Septiembre 2011

Biological assets

Under the SNCA biological assets are measured at cost.
There is an IAS to regulate their accounting treatment and they are measured at fair value less costs to sell.

GHG emission allowances

The SNCA regulates the accounting treatment of emission allowances through a resolution that provides for their measurement at fair value with a credit to a grant.
Under IFRSs there is no specific rule and, therefore, these rights may be recognised either at fair value with a credit to a grant (conceptually the same as in the case of the SNCA, although grants are treated differently under
the two sets of standards) or at acquisition cost.

Leases

The SNCA presumes that since land usually has an indefinite useful life, any lease arrangement involving land is treated as an operating lease.


In a sale and leaseback transaction the features of which mean that the lessor is providing finance to the lessee, the classification of the asset does not change following the sale and no gain may be recognised.
The proceeds are recognised as a financial liability.
The SNCA does not address the specific case of sale and leaseback transactions resulting in an operating lease.
This presumption is not made by IFRSs and the general analysis is carried out in order to classify the lease, signifying that lease
arrangements involving land with certain characteristics may be classified as finance leases.
The proceeds from a sale and leaseback transaction resulting in a finance lease must be deferred and amortised over the lease term. They are recognised as deferred income until recognised in profit or loss.
Three possible situations arise in the case of sale and leaseback transactions resulting in an operating lease: (i) if it is clear that the transaction is established at fair value, any profit or loss is recognised immediately; (ii) if the
sale price is below fair value, any loss is recognised immediately except that, if the loss is compensated
for by future lease payments at below market price, it is deferred and amortised in proportion to the lease payments over the period
for which the asset is expected to be used; and (iii) if the sale price is above fair value, the excess over fair value is deferred and amortised
over the period for which the asset is expected to be used.