TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) Third Amendment Rules, 2024.
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....nd AS 117 and for this purpose, Ind AS 104 shall, as specified in the Schedule to these rules, continue to apply." 3. After the Annexure to the said rules and the entries relating thereto, the following Schedule shall be inserted, namely: - "SCHEDULE [See proviso to rule 5] Indian Accounting Standard (Ind AS) 104 Insurance Contracts (This Indian Accounting Standard includes paragraphs set in bold type and plain type, which have equal authority. Paragraphs in bold type indicate the main principles.) Objective 1 The objective of this Indian Accounting Standard (Ind AS) is to specify the financial reporting for insurance contracts by any entity that issues such contracts (described in this Ind AS as an insurer). In particular, this Ind AS requires: (a) limited improvements to accounting by insurers for insurance contracts. (b) disclosure that identifies and explains the amounts in an insurer's financial statements arising from insurance contracts and helps users of those financial statements understand the amount, timing and uncertainty of future cash flows from insurance contracts. Scope 2 An entity shall apply this Ind AS to: ....
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....nd AS describes any entity that issues an insurance contract as an insurer, whether or not the issuer is regarded as an insurer for legal or supervisory purposes. 6 A reinsurance contract is a type of insurance contract. Accordingly, all references in this Ind AS to insurance contracts also apply to reinsurance contracts. Embedded derivatives 7 Ind AS 109 requires an entity to separate some embedded derivatives from their host contract, measure them at fair value and include changes in their fair value in profit or loss. Ind AS 109 applies to derivatives embedded in an insurance contract unless the embedded derivative is itself an insurance contract. 8 As an exception to the requirements in Ind AS 109, an insurer need not separate, and measure at fair value, a policyholder's option to surrender an insurance contract for a fixed amount (or for an amount based on a fixed amount and an interest rate), even if the exercise price differs from the carrying amount of the host insurance liability. However, the requirements in Ind AS 109 do apply to a put option or cash surrender option embedded in an insurance contract if the surrender value varies in response to the change in ....
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....ges in Accounting Estimates and Errors, specify criteria for an entity to use in developing an accounting policy if no Ind AS applies specifically to an item. However, this Ind AS exempts an insurer from applying those criteria to its accounting policies for: (a) insurance contracts that it issues (including related acquisition costs and related intangible assets, such as those described in paragraphs 31 and 32); and (b) reinsurance contracts that it holds. 14 Nevertheless, this Ind AS does not exempt an insurer from some implications of the criteria in paragraphs 10-12 of Ind AS 8. Specifically, an insurer: (a) shall not recognise as a liability any provisions for possible future claims, if those claims arise under insurance contracts that are not in existence at the end of the reporting period (such as catastrophe provisions and equalisation provisions). (b) shall carry out the liability adequacy test described in paragraphs 15-19. (c) shall remove an insurance liability (or a part of an insurance liability) from its balance sheet when, and only when, it is extinguished-ie when the obligation specified in the contract is discharged ....
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.... if the relevant insurance liabilities were within the scope of Ind AS 37. If it is less, the insurer shall recognise the entire difference in profit or loss and decrease the carrying amount of the related deferred acquisition costs or related intangible assets or increase the carrying amount of the relevant insurance liabilities. 18 If an insurer's liability adequacy test meets the minimum requirements of paragraph 16, the test is applied at the level of aggregation specified in that test. If its liability adequacy test does not meet those minimum requirements, the comparison described in paragraph 17 shall be made at the level of a portfolio of contracts that are subject to broadly similar risks and managed together as a single portfolio. 19 The amount described in paragraph 17(b) (ie the result of applying Ind AS 37) shall reflect future investment margins (see paragraphs 27-29) if, and only if, the amount described in paragraph 17(a) also reflects those margins. Impairment of reinsurance assets 20 If a cedant's reinsurance asset is impaired, the cedant shall reduce its carrying amount accordingly and recognise that impairment loss in profit or loss. A reinsurance as....
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....r this election, it shall continue to apply current market interest rates (a nd, if applicable, the other current estimates and assumptions) consistently in all periods to all these liabilities until they are extinguished. Continuation of existing practices 25 An insurer may continue the following practices, but the introduction of any of them does not satisfy paragraph 22: (a) measuring insurance liabilities on an undiscounted basis. (b) measuring contractual rights to future investment management fees at an amount that exceeds their fair value as implied by a comparison with current fees charged by other market participants for similar services. It is likely that the fair value at inception of those contractual rights equals the origination costs paid, unless future investment management fees and related costs are out of line with market comparables. (c) using non-uniform accounting policies for the insurance contracts (and related deferred acquisition costs and related intangible assets, if any) of subsidiaries, except as permitted by paragraph 24. If those accounting policies are not uniform, an insurer may change them if the change does not mak....
