IFRS 7(AC 144) – Financial Instruments: Disclosures.
• Eligible Hedged Items – An amendment to IAS 39(AC 133) – Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement.
• IFRIC 17(AC 450) – Distributions of Non-cash Assets to Owners.
• IFRIC 18(AC 451) – Transfer of Assets from Customers.
• IFRS 1(AC 138) – First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs).
The SAICA website provides more technical information on the amendments or revisions of Standards or Interpretations below:
• Improving Disclosures about Financial Instruments – Amendments to IFRS 7(AC 144) – Financial Instruments: Disclosures. These amendments are effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2009.
• Eligible Hedged Items – An amendment to IAS 39(AC 133) – Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement. The amendment to IAS 39(133) is effective for annual periods beginning on or after
1 July 2009.
• IFRIC 17(AC 450) – Distributions of Non-cash Assets to Owners. This Interpretation is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 July 2009.
• IFRIC 18(AC 451) – Transfer of Assets from Customers. This interpretation applies to transfers of assets from customers received on or after 1 July 2009.
• IFRS 1(AC 138) – First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). The revised IFRS 1(AC 138) applies to the first financial statements for periods beginning on or after 1 July 2009.
The amendments or revisions to the Standards or Interpretations can be downloaded from the SAICA handbook on-line.
As a result, the following exposure drafts have been removed;
• ED 233 – IFRIC Draft Interpretation D23 – Distributions of Non-cash Assets to Owners.
• ED 234 – IFRIC Draft Interpretation D24 – Customer Contributions.
• ED 248 – Improving Disclosures about Financial Instruments – Proposed amendments to IFRS 7.
• ED 228 – Amendments to IAS 39 – Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement – Exposures qualifying for Hedge Accounting.
IMPROVEMENTS TO DERECOGNITION REQUIREMENTS FOR FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has published for public comment an exposure draft of proposals to improve derecognition requirements for financial instruments. Derecognition of a financial instrument occurs when an entity no longer controls a financial asset and has no further obligation to settle a financial liability. This exposure draft and ED 10 Consolidated Financial Statements (which was issued in December 2008), have been issued as part of the IASB’s comprehensive review of off-balance sheet activities. The proposed amendments will replace the derecognition requirements under the current IAS 39(AC 133) -Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement. This exposure draft has been issued in South Africa as ED 259.
The proposals aim also to enhance the disclosure requirements, particularly when an entity has continuing involvement in the financial instrument.
Under the proposals, derecognition of a financial instrument will depend on whether the instrument is a financial asset or a financial liability. Financial assets will be derecognised when:
• the contractual rights to the cash flows of assets have expired;
• the entity has transferred an asset and no longer has continuing involvement; or
• the entity transfers the asset and retains a continuing involvement in it but the transferee has the practical ability to transfer the asset for the transferee’s own benefit.
Financial liabilities will be derecognised when the financial liability no longer qualifies as a liability, that is, the entity has no further obligations and is no longer required to transfer the economic resources in respect of the obligation.
The deadline for comment to the IASB is 31 July 2009.
The technical information and the IASB press release can be found on the SAICA website.
ED 259 – Derecognition – Proposed amendments to IAS 39(AC 133) and IFRS 7(AC 144), can be downloaded from the SAICA website.
