Lessor (AASB16_02-16_COMPdec21_01-22)

A lessor shall classify each of its leases as either an operating lease or a finance lease.

A lease is classified as a finance lease if it transfers substantially all the risks and rewards incidental to ownership of an underlying asset. A lease is classified as an operating lease if it does not transfer substantially all the risks and rewards incidental to ownership of an underlying asset.

Whether a lease is a finance lease or an operating lease depends on the substance of the transaction rather than the form of the contract. Examples of situations that individually or in combination would normally lead to a lease being classified as a finance lease are:

(a)            the lease transfers ownership of the underlying asset to the lessee by the end of the lease term;

(b)            the lessee has the option to purchase the underlying asset at a price that is expected to be sufficiently lower than the fair value at the date the option becomes exercisable for it to be reasonably certain, at the inception date, that the option will be exercised;

(c)            the lease term is for the major part of the economic life of the underlying asset even if title is not transferred;

(d)            at the inception date, the present value of the lease payments amounts to at least substantially all of the fair value of the underlying asset; and

(e)            the underlying asset is of such a specialised nature that only the lessee can use it without major modifications.

Indicators of situations that individually or in combination could also lead to a lease being classified as a finance lease are:

(a)            if the lessee can cancel the lease, the lessor’s losses associated with the cancellation are borne by the lessee;

(b)            gains or losses from the fluctuation in the fair value of the residual accrue to the lessee (for example, in the form of a rent rebate equaling most of the sales proceeds at the end of the lease); and

(c)            the lessee has the ability to continue the lease for a secondary period at a rent that is substantially lower than market rent.

The examples and indicators in paragraphs 63–64 are not always conclusive. If it is clear from other features that the lease does not transfer substantially all the risks and rewards incidental to ownership of an underlying asset, the lease is classified as an operating lease. For example, this may be the case if ownership of the underlying asset transfers at the end of the lease for a variable payment equal to its then fair value, or if there are variable lease payments, as a result of which the lessor does not transfer substantially all such risks and rewards.

Lease classification is made at the inception date and is reassessed only if there is a lease modification. Changes in estimates (for example, changes in estimates of the economic life or of the residual value of the underlying asset), or changes in circumstances (for example, default by the lessee), do not give rise to a new classification of a lease for accounting purposes.

At the commencement date, a lessor shall recognise assets held under a finance lease in its statement of financial position and present them as a receivable at an amount equal to the net investment in the lease.

The lessor shall use the interest rate implicit in the lease to measure the net investment in the lease. In the case of a sublease, if the interest rate implicit in the sublease cannot be readily determined, an intermediate lessor may use the discount rate used for the head lease (adjusted for any initial direct costs associated with the sublease) to measure the net investment in the sublease.

Initial direct costs, other than those incurred by manufacturer or dealer lessors, are included in the initial measurement of the net investment in the lease and reduce the amount of income recognised over the lease term. The interest rate implicit in the lease is defined in such a way that the initial direct costs are included automatically in the net investment in the lease; there is no need to add them separately.

At the commencement date, the lease payments included in the measurement of the net investment in the lease comprise the following payments for the right to use the underlying asset during the lease term that are not received at the commencement date:

(a)            fixed payments (including in-substance fixed payments as described in paragraph B42), less any lease incentives payable;

(b)            variable lease payments that depend on an index or a rate, initially measured using the index or rate as at the commencement date;

(c)            any residual value guarantees provided to the lessor by the lessee, a party related to the lessee or a third party unrelated to the lessor that is financially capable of discharging the obligations under the guarantee;

(d)            the exercise price of a purchase option if the lessee is reasonably certain to exercise that option (assessed considering the factors described in paragraph B37); and

(e)            payments of penalties for terminating the lease, if the lease term reflects the lessee exercising an option to terminate the lease.

At the commencement date, a manufacturer or dealer lessor shall recognise the following for each of its finance leases:

(a)            revenue being the fair value of the underlying asset, or, if lower, the present value of the lease payments accruing to the lessor, discounted using a market rate of interest;

(b)            the cost of sale being the cost, or carrying amount if different, of the underlying asset less the present value of the unguaranteed residual value; and

(c)            selling profit or loss (being the difference between revenue and the cost of sale) in accordance with its policy for outright sales to which AASB 15 applies. A manufacturer or dealer lessor shall recognise selling profit or loss on a finance lease at the commencement date, regardless of whether the lessor transfers the underlying asset as described in AASB 15.

Manufacturers or dealers often offer to customers the choice of either buying or leasing an asset. A finance lease of an asset by a manufacturer or dealer lessor gives rise to profit or loss equivalent to the profit or loss resulting from an outright sale of the underlying asset, at normal selling prices, reflecting any applicable volume or trade discounts.

Manufacturer or dealer lessors sometimes quote artificially low rates of interest in order to attract customers. The use of such a rate would result in a lessor recognising an excessive portion of the total income from the transaction at the commencement date. If artificially low rates of interest are quoted, a manufacturer or dealer lessor shall restrict selling profit to that which would apply if a market rate of interest were charged.

A manufacturer or dealer lessor shall recognise as an expense costs incurred in connection with obtaining a finance lease at the commencement date because they are mainly related to earning the manufacturer or dealer’s selling profit. Costs incurred by manufacturer or dealer lessors in connection with obtaining a finance lease are excluded from the definition of initial direct costs and, thus, are excluded from the net investment in the lease.

