Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/289 of 26 February 2018 amending Regulation (EC) No 1126/2008 adopting certain international accounting standards in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 2 ‘Share-based Payment’ (Text with EEA relevance. )
Date: 2018-02-26
Institutions: Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, European Commission
Subjects: financial accounting, financial legislation, international standard, payment, shareholding, standardised accounting system








L_2018055EN.01002101.xml










27.2.2018   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


L 55/21








            COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) 2018/289
of 26 February 2018
         
amending Regulation (EC) No 1126/2008 adopting certain international accounting standards in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 2 ‘Share-based Payment’
         
(Text with EEA relevance)


THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,


Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 July 2002 on the application of international accounting standards (1), and in particular Article 3(1) thereof,

Whereas:







(1)


By Commission Regulation (EC) No 1126/2008 (2) certain international standards and interpretations that were in existence at 15 October 2008 were adopted.












(2)


On 20 June 2016, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published amendments to International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 2 Share-based Payment. The amendments aim to clarify how companies should apply the standard in some specific instances.












(3)


Following the consultations with the European Financial Advisory Group, the Commission concludes that the amendments to IFRS 2 meet the criteria for adoption set out in Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002.












(4)


Regulation (EC) No 1126/2008 should therefore be amended accordingly.












(5)


The IASB set the effective date of the amendments to IFRS 2 as from1 January 2018.












(6)


The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Accounting Regulatory Committee,





HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:



Article 1
In the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1126/2008, International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 2 Share-based Payment is amended as set out in the Annex to this Regulation.


Article 2
Each company shall apply the amendments referred to in Article 1, at the latest, as from the commencement date of its first financial year starting on or after 1 January 2018.


Article 3
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.




This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 26 February 2018.


For the Commission


The President

Jean-Claude JUNCKER
            





(1)  
            OJ L 243, 11.9.2002, p. 1.

(2)  Commission Regulation (EC) No 1126/2008 of 3 November 2008 adopting certain international accounting standards in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 320, 29.11.2008, p. 1).




ANNEX

Classification and Measurement of Share-based Payment Transactions


Amendments to IFRS 2


Amendments to IFRS 2 Share-based Payment


Paragraphs 19, 30-31, 33, 52 and 63 are amended, and paragraphs 33A-33H, 59A-59B and 63D are added. Headings before paragraphs 33A and 33E are added. Paragraphs 32 and 34 have not been amended, but are included for ease of reference.

TREATMENT OF VESTING CONDITIONS









19.


A grant of equity instruments might be conditional upon satisfying specified vesting conditions. For example, a grant of shares or share options to an employee is typically conditional on the employee remaining in the entity's employ for a specified period of time. There might be performance conditions that must be satisfied, such as the entity achieving a specified growth in profit or a specified increase in the entity's share price. Vesting conditions, other than market conditions, shall not be taken into account when estimating the fair value of the shares or share options at the measurement date. Instead, vesting conditions, other than market conditions, shall be taken into account by adjusting the number of equity instruments included in the measurement of the transaction amount so that, ultimately, the amount recognised for goods or services received as consideration for the equity instruments granted shall be based on the number of equity instruments that eventually vest. Hence, on a cumulative basis, no amount is recognised for goods or services received if the equity instruments granted do not vest because of failure to satisfy a vesting condition, other than a market condition, for example, the counterparty fails to complete a specified service period, or a performance condition is not satisfied, subject to the requirements of paragraph 21.
…





CASH-SETTLED SHARE-BASED PAYMENT TRANSACTIONS










30.




For cash-settled share-based payment transactions, the entity shall measure the goods or services acquired and the liability incurred at the fair value of the liability, subject to the requirements of paragraphs 31-33D. Until the liability is settled, the entity shall re-measure the fair value of the liability at the end of each reporting period and at the date of settlement, with any changes in fair value recognised in profit or loss for the period.













31.


For example, an entity might grant share appreciation rights to employees as part of their remuneration package, whereby the employees will become entitled to a future cash payment (rather than an equity instrument), based on the increase in the entity's share price from a specified level over a specified period of time. Alternatively, an entity might grant to its employees a right to receive a future cash payment by granting to them a right to shares (including shares to be issued upon the exercise of share options) that are redeemable, either mandatorily (for example, upon cessation of employment) or at the employee's option. These arrangements are examples of cash-settled share-based payment transactions. Share appreciation rights are used to illustrate some of the requirements in paragraphs 32-33D; however, the requirements in those paragraphs apply to all cash-settled share-based payment transactions.












