European Communities (Insurance Undertakings: Accounts) Regulations, 1996

• Date: 05 February 1996
• Statutory Instrument No.: 23/1996

S.I. No. 23 of 1996.
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (INSURANCE UNDERTAKINGS: ACCOUNTS) REGULATIONS, 1996
Arrangement of Regulations
Regulations Page 1. Citation and Construction. 1 2. Interpretation. 1 3. Application. 4 4. Modifications. 4 5. Drawing up of accounts. 5 6. Format of accounts 7 7. Accounting principles. 10 8. Departure from Accounting Principles. 11 9. Publication of accounts in full or abbreviated form. 11 10. Group Accounts. 13 11. Subsidiary undertaking. 15 12. Wholly-owned subsidiaries. 19 13. Financial holding undertakings. 21 14. Directors' report. 21 15. Non-application of Principal Act. 22 16. Auditors' Report. 23 17. Documents to be annexed to annual return of parent undertaking. 23 18. Publication of accounts in full or abbreviated form. 24 19. Offences. 25 20. Repeals and Amendments. 27 Schedule Page Part I The required formats for accounts. Chapter 1 General Rules 28 Chapter 2 Section A - the balance sheet. Section B - the profit and loss account. 31 43 Part II Valuation Rules. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3. Historical Cost Accounting Rules. Current Value Accounting Rules. General Rules. 55 61 68 Part III Notes to the Accounts. 75 Part IV Form and Content of Group Accounts. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 General Rules. Accounting/Valuation. Information required by way of Notes to the Group Accounts. 91 95 106
S.I. No. 23 of 1996.
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (INSURANCE UNDERTAKINGS: ACCOUNTS) REGULATIONS 1996
I, Richard Bruton, Minister for Enterprise and Employment, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive No 91/674/EEC of 23 December, 1991a hereby make the following Regulations:
aO.J. No. L374, 31/12/1991, p.7.
	1 Citation and Construction	1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Insurance Undertakings: Accounts) Regulations, 1996.
(2) These Regulations shall be construed as one with the Companies Acts, 1963 to 1990.
	2 Interpretation	2. (1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—–
"accounts" means the balance sheet, profit and loss account and any notes on the accounts or statements forming part of the accounts, whether or not required by law;
"the Act of 1986" means the Companies (Amendment) Act, 1986 (No. 25 of 1986);
"the Act of 1990" means the Companies Act, 1990 (No. 33 of 1990);
"annual return" means the annual return made to the registrar of undertakings under the Principal Act;
"associated undertaking" has the meaning assigned by paragraph 21 of Chapter 2 of Part IV of the Schedule;
"company" means an undertaking as defined in Regulation 3;
"the Directive" means Council Directive 91/674/EEC of 23 December, 1991;
"group accounts" means the accounts prepared in accordance with Regulations 10 to 18;
"holding company", in relation to one or more undertakings that are subsidiaries of another undertaking means that other undertaking;
"individual accounts" means the accounts prepared in accordance with Regulations 5 to 9;
"the Minister" means the Minister for Enterprise and Employment;
"parent undertaking" means an undertaking that has one or more subsidiary undertakings;
"participating interest" shall be construed in accordance with paragraph 23 of Part IV of the Schedule.
"the Principal Act" means the Companies Act, 1963 ;
"subsidiary" shall be construed in accordance with Regulation 11;
"undertaking" means an undertaking to which these Regulations apply by virtue of Regulation 3.
(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference to a balance sheet or profit and loss account shall include a reference to any notes or documents annexed to the accounts in question giving information which is required by any provision of the Companies Acts, 1963 to 1990, or these Regulations and required or allowed by any such provision to be given in a note or document annexed to an undertaking's accounts.
