The FCA board will be asked to approve rules requiring issuers involved in the extractive or logging of primary forest industries to produce annual reports on payments made to the governments in the countries in which they operate in respect of financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2015.
The proposal to align the implementation of these rules with parallel rules in the Accounting Directive (implemented by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) was made in a consultation paper issued in August this year[1].
Responses to the consultation supported our proposals. Subject to confirmation of the relevant powers from HM Treasury, the new rules will be considered by the FCA board in December 2014, and a further announcement to confirm their adoption will be made on the FCA website. They are expected to take effect for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2015.
Today’s announcement is intended to alert affected issuers to the expected announcement, and help them to prepare for these new reporting requirements.