Having reviewed the BRSR submissions made by the top 1000 listed companies for FY2022-23, the National Stock Exchange identified several areas of variation and lack of uniformity in the disclosures made.
The NSE has addressed these issues in a new circular. It has been said that listed companies must carefully consider these points when submitting the BRSR XBRL utility and avoid deviations.
After reviewing the BRSR submissions for the fiscal year 2022–2023, the Exchange found several discrepancies and inconsistencies in the disclosures provided by the listed companies.
Companies are required by the BRSR format to respond to questions about policy formulation across nine principles with a Yes/No option. Nevertheless, some businesses have not included their sustainability report in the required format or with a mapping of the questions and answers, according to the NSE circular.
Other observations:
• Certain companies only offer links to their websites; they do not offer links to specific documents.
• Certain companies have disclosed the overall turnover rate for both permanent and contract workers, but they have not disclosed the specifics necessary to distinguish between contract workers, employees, and permanent and non-permanent workers.
• Businesses selling goods and services are required to offer a minimum of 100% product and NIC code bifurcation.
• Certain companies have revealed absolute figures rather than percentages, indicating a lack of consistency in their methods for sourcing sustainable inputs and materials.
• Businesses are required to disclose the procedures they use to securely retrieve products for recycling, reuse, and disposal at the end of their useful lives.
Some more inconsistencies:
Additionally, there is inconsistency in the disclosures provided under the headings of employees and workers (including differently abled) and measures of employees’ and workers’ well-being. Businesses have disclosed the actual compensation paid to all employees, but not the median compensation paid to each employee, NSE noted in the circular.
Preparing to report BRSR for FY2023-24?
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued a circular requiring the top one thousand listed companies to submit a Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) for the Financial Year 2023-24.
The circular provides FAQs, guidelines, and general observations for the last year’s BRSR filing.
Top 150 listed companies based on market capitalization as of March 31, 2024, are mandatory to obtain a Reasonable Assurance of BRSR Core as specified by the SEBI Circular.
Companies must provide details of their assurance provider and the type of assurance obtained in the BRSR utility. The BRSR XBRL utility at the BSE portal can be used for uploading at the NSE NEAPS portal and vice versa.
Instead of publishing the whole report, the BRSR Link can be attached with the Annual Report.
The timeline for submitting the BRSR is the same day of submission of the Annual Report with the Exchanges.