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....n some measurement approaches, the discount rate is used to determine the present value of a future profit margin. That profit margin is then attributed to different periods using a formula. In those approaches, the discount rate affects the measurement of the liability only indirectly. In particular, the use of a less appropriate discount rate has a limited or no effect on the measurement of the liability at inception. However, in other approaches, the discount rate determines the measurement of the liability directly. In the latter case, because the introduction of an asset -based discount rate has a more significant effect, it is highly unlikely that an insurer could overcome the rebuttable presumption described in paragraph 27. Shadow accounting 30 In some accounting models, realised gains or losses on an insurer's assets have a direct effect on the measurement of some or all of (a) its insurance liabilities, (b) related deferred acquisition costs and (c) related intangible assets, such as those described in paragraphs 31 and 32. An insurer is permitted, but not required, to change its accounting policies so that a recognised but unrealised gain or loss on an asset affect....
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.... (b) shall, if it recognises the discretionary participation feature separately from the guaranteed element, classify that feature as either a liability or a separate component of equity. This Ind AS does not specify how the issuer determines whether that feature is a liability or equity. The issuer may split that feature into liability and equity components and shall use a consistent accounting policy for that split. The issuer shall not classify that feature as an intermediate category that is neither liability nor equity. (c) may recognise all premiums received as revenue without separating any portion that relates to the equity component. The resulting changes in the guaranteed element and in the portion of the discretionary participation feature classified as a liability shall be recognised in profit or loss. If part or all of the discretionary participation feature is classified in equity, a portion of profit or loss may be attributable to that feature (in the same way that a portion may be attributable to non -controlling interests). The issuer shall recognise the portion of profit or loss attributable to any equity component of a discretionary participation fea....
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....dix 1] Disclosure Explanation of recognised amounts 36 An insurer shall disclose information that identifies and explains the amounts in its financial statements arising from insurance contracts. 37 To comply with paragraph 36, an insurer shall disclose: (a) its accounting policies for insurance contracts and related assets, liabilities, income and expense. (b) the recognised assets, liabilities, income and expense (and, if it presents its statement of cash flows using the direct method, cash flows) arising from insurance contracts. Furthermore, if the insurer is a cedant, it shall disclose: (i) gains and losses recognised in profit or loss on buying reinsurance; and (ii) if the cedant defers and amortises gains and losses arising on buying reinsurance, the amortisation for the period and the amounts remaining unamortised at the beginning and end of the period. (c) the process used to determine the assumptions that have the greatest effect on the measurement of the recognised amounts described in (b). When practicable, an insurer shall also give quantified disclosure of those assumptions. (d) the effect of changes in....
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....value analysis, it may use that sensitivity analysis to meet the requirement in paragraph 40(a) of Ind AS 107. Such an insurer shall also provide the disclosures required by paragraph 41 of Ind AS 107. (e) information about exposures to market risk arising from embedded derivatives contained in a host insurance contract if the insurer is not required to, and does not, measure the embedded derivatives at fair value. 39A To comply with paragraph 39(c)(i), an insurer shall disclose either (a) or (b) as follows: (a) a sensitivity analysis that shows how profit or loss and equity would have been affected if changes in the relevant risk variable that were reasonably possible at the end of the reporting period had occurred; the methods and assumptions used in preparing the sensitivity analysis; and any changes from the previous period in the methods and assumptions used. However, if an insurer uses an alternative method to manage sensitivity to market conditions, such as an embedded value analysis, it may meet this requirement by disclosing that alternative sensitivity analysis and the disclosures required by paragraph 41 of Ind AS 107. (b) qualitative inform....
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....bility in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. (See Ind AS 113.) financial guarantee contract A contract that requires the issuer to make specified payments to reimburse the holder for a loss it incurs because a specified debtor fails to make payment when due in accordance with the original or modified terms of a debt instrument. financial risk The risk of a possible future change in one or more of a specified interest rate, financial instrument price, commodity price, foreign exchange rate, index of prices or rates, credit rating or credit index or other variable, provided in the case of a non-financial variable that the variable is not specific to a party to the contract. guaranteed benefits Payments or other benefits to which a particular policyholder or investor has an unconditional right that is not subject to the contractual discretion of the issuer. guaranteed element An obligation to pay guaranteed benefits, included in a contract that contains a discretionary participation feature. insurance asset An insurer's net contractual rights under an insurance con....
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....event B2 Uncertainty (or risk) is the essence of an insurance contract. Accordingly, at least one of the following is uncertain at the inception of an insurance contract: (a) whether an insured event will occur; (b) when it will occur; or (c) how much the insurer will need to pay if it occurs. B3 In some insurance contracts, the insured event is the discovery of a loss during the term of the contract, even if the loss arises from an event that occurred before the inception of the contract. In other insurance contracts, the insured event is an event that occurs during the term of the contract, even if the resulting loss is discovered after the end of the contract term. B4 Some insurance contracts cover events that have already occurred, but whose financial effect is still uncertain. An example is a reinsurance contract that covers the direct insurer against adverse development of claims already reported by policyholders. In such contracts, the insured event is the discovery of the ultimate cost of those claims. Payments in kind B5 Some insurance contracts require or permit payments to be made in kind. An example is when the insurer replaces ....