A lessor shall recognise finance income over the lease term, based on a pattern reflecting a constant periodic rate of return on the lessor’s net investment in the lease.

A lessor aims to allocate finance income over the lease term on a systematic and rational basis. A lessor shall apply the lease payments relating to the period against the gross investment in the lease to reduce both the principal and the unearned finance income.

A lessor shall apply the derecognition and impairment requirements in AASB 9 to the net investment in the lease. A lessor shall review regularly estimated unguaranteed residual values used in computing the gross investment in the lease. If there has been a reduction in the estimated unguaranteed residual value, the lessor shall revise the income allocation over the lease term and recognise immediately any reduction in respect of amounts accrued.

A lessor that classifies an asset under a finance lease as held for sale (or includes it in a disposal group that is classified as held for sale) applying AASB 5 Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations shall account for the asset in accordance with that Standard.

A lessor shall account for a modification to a finance lease as a separate lease if both:

(a)            the modification increases the scope of the lease by adding the right to use one or more underlying assets; and

(b)            the consideration for the lease increases by an amount commensurate with the stand-alone price for the increase in scope and any appropriate adjustments to that stand-alone price to reflect the circumstances of the particular contract.

For a modification to a finance lease that is not accounted for as a separate lease, a lessor shall account for the modification as follows:

(a)            if the lease would have been classified as an operating lease had the modification been in effect at the inception date, the lessor shall:

(i)             account for the lease modification as a new lease from the effective date of the modification; and

(ii)            measure the carrying amount of the underlying asset as the net investment in the lease immediately before the effective date of the lease modification.

(b)            otherwise, the lessor shall apply the requirements of AASB 9.

A lessor shall recognise lease payments from operating leases as income on either a straight-line basis or another systematic basis. The lessor shall apply another systematic basis if that basis is more representative of the pattern in which benefit from the use of the underlying asset is diminished.

A lessor shall recognise costs, including depreciation, incurred in earning the lease income as an expense.

A lessor shall add initial direct costs incurred in obtaining an operating lease to the carrying amount of the underlying asset and recognise those costs as an expense over the lease term on the same basis as the lease income.

The depreciation policy for depreciable underlying assets subject to operating leases shall be consistent with the lessor’s normal depreciation policy for similar assets. A lessor shall calculate depreciation in accordance with AASB 116 and AASB 138.

A lessor shall apply AASB 136 to determine whether an underlying asset subject to an operating lease is impaired and to account for any impairment loss identified.

A manufacturer or dealer lessor does not recognise any selling profit on entering into an operating lease because it is not the equivalent of a sale.

A lessor shall account for a modification to an operating lease as a new lease from the effective date of the modification, considering any prepaid or accrued lease payments relating to the original lease as part of the lease payments for the new lease.

A lessor shall present underlying assets subject to operating leases in its statement of financial position according to the nature of the underlying asset.

The objective of the disclosures is for lessors to disclose information in the notes that, together with the information provided in the statement of financial position, statement of profit or loss and statement of cash flows, gives a basis for users of financial statements to assess the effect that leases have on the financial position, financial performance and cash flows of the lessor. Paragraphs 90–97 specify requirements on how to meet this objective.

A lessor shall disclose the following amounts for the reporting period:

(a)            for finance leases:

(i)             selling profit or loss;

(ii)            finance income on the net investment in the lease; and

(iii)           income relating to variable lease payments not included in the measurement of the net investment in the lease.

(b)            for operating leases, lease income, separately disclosing income relating to variable lease payments that do not depend on an index or a rate.

A lessor shall provide the disclosures specified in paragraph 90 in a tabular format, unless another format is more appropriate.

A lessor shall disclose additional qualitative and quantitative information about its leasing activities necessary to meet the disclosure objective in paragraph 89. This additional information includes, but is not limited to, information that helps users of financial statements to assess:

(a)            the nature of the lessor’s leasing activities; and

(b)            how the lessor manages the risk associated with any rights it retains in underlying assets. In particular, a lessor shall disclose its risk management strategy for the rights it retains in underlying assets, including any means by which the lessor reduces that risk. Such means may include, for example, buy-back agreements, residual value guarantees or variable lease payments for use in excess of specified limits.

A lessor shall provide a qualitative and quantitative explanation of the significant changes in the carrying amount of the net investment in finance leases.

A lessor shall disclose a maturity analysis of the lease payments receivable, showing the undiscounted lease payments to be received on an annual basis for a minimum of each of the first five years and a total of the amounts for the remaining years. A lessor shall reconcile the undiscounted lease payments to the net investment in the lease. The reconciliation shall identify the unearned finance income relating to the lease payments receivable and any discounted unguaranteed residual value.

For items of property, plant and equipment subject to an operating lease, a lessor shall apply the disclosure requirements of AASB 116. In applying the disclosure requirements in AASB 116, a lessor shall disaggregate each class of property, plant and equipment into assets subject to operating leases and assets not subject to operating leases. Accordingly, a lessor shall provide the disclosures required by AASB 116 for assets subject to an operating lease (by class of underlying asset) separately from owned assets held and used by the lessor.

A lessor shall apply the disclosure requirements in AASB 136, AASB 138, AASB 140 and AASB 141 for assets subject to operating leases.

A lessor shall disclose a maturity analysis of lease payments, showing the undiscounted lease payments to be received on an annual basis for a minimum of each of the first five years and a total of the amounts for the remaining years.