Regulation 50 Sustainability audit reports

(1)

Subject to paragraph (3) participants to whom regulation 49 applies must submit a report which is prepared in accordance with the requirements in paragraph (4).

(2)

In this regulation, “sustainability information” means the information specified in regulation 49(4) and (5).

(3)

No report is required in relation to—

(a)

any biogas or solid biomass in respect of which regulation 48(1) is deemed to be complied with by virtue of regulation 48(3)(a);

(b)

any solid biomass or biogas used to generate heat in an accredited RHI installation with a capacity less than 1MWth;

(c)

any solid biomass used in an accredited RHI installation to generate heat (but not heat and power) which—

(i)

at the time it was received by the participant, was an approved sustainable fuel; or

(ii)

in respect of which a declaration has been made under regulation 51(5).

(4)

The requirements in this paragraph are that the report must—

(a)

be prepared by a person who is not—

(i)

the participant, or

(ii)

a connected person;

(b)

be prepared in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000 (Revised): Assurance engagements other than audits or reviews of historical financial information dated 9th December 2013^f1 or an equivalent standard;

(c)

state whether anything has come to the attention of the person preparing the report to indicate that the sustainability information is not accurate; and

(d)

consider, in relation to each consignment of solid biomass or biogas used to generate heat or heat and power, or biomethane produced for injection—

(i)

whether the systems used to produce the sustainability information are likely to produce information which is reasonably accurate and reliable;

(ii)

whether there are controls in place to help protect the sustainability information against material misstatements due to fraud or error;

(iii)

the frequency and methodology of any sampling carried out for the purpose of obtaining or checking the data on which the participant relied in preparing the sustainability information; and

(iv)

the robustness of the data on which the participant relied in preparing the sustainability information.

(5)

Subject to paragraph (6), participants must submit reports under this regulation annually and within 3 months after—

(i)

each anniversary of the tariff start date; or

(ii)

in the case of participants who are registered as producers of biomethane for injection, each anniversary of the date on which that participant was first registered as a producer of that biomethane.

(6)

Where the anniversary of the tariff start date fell on or after 5th October 2015 but before 6th April 2016—

(a)

the first annual report submitted in accordance with this regulation must be submitted within 3 months after the next anniversary of the tariff start date which follows 5th October 2016; and

(b)

the first annual report must consider and report on each consignment of solid biomass or biogas used, or biomethane produced, in the period between 5th October 2015 and the anniversary of the tariff start date mentioned in paragraph (6)(a).

(7)

Except where paragraph (6) applies, the report must consider and report on each consignment of solid biomass or biogas used, or biomethane produced, within the 12 month period preceding—

(a)

each anniversary of the tariff start date; or

(b)

in the case of participants who are registered as producers of biomethane for injection, each anniversary of the date on which that participant was first registered as a producer of that biomethane.

(8)

In this regulation, “connected person” means any person connected to the participant within the meaning of section 1122 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010^f2.

Annotations

Footnotes

f1: International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000 (Revised): Assurance Engagements other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information, published on 9^th December 2013 by the International Federation of Accountants. Copies are available at www.ifac.org.
f2: 2010 c.4; section 1122 was amended by section 136(6) of the Finance Act 2013 (c. 29) and section 939H(2) of the Corporation Tax Act 2010.