THIRD-COUNTRY ASSURANCE PROVIDERS

Commission Notice on the interpretation of certain legal provisions in Directive 2013/34/EU (Accounting Directive), Directive 2006/43/EC (Audit Directive), Regulation (EU) No 537/2014 (Audit Regulation), Directive 2004/109/EC (Transparency Directive), Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772 (first set of European Sustainability Reporting Standards, ‘first ESRS delegated act’), and Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 (Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation, ‘SFDR’) as regards sustainability reporting · European Union

66) Can third-country Independent Assurance Services Providers (IASPs) provide sustainability assurance in the Union? Based on Article 34(4) of the Accounting Directive, the IASPs established in the territory of a Member State may be allowed to provide the assurance of sustainability reporting. The definition of IASP under Article 2 point (23) of the Audit Directive and Article 2 point (20) of the Accounting Directive requires its accreditation pursuant to Regulation 765/2008. While that Regulation only refers to the accreditation of bodies that are established in the territory of a Member State, it is to be recalled that IASPs are not within the intended scope of that Regulation. IASPs are carrying out assurance services for sustainability reporting. Hence, the scheme for authorisation of IASPs has to be interpreted in the light of the GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services of the World Trade Organisation) commitments of the Member States and of the Union’s bilateral agreements. Consequently, in the context of IASPs, Regulation 765/2008 has to be interpreted in such a way that third-country IASPs are allowed to provide the assurance of sustainability reporting in accordance with Member States’s commitments.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07