On 26 June 2013 the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published for public comment an Exposure Draft of proposals to include bearer plants within the scope of IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment.
Bearer plants are a class of biological assets that, once mature, are held by an entity solely to grow produce over their productive life. Examples include grape vines, rubber trees and oil palms.
IAS 41 Agriculture requires all biological assets that are related to agricultural activity, including bearer plants, to be measured at fair value less costs to sell. This requirement is based on the principle that biological transformation is best reflected by fair value measurement.
However, once mature, bearer plants no longer undergo significant biological transformation. Furthermore, their operation is similar to that of manufacturing. Consequently, the Exposure Draft proposes that bearer plants are accounted for by IAS 16 instead of IAS 41, thus permitting the use of either a cost model or a revaluation model. The produce growing on the bearer plants would remain under the fair value model in IAS 41.
The Exposure Draft was open for comment until 28 October 2013.