32.


The entity shall recognise the services received, and a liability to pay for those services, as the employees render service. For example, some share appreciation rights vest immediately, and the employees are therefore not required to complete a specified period of service to become entitled to the cash payment. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the entity shall presume that the services rendered by the employees in exchange for the share appreciation rights have been received. Thus, the entity shall recognise immediately the services received and a liability to pay for them. If the share appreciation rights do not vest until the employees have completed a specified period of service, the entity shall recognise the services received, and a liability to pay for them, as the employees render service during that period.












33.


The liability shall be measured, initially and at the end of each reporting period until settled, at the fair value of the share appreciation rights, by applying an option pricing model, taking into account the terms and conditions on which the share appreciation rights were granted, and the extent to which the employees have rendered service to date — subject to the requirements of paragraphs 33A–33D. An entity might modify the terms and conditions on which a cash-settled share-based payment is granted. Guidance for a modification of a share-based payment transaction that changes its classification from cash-settled to equity-settled is given in paragraphs B44A-B44C in Appendix B.





TREATMENT OF VESTING AND NON-VESTING CONDITIONS









33A


A cash-settled share-based payment transaction might be conditional upon satisfying specified vesting conditions. There might be performance conditions that must be satisfied, such as the entity achieving a specified growth in profit or a specified increase in the entity's share price. Vesting conditions, other than market conditions, shall not be taken into account when estimating the fair value of the cash-settled share-based payment at the measurement date. Instead, vesting conditions, other than market conditions, shall be taken into account by adjusting the number of awards included in the measurement of the liability arising from the transaction.












33B


To apply the requirements in paragraph 33A, the entity shall recognise an amount for the goods or services received during the vesting period. That amount shall be based on the best available estimate of the number of awards that are expected to vest. The entity shall revise that estimate, if necessary, if subsequent information indicates that the number of awards that are expected to vest differs from previous estimates. On the vesting date, the entity shall revise the estimate to equal the number of awards that ultimately vested.












33C


Market conditions, such as a target share price upon which vesting (or exercisability) is conditioned, as well as non-vesting conditions, shall be taken into account when estimating the fair value of the cash-settled share-based payment granted and when re-measuring the fair value at the end of each reporting period and at the date of settlement.












33D


As a result of applying paragraphs 30-33C, the cumulative amount ultimately recognised for goods or services received as consideration for the cash-settled share-based payment is equal to the cash that is paid.





SHARE-BASED PAYMENT TRANSACTIONS WITH A NET SETTLEMENT FEATURE FOR WITHHOLDING TAX OBLIGATIONS









33E


Tax laws or regulations may oblige an entity to withhold an amount for an employee's tax obligation associated with a share-based payment and transfer that amount, normally in cash, to the tax authority on the employee's behalf. To fulfil this obligation, the terms of the share-based payment arrangement may permit or require the entity to withhold the number of equity instruments equal to the monetary value of the employee's tax obligation from the total number of equity instruments that otherwise would have been issued to the employee upon exercise (or vesting) of the share-based payment (ie the share-based payment arrangement has a ‘net settlement feature’).












33F


As an exception to the requirements in paragraph 34, the transaction described in paragraph 33E shall be classified in its entirety as an equity-settled share-based payment transaction if it would have been so classified in the absence of the net settlement feature.












33G


The entity applies paragraph 29 of this Standard to account for the withholding of shares to fund the payment to the tax authority in respect of the employee's tax obligation associated with the share-based payment. Therefore, the payment made shall be accounted for as a deduction from equity for the shares withheld, except to the extent that the payment exceeds the fair value at the net settlement date of the equity instruments withheld.












33H


The exception in paragraph 33F does not apply to:






(a)


a share-based payment arrangement with a net settlement feature for which there is no obligation on the entity under tax laws or regulations to withhold an amount for an employee's tax obligation associated with that share-based payment; or










(b)


any equity instruments that the entity withholds in excess of the employee's tax obligation associated with the share-based payment (i.e. the entity withheld an amount of shares that exceeds the monetary value of the employee's tax obligation). Such excess shares withheld shall be accounted for as a cash-settled share-based payment when this amount is paid in cash (or other assets) to the employee.

















34.