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....ents in this Ind AS are unlikely to add significantly to disclosures required by other Ind ASs. Distinction between insurance risk and other risks B8 The definition of an insurance contract refers to insurance risk, which this Ind AS defines as risk, other than financial risk, transferred from the holder of a contract to the issuer. A contract that exposes the issuer to financial risk without significant insurance risk is not an insurance contract. B9 The definition of financial risk in Appendix A includes a list of financial and non-financial variables. That list includes non-financial variables that are not specific to a party to the contract, such as an index of earthquake losses in a particular region or an index of temperatures in a particular city. It excludes non-financial variables that are specific to a party to the contract, such as the occurrence or non-occurrence of a fire that damages or destroys an asset of that party. Furthermore, the risk of changes in the fair value of a non-financial asset is not a financial risk if the fair value reflects not only changes in market prices for such assets (a financial variable) but also the condition of a specific no....
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....tain event occurs, but do not require an adverse effect on the policyholder as a precondition for payment. Such a contract is not an insurance contract even if the holder uses the contract to mitigate an underlying risk exposure. For example, if the holder uses a derivative to hedge an underlying non-financial variable that is correlated with cash flows from an asset of the entity, the derivative is not an insurance contract because payment is not conditional on whether the holder is adversely affected by a reduction in the cash flows from the asset. Conversely, the definition of an insurance contract refers to an uncertain event for which an adverse effect on the policyholder is a contractual precondition for payment. This contractual precondition does not require the insurer to investigate whether the event actually caused an adverse effect, but permits the insurer to deny payment if it is not satisfied that the event caused an adverse effect. B15 Lapse or persistency risk (ie the risk that the counterparty will cancel the contract earlier or later than the issuer had expected in pricing the contract) is not insurance risk because the payment to the counterparty is not conting....
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....se the holder for a loss it incurs because a specified debtor fails to make payment when due under the original or modified terms of a debt instrument. These contracts could have various legal forms, such as that of a guarantee, some types of letter of credit, a credit derivative default contract or an insurance contract. However, although these contracts meet the definition of an insurance contract, they also meet the definition of a financial guarantee contract in Ind AS 109 and ar e within the scope of Ind AS 107 and Ind AS 109, not this Ind AS (see paragraph 4(d)). Nevertheless, if an issuer of financial guarantee contracts has previously asserted explicitly that it regards such contracts as insurance contracts and has used accounting applicable to insurance contracts, the issuer may elect to apply either Ind AS 107 and Ind AS 109 or this Ind AS to such financial guarantee contracts. (h) product warranties. Product warranties issued by another party for goods sold by a manufacturer, dealer or retailer are within the scope of this Ind AS. However, product warranties issued directly by a manufacturer, dealer or retailer are outside its scope, because they are within the ....
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....fy the loss caused by a specified event such as death or an accident (see also paragraph B13). (e) derivatives that expose one party to financial risk but not insurance risk, because they require that party to make payment based solely on changes in one or more of a specified interest rate, financial instrument price, commodity price, foreign exchange rate, index of prices or rates, credit rating or credit index or other variable, provided in the case of a non-financial variable that the variable is not specific to a party to the contract (see Ind AS 109). (f) a credit-related guarantee (or letter of credit, credit derivative default contract or credit insurance contract) that requires payments even if the holder has not incurred a loss on the failure of the debtor to make payments when due (see Ind AS 109). (g) contracts that require a payment based on a climatic, geological or other physical variable that is not specific to a party to the contract (commonly described as weather derivatives). (h) catastrophe bonds that provide for reduced payments of principal, interest or both, based on a climatic, geological or other physical variable that is ....
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.... However, this economic loss for the insurer does not reflect insurance risk, just as a mutual fund manager does not take on insurance risk in relation to the possible death of the client. Therefore, the potential loss of future investment management fees is not relevant in assessing how much insurance risk is transferred by a contract. (b) waiver on death of charges that would be made on cancellation or surrender. Because the contract brought those charges into existence, the waiver of these charges does not compensate the policyholder for a pre-existing risk. Hence, they are not relevant in assessing how much insurance risk is transferred by a contract. (c) a payment conditional on an event that does not cause a significant loss to the holder of the contract. For example, consider a contract that requires the issuer to pay one million rupees if an asset suffers physical damage causing an insignificant economic loss of one rupee to the holder. In this contract, the holder transfers to the insurer the insignificant risk of losing one rupee. At the same time, the contract creates non-insurance risk that the issuer will need to pay 999,999 rupees if the specified ev....
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....nce contract is unbundled into a deposit component and an insurance component, the significance of insurance risk transfer is assessed by reference to the insurance component. The significance of insurance risk transferred by an embedded derivative is assessed by reference to the embedded derivative. Changes in the level of insurance risk B29 Some contracts do not transfer any insurance risk to the issuer at inception, although they do transfer insurance risk at a later time. For example, consider a contract that provides a specified investment return and includes an option for the policyholder to use the proceeds of the investment on maturity to buy a life-contingent annuity at the current annuity rates charged by the insurer to other new annuitants when the policyholder exercises the option. The contract transfers no insurance risk to the issuer until the option is exercised, because the insurer remains free to price the annuity on a basis that reflects the insurance risk transferred to the insurer at that time. However, if the contract specifies the annuity rates (or a basis for setting the annuity rates), the contract transfers insurance risk to the issuer at inception. ....