European Union (Third Country Auditors and Audit Entities Equivalence, Transitional Period Measures and Fees) Regulations 2012.
Statutory Instruments
Source: Statutory Instruments

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paragraphs: (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Third Country Auditors and Audit Entities Equivalence, Transitional Period Measures and Fees) Regulations 2012.
(2) These Regulations shall be read as one with the Companies Acts.
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paragraphs: (1) In these Regulations—
(2) A word or expression which is used in these Regulations and which is also used in the Commission Decision has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Commission Decision.
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paragraphs: (1) In accordance with Article 1 of the Commission Decision and for the purpose of Article 46(1) of the Directive the public oversight, quality assurance, investigation and penalty systems for third country auditors and audit entities of—
(a) Australia,
(b) Canada,
(c) China,
(d) Croatia,
(e) Japan,
(f) Singapore,
(g) South Africa,
(h) South Korea,
(i) Switzerland, and
(j) the United States of America,
(2) For the purpose of Regulation 119(2)(a) of the Regulations of 2010, the Commission—
(a) has carried out—
(i) for the purpose of Article 46(1) of the Directive, an assessment, in respect of the third countries specified in paragraph (1), of the systems referred to in Regulation 119(1) of the Regulations of 2010, and
(ii) each assessment in accordance with Article 46 of the Directive, and
(b) has, in respect of the third countries specified in paragraph (1), assessed the systems referred to in subparagraph (a) as meeting the requirements equivalent to those in the corresponding provisions of the Directive.
(3) In accordance with Article 4 of the Commission Decision, paragraph (1) shall cease to apply to the third country specified in paragraph (1)(j) on 31 July 2013.
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paragraphs: (1) This Regulation applies to the provision by a third-country auditor or third-country audit entity of an audit report concerning the annual or consolidated accounts for a company incorporated in a third country specified in the Annex to the Commission Decision for a financial year starting during the period from 2 July 2010 to 31 July 2012.
(2) For the purposes of Regulation 113(6A) of the Regulations of 2010 a third-country auditor or audit entity shall—
(a) provide the competent authority with supervisory and other functions with all of the information specified in subparagraphs (a) to (e) of Article 2(1) of the Commission Decision,
(b) pay the fee specified in Regulation 7.
(3) The competent authority with supervisory and other functions shall—
(a) record the information provided in accordance with paragraph (2), and
(b) inform the public—
(i) of the name and address of the third-country auditor and the third-country audit entity that provide audit reports concerning the annual or consolidated accounts of companies incorporated in the third countries specified in the Annex to the Commission Decision,
(ii) that the public oversight, quality assurance, investigation and penalty systems of those countries are not yet recognised as equivalent under Article 46(2) of the Directive.
(4) Regulation 113 of the Regulations of 2010 is amended—
(a) in paragraph (1) by substituting “, (6) and (6A)” for “and (6)”, and
(b) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (6):
“(6A) Paragraph (1) does not apply in respect of an audit report referred to in that paragraph for a financial year starting during the period from 2 July 2010 to 31 July 2012 if—
(a) that audit report is provided by a third-country auditor or audit entity,
(b) that audit report concerns a company referred to in paragraph (2) that is incorporated in a third-country specified in the Annex to Commission Decision 2011/30/EU of 19 January 20111, and
(c) the third-country auditor or audit entity concerned complies with Regulations 4(2) and 7 of the European Union (Third Country Auditors and Audit Entities Equivalence, Transitional Period Measures and Fees) Regulations 2012.”.
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paragraphs: (1) A person shall not disclose, except in accordance with law, information that—
(a) is obtained by the competent authority with supervisory and other functions pursuant to Regulation 4(2)(a), in so far as it relates to information provided to it in respect of Article 2(1)(e) of the Commission Decision, and
(b) is required, in accordance with Article 2(1)(e), to be treated on a confidential basis.
(2) Without limiting paragraph (1), the persons to whom that paragraph applies include the following:
(a) a member or director, or former member or director, of the competent authority with supervisory and other functions;
(b) an employee, or former employee, of the competent authority with supervisory and other functions;
(c) a professional or other advisor, or former professional or other advisor, to the competent authority with supervisory and other functions.
(3) A person who contravenes paragraph (1) is guilty of an offence and is liable, on summary conviction, to a Class A fine.
(4) Proceedings for a summary offence under this Regulation may be brought and prosecuted by the Director of Corporate Enforcement.
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paragraphs: Article 2(1) of the Commission Decision is without prejudice to cooperative arrangements on quality assurance reviews between the competent authority with supervisory and other functions and a competent authority of a third country specified in the Annex to the Commission Decision if those arrangements meet all of the criteria specified in subparagraphs (a) to (c) of Article 2(4) of the Commission Decision.
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paragraphs: A third-country auditor or audit entity referred to in Regulation 4(1) shall in each year pay a fee, for the purposes of administrative expenses incurred pursuant to these Regulations, of €2,000 to the competent authority with supervisory and other functions.