Dear Mr. Arun,
The ICAI originally made AS-15 (Revised) mandatory for all accounting years commencing on or after April 1, 2006. Following the notification issued by NACAS (stated below), the ICAI has postponed the applicability of AS-15 (Revised) to accounting years commencing on or after December 7, 2006. This means for the accounting year 2006-07, old AS-15 still applies.
As per the provisions of the Companies Act, till NACAS notifies, all standards prescribed by the ICAI will be mandatory. Hence, for 2006-07, the standards issued by the ICAI will be mandatory . NACAS has not made any changes to the standards, but it has combined Level II and Level III enterprises into a single group.
This means all standards applicable to Level II enterprises will apply to Level III enterprises.
AS-15 (Revised) is more or less a verbatim reproduction of IAS 19. Under Indian situations PF/superannuation constitute `defined contributions', while gratuity and leave encashment are `defined benefit'. Measurement of these benefits under the old AS-15 and the revised AS-15 are not materially different, the only major change being disclosure.
Hence, all the companies should presume that AS-15 (Revised) as more or less mandatory, and start working towards that.
Thus, even though AS-15 (Revised) has been postponed to 2007-08, it is better to follow measurement principles enunciated for 2006-07 itself and make adequate provision/disclosure; on the principle of measurement there is no difference between the old and the revised AS-15.
The disclosure requirement under AS-15 (Revised) is very elaborate, and thankfully it has been postponed by a year. Hence, all companies should try to follow AS-15 (Revised) in spirit. It needs a close coordination with external agencies such as LIC. It is understood that LIC is prepared to help companies implement AS-15 (Revised) with necessary software support. The ICAI is also planning an FAQ to clear some of the doubts expressed. This one-year gap should be used to familiarise and implement the revised AS-15.
thanks & regards
Ankit Singhal
Asstt. Company Secretary
Jindal Drilling & industries Limited
9818416960