SwedenFAR
Proposed ÅRL relief: wider group-accounts exemption, micro-enterprise tier
An inquiry proposes a wider consolidated-accounts exemption, narrower subsidiary disclosures, and a micro-enterprise category from 2028.
By Taxxa AI OyPublished 9 October 2026
Swedish parent companies covered in full by a superior parent's consolidated accounts could be freed from preparing their own group accounts. An inquiry reviewing parts of the Annual Accounts Act (årsredovisningslagen, ÅRL) proposes adding a further exemption
FAR: where a Swedish parent and all of its subsidiaries are included in the consolidated accounts of a superior parent, no Swedish consolidated accounts need be preparedFAR. The superior parent's accounts must have been prepared and audited under legislation equivalent to that built on the EU Accounting DirectiveFAR. A Swedish parent with a superior parent in the United Kingdom, for example, could then avoid preparing consolidated accounts.
Larger companies would also disclose less about indirectly held subsidiaries and other ownership interestsFAR. The inquiry finds that the current provision does not distinguish direct from indirect holdingsFAR and therefore goes further than EU law requiresFAR. Under the proposal, larger companies disclose only interests they themselves hold, including holdings through someone acting in their own name on their behalfFAR. Indirect holdings fall outside the disclosure dutyFAR.
A new micro-enterprise category would join ÅRLFAR, estimated to cover around 450,000 companiesFAR. The proposed thresholds are three employees, SEK 1.5 million in balance-sheet total and SEK 3 million in net turnoverFAR, with a two-year rule under which a company may exceed at most one thresholdFAR. Public limited companies, foundations and tenant-owner associations could not qualify as micro-enterprisesFAR.
Micro-enterprises would face fewer disclosure duties in the notes and the administration report (förvaltningsberättelsen)FAR, for example on long-term liabilities and material events after the balance-sheet date. No general exemption from preparing an administration report is proposedFAR. The inquiry estimates the reliefs save time and cut administrative work, while noting that stakeholders receive less information.
FAR's expert in the inquiry, Torbjörn WestmanFAR, opposes the micro-enterprise category in a special opinionFAR. He points to the costs of adapting systems, software, guidance and training and to the risk of more boundary questions. The information proposed for removal is still demanded by other recipients, he argues, so companies may have to produce and report equivalent information anyway and no real reduction in administrative burden is achieved. He favours cutting double reporting and coordinating information exchange between authorities instead of reducing the annual report's information content.
The amendments are proposed to enter into force on 1 January 2028FAR and to apply for the first time to financial years beginning after 31 December 2027FAR. The proposals now go to government preparationFAR: after consultation and further preparation the government may proceed with a Council on Legislation referral and a billFAR, and any legislative changes are decided by the RiksdagFAR.
Legal basis: the inquiry's final report (slutbetänkande) reviewing parts of ÅRLFAR, proposing amendments to årsredovisningslagen (1995:1554)FAR.
Swedish groups with a superior parent reporting under equivalent law should track the consultation and assess whether their own consolidated accounts can be dropped for 2028, while companies near the micro thresholds should map which disclosures would fall away against the adaptation costs.