ACCOUNTING SUBMISSIONS
The Accounting Practices Committee (APC), the accounting technical advisory committee to the Accounting Practices Board (APB) and SAICA’s accounting technical committee have made the following submissions to the IASB, the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation (IASCF) and the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) from January 2009 to March 2009;
IMPROVEMENTS TO IASB STANDARDS AND INTERPRETATIONS
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has issued improvements to 12 International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as part of its annual improvements process 2009. The IASB uses the annual improvements project to make necessary, but non-urgent, amendments to IFRSs that will not be included as part of another major project. The Standards and Interpretations affected include:
| IFRS | Subject/or summary of the amendment |
| IFRS 2(AC 132) – Share-based Payment | Broadening the scope exclusions to common control transactions as defined in the revised IFRS 3(AC 140) – Business Combinations (revised 2008) and joint ventures as defined in IAS 31(AC 119) – Interests in Joint Ventures. The amendment is effective for annual periods beginning on or after
1 July 2009. |
| IFRS 5(AC 142) – Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations | Providing guidance in respect of disclosures of Non-current Assets Held for Sale (or disposal groups) and Discontinued Operations required by IFRS 5(AC 142). The amendment is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2010. |
| IFRS 8(AC 145) – Operating Segments | An amendment made to the disclosures of information about profit and loss, assets and liabilities of a reportable segment. The amendment is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2010. |
| IAS 1(AC 101) – Presentation of Financial Statements | Classification of convertible instruments as either non-current or current. The amendment is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2010. |
| IAS 7(AC 118) – Statement of Cash Flows | Only expenditure resulting in a recognised asset in the statement of financial position can be recognised as investment activities. The amendment is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2010. |
| IAS 17(AC 105) – Leases | Leases of land and buildings need to be considered separately for all transactions. In establishing whether the land component is an operating or finance lease the entity should take into account that the land has an indefinite economic life. The amendment is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2010. |
| IAS 18(AC 111) – Revenue | Guidance has been provided to assess whether, in an agency relationship, an entity is acting as an agent or principal. |
| IAS 36(AC 128) – Impairment of Assets | Unit of accounting for goodwill impairment. The amendment is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2010. |
| IAS 38(AC 129) – Intangible Assets | Consequential amendments arising from the revisions to IFRS 3(AC 140).
Measuring the fair value of an intangible asset acquired in a business combination. The amendment is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 July 2009. |
| IAS 39(AC 133) – Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement | Scope exemption for business combination contracts.
Treating loan prepayment penalties as closely related embedded derivatives. Cash Flow Hedge Accounting. The amendments are effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2010. |
| IFRIC 9(AC 442) – Reassessment of Embedded Derivatives | Scope exclusions extended to businesses under common control, business combinations as defined in the revised IFRS 3(AC 140) and joint ventures as defined under IAS 31(AC 119), arising from the revisions to IFRS 3(AC 140) made in 2008. The amendment is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 July 2009. |
| IFRIC 16(AC 449) – Hedges of Net Investment in a Foreign Operation | Amendment to the restriction on an entity that can hold hedging instruments. The amendment is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 July 2009. |
The improvements will be issued as improvements to Statements of Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, once approved by the Accounting Practices Board.
The technical information and the IASB press release can be found on the SAICA website.
The improvements can be downloaded from the SAICA handbook – International section for Improvements to IFRSs.
TAX
SAICA’s National Tax Committee submissions
SAICA made the following submissions to SARS/National Treasury during March/April 2009.
| Submission name | Date submitted | Deadline | |
| SAICA Submission to National Treasury on Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill 2009 First Batch (Re-release) (175Kb PDF) | 2 April 2009 | 3 April 2009 | |
| SAICA submission on Draft Interpretation Note s11(A) Pre-Trade Expenditure and Losses
(125Kb PDF) |
25 March 2009 | 25 March 2009 | |
| SAICA Submission to SARS on wear and tear or depreciation allowance (122Kb PDF) | 13 March 2009 | 13 March 2009 | |
Copies of these and previous submissions are available on our website at www.saica.co.za.
Timetable for Tax Season 2009:
| Phase | Period | Primary Responsibility |
| Preparation for submission of PAYE reconciliation declaration | 1 March – 31 March | SARS
Employers Payroll companies Practitioners |
| Submission of EMP501 PAYE reconciliation declaration and employee tax certificate | 1 April – 30 May | Employers
Practitioners |
| Data reconciliation in preparation for pre-population of returns | 1 June – 30 June | SARS |
| Preparation for submission of income tax returns for individuals (ITR12) including issue of ITRR return request forms to manual filers | 1 June – 30 June | SARS
Taxpayers Practitioners |
| Manual submission of ITR12 income tax returns for individuals | 1 July – 18 September | Individual taxpayers
Practitioners |
| Manual submission of IT12TR income tax returns for trusts | 1 July – 18 September | Trusts
Practitioners |
| Electronic submission of ITR12 income tax returns for individuals | 1 July – 20 November | Individual taxpayers
Practitioners |
| Electronic submission of ITR12TR income tax returns for trusts | 1 July – 20 November | Trusts
Practitioners |
| Submission of IT14 and IT12EI income tax returns for companies and exempt institutions | 12 months after financial year-end | Companies
Exempt Institutions Practitioners |
All queries: https://www.saica.co.za/faqs/askquestion.asp?contentpageparentid=1172 | Telephone: 011 621 6641 |
Telefax: 011 621 6819 | Website: http://www.saica.co.za
