17.4.2004 Official Journal of the European Union L1113 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 707/2004 of 6 April 2004 amending Regulation (EC) No 1725/2003 adopting certain international accounting standards in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community. Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the Euro- pean Parliament and of the Council of 19 July 2002 on the application of international accounting standards (!), and in par- ticular Article 3(1) thereof, Whereas: On 29 September 2003 the Commission adopted Regu- lation (EC) No 1725/2003 (3, which endorses interpreta- tions adopted by the Standing Interpretation Committee (SIC). One of these interpretations is SIC-8 First-time application of IASs as the primary basis of accounting. In accordance with this interpretation, when interna- tional accounting standards (IASs) are applied in full for the first time as the primary accounting basis, the finan- cial statements of an enterprise must be prepared and presented as if its financial statements had always been prepared in accordance with the standards and interpre- tations in force at the time of that first application. In consequence, retrospective application is required in most areas of accounting. In order to facilitate the transition to international accounting standards and international financial reporting  standards  (IAS[IFRSs), the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) decided on 19 June 2003 to replace SIC-8 with — IFRS 1: First-time adop- tion of International Financial Reporting Standards. In accordance with IFRS 1, an enterprise applying IASs for the first time must comply with every single IAS and Interpretation in force at the time of that first applica- tion. Thus, like SIC-8, IFRS 1 requires retrospective application in most areas of accounting. However, IFRS 1 grants limited exemptions from that requirement in specified areas for practical reasons or where the costs entailed by compliance would most likely outweigh the benefit to users of financial statements. () OJ L 243, 11.9.2002, p. 1. () OJL 261, 13.10.2003, p. 1. 3) IFRS 1 should make it possible to achieve comparability over time both within the IFRS financial statements of a first-time adopter and as between the financial state- ments of different enterprises adopting IFRSs for the first time on a given date, because both current and compara- tive figures are based on the same set of standards existing at the time of first time application of IAS. Achieving comparability as between first-time adopters and enterprises that already apply IFRSs is, however, a secondary objective, given the fact that the number of first-time adopters in 2005 will largely exceed that of the 200 to 300 EU companies already applying IAS/ [FRSs. Consultation with technical experts in the field confirms that the international financial reporting standard meets the criteria for adoption set out in Article 3 of Regu- lation (EC) No 1606/2002, and in particular the require- ment of being conducive to the European public good. Regulation (EC) No 1725/2003 should therefore be amended accordingly. The measure provided for in this Regulation is in accord- ance with the opinion of the Accounting Regulatory Committee, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Atrticle 1 In the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1725/2003, SIC-8 First- time application of IASs as the primary basis of accounting is replaced by the text set out in the Annex to this Regulation. Atticle 2 This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.