For share-based payment transactions in which the terms of the arrangement provide either the entity or the counterparty with the choice of whether the entity settles the transaction in cash (or other assets) or by issuing equity instruments, the entity shall account for that transaction, or the components of that transaction, as a cash-settled share-based payment transaction if, and to the extent that, the entity has incurred a liability to settle in cash or other assets, or as an equity-settled share-based payment transaction if, and to the extent that, no such liability has been incurred.






DISCLOSURES

…








52.


If the information required to be disclosed by this Standard does not satisfy the principles in paragraphs 44, 46 and 50, the entity shall disclose such additional information as is necessary to satisfy them. For example, if an entity has classified any share-based payment transactions as equity-settled in accordance with paragraph 33F, the entity shall disclose an estimate of the amount that it expects to transfer to the tax authority to settle the employee's tax obligation when it is necessary to inform users about the future cash flow effects associated with the share-based payment arrangement.





TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

…








59A


An entity shall apply the amendments in paragraphs 30-31, 33-33H and B44A-B44C as set out below. Prior periods shall not be restated.






(a)


The amendments in paragraphs B44A-B44C apply only to modifications that occur on or after the date that an entity first applies the amendments.










(b)


The amendments in paragraphs 30-31 and 33-33D apply to share-based payment transactions that are unvested at the date that an entity first applies the amendments and to share-based payment transactions with a grant date on or after the date that an entity first applies the amendments. For unvested share-based payment transactions granted prior to the date that an entity first applies the amendments, an entity shall remeasure the liability at that date and recognise the effect of the remeasurement in opening retained earnings (or other component of equity, as appropriate) of the reporting period in which the amendments are first applied.










(c)


The amendments in paragraphs 33E-33H and the amendment to paragraph 52 apply to share-based payment transactions that are unvested (or vested but unexercised), at the date that an entity first applies the amendments and to share-based payment transactions with a grant date on or after the date that an entity first applies the amendments. For unvested (or vested but unexercised) share-based payment transactions (or components thereof) that were previously classified as cash-settled share-based payments but now are classified as equity-settled in accordance with the amendments, an entity shall reclassify the carrying value of the share-based payment liability to equity at the date that it first applies the amendments.
















59B


Notwithstanding the requirements in paragraph 59A, an entity may apply the amendments in paragraph 63D retrospectively, subject to the transitional provisions in paragraphs 53-59 of this Standard, in accordance with IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors if and only if it is possible without hindsight. If an entity elects retrospective application, it must do so for all of the amendments made by Classification and Measurement of Share-based Payment Transactions (Amendments to IFRS 2).





EFFECTIVE DATE

…








63.


An entity shall apply the following amendments made by Group Cash-settled Share-based Payment Transactions issued in June 2009 retrospectively, subject to the transitional provisions in paragraphs 53-59, in accordance with IAS 8 for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2010:






(a)


…




…












63D



Classification and Measurement of Share-based Payment Transactions (Amendments to IFRS 2), issued in June 2016, amended paragraphs 19, 30-31, 33, 52 and 63 and added paragraphs 33A-33H, 59A-59B, 63D and B44A-B44C and their related headings. An entity shall apply those amendments for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018. Earlier application is permitted. If an entity applies the amendments for an earlier period, it shall disclose that fact.




In Appendix B, paragraphs B44A–B44C and their related heading are added.

Accounting for a modification of a share-based payment transaction that changes its classification from cash-settled to equity-settled









B44A


If the terms and conditions of a cash-settled share-based payment transaction are modified with the result that it becomes an equity-settled share-based payment transaction, the transaction is accounted for as such from the date of the modification. Specifically:






(a)


The equity-settled share-based payment transaction is measured by reference to the fair value of the equity instruments granted at the modification date. The equity-settled share-based payment transaction is recognised in equity on the modification date to the extent to which goods or services have been received.










(b)


The liability for the cash-settled share-based payment transaction as at the modification date is derecognised on that date.










(c)


Any difference between the carrying amount of the liability derecognised and the amount of equity recognised on the modification date is recognised immediately in profit or loss.
















B44B


If, as a result of the modification, the vesting period is extended or shortened, the application of the requirements in paragraph B44A reflect the modified vesting period. The requirements in paragraph B44A apply even if the modification occurs after the vesting period.












B44C


A cash-settled share-based payment transaction may be cancelled or settled (other than a transaction cancelled by forfeiture when the vesting conditions are not satisfied). If equity instruments are granted and, on that grant date, the entity identifies them as a replacement for the cancelled cash-settled share-based payment, the entity shall apply paragraphs B44A and B44B.