(3) In these Regulations—–
(a) a reference to directors shall be construed, in the case of an undertaking which does not have a board of directors, as a reference to the corresponding persons appropriate to such undertaking;
(b) a reference to voting rights in an undertaking means the rights conferred on shareholders in respect of their shares or, in case of an undertaking not having a share capital, on members, to vote at general meetings of the undertaking on all, or substantially all, matters;
(c) in relation to an undertaking which does not have general meetings at which matters are decided by the exercise of voting rights, the references to holding a majority of the voting rights in an undertaking shall be construed as references to having the right under the constitution of the undertaking to direct the overall policy of the undertaking to alter the terms of its constitution.
(4) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Council Directive has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Council Directive.
(5) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—–
(a) a reference to a Regulation or a Schedule is to a Regulation of or a Schedule to these Regulations unless it is indicated that a reference to some other enactment is intended.
(b) a reference to a paragraph or a sub-paragraph is to a paragraph or sub-paragraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.
	3 Application	3. These Regulations shall, except where otherwise provided for, only apply—–
(a) to undertakings to which the European Communities (Non-Life Insurance) Regulations, 1976 ( S.I. No. 115 of 1976 ), the European Communities (Non-Life Insurance) Framework Regulations, 1994 ( S.I. No. 359 of 1994 ) or the European Communities (Life Assurance) Regulations, 1984 ( S.I. No. 57 of 1984 ), the European Communities (Life Assurance) Framework Regulations, 1994 ( S.I. No. 360 of 1994 ) apply and shall also apply to undertakings carrying on reinsurance business, and
(b) in respect of individual and group accounts of undertakings drawn up in respect of every financial year beginning on or after 1 January, 1995.
	4 Modifications	4. (1) For the purposes of enabling the Directive to have full effect, the Minister may, with the consent or on the application of any undertaking, issue a direction in writing that specified provisions of these Regulations shall apply to that undertaking with such modifications as may be specified in the direction.
(2) A direction under paragraph (1) may be subject to such conditions as the Minister considers appropriate to impose.
(3) A direction under paragraph (1) may be revoked at any time by the Minister and the Minister may at any time vary the direction on the application or with the consent of the undertaking to which it relates.
(4) A direction under paragraph (1) shall, subject to paragraph (3), apply for such period as shall be stated in the direction.
	5 Drawing up of accounts	5. (1) Subject to paragraph (2), every balance sheet and profit and loss account of an undertaking laid before the annual general meeting of the undertaking pursuant to section 148 of the Principal Act, shall comply with the following requirements and section 149 (other than subsection (5) and, in so far as it relates to the said subsection (5), subsection (7)) of that Act shall not apply to any such balance sheet or profit and loss account:
(a) every such balance sheet and profit and loss account shall comply with the provisions of the Schedule,
(b) every such balance sheet of an undertaking shall give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the undertaking as at the end of its financial year and every such profit and loss account of an undertaking shall give a true and fair view of the profit or loss of the undertaking for the financial year,
(c) where a balance sheet or profit and loss account drawn up in accordance with sub-paragraph (a) would not provide sufficient information to comply with sub-paragraph (b), any necessary additional information shall be provided in such balance sheet or profit and loss account or in a note to the accounts,
(d) where, owing to special circumstances, the preparation of accounts of an undertaking in compliance with sub-paragraph (a) would prevent those accounts from complying with sub-paragraph (b) (even if additional information were provided under sub-paragraph (c)) the directors of the undertaking shall depart from the requirements of the said Schedule in preparing those accounts in so far as is necessary in order to comply with that sub-paragraph,
(e) where the directors of an undertaking depart from the requirements of this Regulation, they shall attach a note to the accounts of the undertaking giving details of the particular departures made, the reasons therefor and the effect of those departures on the accounts,
and, accordingly, in the Companies Acts, 1963 to 1990, in relation to an undertaking to which these Regulations apply—–
(i) references to the said section 149 shall be construed as references to that section as modified by the provisions of these Regulations, and
(ii) references to the Sixth Schedule of the Principal Act shall be construed as references to the corresponding provisions of the Schedule to these Regulations.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the profit and loss account of an...