In pursuance to the Budget Announcement by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley, after consultations with Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority(IRDA) and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), the following roadmap for implementation of Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) converged with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for Scheduled commercial banks (excluding RRBs), insurers/insurance companies and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFC’s) has been drawn up:

(I.) Scheduled commercial banks (excluding RRBs) and Insurer/Insurance Companies:

(a) Scheduled commercial banks (excluding Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), All-India Term-lending Refinancing Institutions (i.e. Exim Bank, NABARD, NHB and SIDBI) and Insurers/Insurance companies would be required to prepare Ind AS based financial statements for accounting periods beginning from April 1, 2018 onwards, with comparatives for the periods ending March 31, 2018 or thereafter. Ind AS would be applicable to both consolidated and individual financial statements.

(b) Notwithstanding the roadmap for companies, the holding, subsidiary, joint venture or associate companies of Scheduled commercial banks (excluding RRBs) would be required to prepare Ind AS based financial statements for accounting periods beginning from April 1, 2018 onwards, with comparatives for the periods ending March 31, 2018 or thereafter.

(c) Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) shall not be required to apply Ind AS and shall continue to comply with the existing Accounting Standards, for the present.

(II.) NBFCs:

NBFCs will be required to prepare Ind AS based financial statements in two phases:

(a) Under Phase I, the following categories of NBFCs shall be required to prepare Ind AS based financial statements for accounting periods beginning from April 1, 2018 onwards with comparatives for the periods ending March 31, 2018 or thereafter. Ind AS would be applicable to both consolidated and individual financial statements.

(i) NBFCs having net worth of ₹ 500 crores or more.

(ii) Holding, subsidiary, joint venture or associate companies of companies covered under (a)(i) above, other than those companies already covered under the corporate roadmap announced by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Government of India (GoI).

(b) Under Phase II, the following categories of NBFCs shall be required to prepare Ind AS based financial statements for accounting periods beginning from April 1, 2019 onwards with comparatives for the periods ending March 31, 2019 or thereafter. Ind AS would be applicable to both consolidated and individual financial statements.

(i) NBFCs whose equity and/or debt securities are listed or are in the process of listing on any stock exchange in India or outside India and having net worth less than ₹ 500 crores.

(ii) NBFCs other than those covered in (a)(i) and (b)(i) above, that are unlisted companies, having net worth of ₹ 250 crores or more but less than ₹ 500 crores.

(iii) Holding, subsidiary, joint venture or associate companies of companies covered under (b) (i) and (b)(ii) above, other than those companies already covered under the corporate roadmap announced by the MCA, GoI.

NBFCs having net worth below ₹ 250 Crores and not covered under the above provisions shall continue to apply Accounting Standards specified in Annexure to Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules, 2006.

(III.)Scheduled commercial banks (excluding RRBs)/NBFCs/insurance companies/insurers shall apply Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) only if they meet the specified criteria, they shall not be allowed to voluntarily adopt Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS). This, however, does not preclude an insurer/insurance company/NBFC from providing Ind AS compliant financial statement data for the purposes of preparation of consolidated financial statements by its parent/investor, as required by the parent/investor to comply with the existing requirements of law.

Draft Notification/Rules, as required, would be issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, RBI and IRDA in due course.

Ind AS implementation roadmap: mandatory phased adoption for banks, insurers and specified NBFCs with group coverage. Ind AS adoption is mandated for scheduled commercial banks (excluding RRBs), insurers, and specified NBFCs in a phased roadmap: banks and insurers must prepare Ind AS individual and consolidated financial statements from the applicable transition period; UCBs and RRBs remain outside Ind AS for now. NBFCs adopt Ind AS in two phases according to corporate status, listing intent and net worth bands, with covered group entities also required to apply Ind AS. Entities below the lowest net worth threshold continue with existing Accounting Standards. Adoption is mandatory where criteria are met; voluntary adoption is not permitted, though Ind AS data may be supplied for consolidation by a parent or investor.