A C C O U N T I N G STANDARD (AS) 30, FINANCIAL I N S T R U M E N T S : RECOGNITION AND M E A S U R E M E N T AND ACCOUNTING STANDARD (AS) 31, FINANCIAL I N S T R U M E N T S : PRESENTATION

The Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, at its 273rd meeting held on October 10-12, 2007, approved the Accounting Standard (AS) 30, Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement and Accounting Standard (AS) 31, Financial Instruments: Presentation. These Accounting Standards will come into effect in respect of accounting periods commencing on or after 1-4-2009 and will be recommendatory in nature for a period of two years. As a consequence of issuance of AS 30, limited revisions to eight Accounting Standards, viz., AS 2, AS 11 (revised 2003), AS 21, AS 23, AS 26, AS 27, AS 28 and AS 29 have also been made. The approved Standards and the consequential limited revisions will be issued shortly. AS 30 establishes principles for recognition, derecognition and measurement of financial instruments. For the purpose of the Standard, financial instruments are classified into financial assets or financial liabilities at fair value through profit or loss, held-to-maturity investments, loans and receivables, available-for sale financial assets and other financial liability. AS 30 also establishes principles for hedge accounting. AS 31 primarily establishes principles for presenting financial instruments as liabilities or equity and related principles of interest, dividends, losses and gains. The principles in this Standard complement the principles established in AS 30. As 30 and AS 31 are based on the corresponding International Accounting Standards, viz., IAS 39, Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement and IAS 32, Financial Instruments: Presentation, respectively. There are no material differences between AS 30 and IAS 39, and AS 31 and IAS 32. Accounting Standard corresponding to IFRS 7, Financial Instruments: Disclosures, is under preparation and will also be issued in near future