European Union (Third-Country Auditors and Third-Country Audit Entities Equivalence, Transitional Period and Fees) Regulations 2018.
Statutory Instruments
Source: Statutory Instruments

num: 1
paragraphs: (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Third-Country Auditors and Third-Country Audit Entities Equivalence, Transitional Period and Fees) Regulations 2018.
(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on 21 September 2018.
num: 2
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, Commission Implementing Decision 2013 or Commission Implementing Decision 2016 has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Commission Decision, Commission Implementing Decision 2013 or Commission Implementing Decision 2016, as the case may be.
(3) Section 1461 of the Act of 2014 shall apply to the interpretation of these Regulations as that section applies to the interpretation of Part 27 of that Act.
num: 3
paragraphs: (1) Subject to paragraph (2), in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 1 of the Commission Decision and for the purpose of Article 46(1) of the Audit Directive, the public oversight, quality assurance, investigation and penalty systems for third-country auditors and third-country 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) In accordance with Article 4 of the Commission Decision, paragraph (1) ceased to apply to the third country specified in paragraph (1)(j) on 31 July 2013.
(3) In accordance with the second paragraph of Article 1 of the Commission Decision and for the purpose of Article 46(1) of the Audit Directive, the public oversight, quality assurance, investigation and penalty systems for third-country auditors and third-country audit entities of—
(a) Abu Dhabi,
(b) Brazil,
(c) Dubai International Financial Centre,
(d) Guernsey,
(e) Indonesia,
(f) Isle of Man,
(g) Jersey,
(h) Malaysia,
(i) Taiwan, and
(j) Thailand,
(4) Subject to paragraph (5), in accordance with Article 1 of Commission Implementing Decision 2013 and for the purpose of Article 46(1) of the Audit Directive, the public oversight, quality assurance, investigation and penalty systems for auditors and audit entities of the United States of America meet requirements which shall be considered equivalent to those of the relevant Articles in relation to audit activities concerning the accounts or consolidated accounts for financial years starting from 1 August 2012.
(5) In accordance with Article 3 of Commission Implementing Decision 2013, paragraph (3) applied from 1 August 2013 to 31 July 2016.
(6) In accordance with the third paragraph of Article 1 of the Commission Decision and for the purpose of Article 46(1) of the Audit Directive, the public oversight, quality assurance, investigation and penalty systems for third-country auditors and third-country audit entities of—
(a) Mauritius,
(b) New Zealand, and
(c) Turkey,
(7) Subject to paragraph (8), in accordance with Article 1 of Commission Implementing Decision 2016 and for the purpose of Article 46(1) of the Audit Directive, the public oversight, quality assurance, investigation and penalty systems for auditors and audit entities of the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board of the United States of America shall be considered to meet requirements that are equivalent to those of the relevant Articles.
(8) In accordance with Article 3 of Commission Implementing Decision 2016, paragraph (7) shall apply from 1 August 2016 to 31 July 2022.
num: 4
paragraphs: For the purpose of section 1580(2)(a) of the Act of 2014, the Commission—
(a) has carried out—
(i) for the purpose of Article 46(1) of the Audit Directive, an assessment, in respect of the third countries specified in paragraphs (1), (3), (4), (6) and (7) of Regulation 3, of the systems referred to in section 1580(1) of the Act of 2014, and
(ii) each assessment in accordance with Article 46 of the Audit Directive, and
(b) has, in respect of the third countries specified in paragraphs (1), (3), (4), (6) and (7) of Regulation 3, assessed the systems referred to in paragraph (a) as meeting the requirements equivalent to those in the corresponding provisions of the Audit Directive.
num: 5
paragraphs: (1) This Regulation applies to the provision by a third-country auditor or third-country audit entity of an audit report concerning the accounts or consolidated accounts for a company incorporated in a third country specified in Annex I to the Commission Decision for a financial year starting during the period from 2 July 2010 to 31 July 2012 and Annex II to the Commission Decision for 2 July 2010 to 31 July 2018 where the transferable securities of such company are admitted to trading on a regulated market of the State within the meaning of point 14 of Article 4(1) of Directive 2004/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 20046 on markets in financial instruments amending Council Directives 85/611/EEC and 93/6/EEC and Directive 2000/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 93/22/EEC.
(2) A third-country auditor or third-country audit entity shall—
(a) provide the Supervisory Authority with all of the information specified in subparagraphs (a) to (e) of Article 2(1) of the Commission Decision and subparagraphs (a) to (e) of Article 2(2) of the Commission Decision, and
(b) pay the fee specified in Regulation 8.
(3) The Supervisory Authority shall—
(a) record the information provided in accordance with paragraph (2), and
(b) inform the public—
(i) of the name and address of third-country auditors and third-country audit entities that provide audit reports concerning the accounts or consolidated accounts of companies incorporated in the third countries specified in Annex I or Annex II to the Commission Decision, and
(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 Audit Directive.
num: 6
paragraphs: (1) A person shall not disclose, except in accordance with law, information that—
(a) is obtained by the Supervisory Authority pursuant to Regulation 5(2)(a) in so far as it relates to information provided to it in respect of subparagraph (e) of Article 2(1) of the Commission Decision or subparagraph (e) of Article 2(2) of the Commission Decision, or
(b) is required, in accordance with subparagraph (e) of Article 2(1) of the Commission Decision or subparagraph (e) of Article 2(2) of the Commission Decision, 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 former director, of the Supervisory Authority;
(b) an employee, or former employee, of the Supervisory Authority;
(c) a professional or other advisor, or former professional or other advisor, to the Supervisory Authority.
(3) A person who contravenes paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be 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.
num: 7
paragraphs: (1) Article 2(2) of the Commission Decision is without prejudice to a cooperative arrangement on quality assurance reviews between the Supervisory Authority and the competent authority of a third country specified in Annex II to the Commission Decision if such cooperative arrangement—
(a) includes carrying out quality assurance reviews on the basis of equality of treatment,
(b) has been communicated in advance to the Commission, and
(c) does not pre-empt a Commission decision under Article 47 of the Audit Directive.
(2) Article 1 of Commission Implementing Decision 2013 shall be without prejudice to cooperative arrangements on individual quality assurance reviews between the Supervisory Authority and the competent authorities of the United States of America if such arrangement meets the criteria set out in Article 2 of Commission Implementing Decision 2013 and does not pre-empt any decision to be taken in accordance with Article 47(3) of the Audit Directive.
(3) Article 1 of Commission Implementing Decision 2016 shall be without prejudice to cooperative arrangements on individual quality assurance reviews between the Supervisory Authority and the competent authorities of the United States of America.
num: 8
paragraphs: A third-country auditor or third-country audit entity referred to in Regulation 5(1) shall in each year pay a fee, for the purposes of administrative expenses incurred pursuant to these Regulations, of €2,000 to the Supervisory Authority.
num: 9
paragraphs: The following Regulations are revoked:
(a) the European Union (Third Country Auditors and Audit Entities Equivalence, Transitional Period Measures and Fees) Regulations 2012 ( S.I. No. 312 of 2012 );
(b) the European Union (Third Country Auditors and Audit Entities Equivalence, Transitional Period and Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 ( S.I. No. 555 of 2014 );
(c) the European Union (Third Country Auditors and Audit Entities Equivalence, Transitional Period and Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 ( S.I. No. 67 of 2017 ).