2021-01-28
After the European Commission provided clarifications on the possibility of taking a decision to postpone the application of the European Single Electronic Format (ESEF), the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania, after consulting with the Bank of Lithuania, took a decision to postpone the application of the ESEF requirement for one year and to start the mandatory application of the new standard for the annual financial statements of the financial year starting on 1 January 2021 or later.
The Bank of Lithuania had already agreed with the Ministry of Finance that, in case there is a possibility to postpone the application of the ESEF requirement, it will be taken without delay, so that issuers can decide on the annual reporting format as soon as possible.
Therefore, on 25 January 2021, as soon as the clarifications were provided, the Ministry of Finance immediately informed the European Commission that the decision was made to take an advantage of the possibility of postponement. As the Bank of Lithuania has informed earlier, the listed companies will be able to choose the format for drawing up and publishing their annual reports for the financial year starting on 1 January 2020 – the ESEF or the former one. It should also be noted that the annual reports prepared according to the ESEF requirements must be audited, i.e. the auditor’s report should include a report on compliance with the ESEF requirements.