Background
Currently, top 1,000 listed companies in India are required to furnish a Business Responsibility Report (BRR) to the stock exchanges as a part of their annual reports. The BRR should describe the initiatives taken by the listed companies from an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) perspective, in the format as specified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Other listed companies may submit the BRR voluntarily.
New development
SEBI through a notification dated 5 May 2021 has made amendments to certain provisions of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 (LODR).
Among various amendments, one relates to discontinuance of the requirement of submitting BRR by listed companies after FY2021-22. As per the notification, companies would be required to submit a new report on ESG parameters, namely Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) in the following manner
- Mandatory from FY2022-23: For top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation
- Voluntary for FY2021-22: For top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation
- Voluntary for other companies: Listed companies (other than top 1,000) and companies which have listed their specified securities on the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) exchange may voluntarily submit BRSR in place of BRR effective FY2021-22 onwards.
Additionally, SEBI through a notification dated 10 May 2021 has prescribed the format of new report, BRSR along with the guidance note to enable companies to interpret the scope of disclosures required to be made in the report.
This issue of First Notes aim to summarise the key features of the new report along with highlighting the differences between BRSR and BRR.
To access the text of SEBI notification on:
