Companies Act 2014 section 1602

Interpretation – Chapter 3

Section 1602 defines key terms used in Chapter 3, specifically "applicable branch" and "applicable subsidiary", which determine which branches and subsidiaries of non-EU (third-country) undertakings fall within the scope of corporate sustainability reporting obligations in Ireland.

• An "applicable branch" is an Irish-located branch of a non-EU company that generated over €40 million net turnover in the preceding year, where the parent non-EU company had over €150 million EU-wide net turnover in each of the two preceding years, and the non-EU company has no qualifying subsidiary in the EU
• An "applicable subsidiary" is an Irish company that qualifies as an applicable company and is owned by a non-EU parent that generated over €150 million EU-wide net turnover in each of the two preceding consecutive financial years
• The applicable branch definition only applies where the non-EU parent is either independent or itself a subsidiary of another non-EU company, and crucially has no applicable subsidiary already caught by the reporting requirements
• References to branches and undertakings in this Chapter extend to those with legal forms comparable to the types of undertakings listed in Annex I of the EU Accounting Directive