(1) The Federal Ministry of Justice is authorised to determine, by way of statutory instrument issued in agreement with the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action that is not subject to approval by the Bundesrat, form sheets to be used by share capital companies, or to issue other provisions governing the classifications used in the annual financial statements or in the consolidated financial statements or governing the content of the notes to the annual financial statements or the notes to the consolidated financial statements, the management report or the consolidated management report in those cases in which the line of business requires that the classifications used in the annual financial statements or in the consolidated financial statements deviate from sections 266 and 275 or that provisions be established in derogation from those of Division 1 and of Subdivisions 1 and 2 of Division 2. The requirements to be met by the documents designated in sentence 1 resulting from the deviating provisions are to be equivalent, as a rule, to the requirements resulting for share capital companies (section 267 (3)) under the provisions of Division 1 and of Subdivisions 1 and 2 of Division 2 as well as under the provisions applicable to the line of business. Requirements extending beyond applicable law may be made only insofar as they are based on legal acts of the Council of the European Union. The statutory instrument pursuant to sentence 1 may also permit deviations from the form of accounts pursuant to section 266 (1) sentence 1. Sentence 4 will apply also in those cases in which a line of business does not require the classifications to deviate from those stipulated by sections 266 and 275.
(2) Subsection (1) is to be applied to the following institutions, subject to the stipulations of sentences 3 and 4 and in each case without regard to their legal form:
1. credit institutions within the meaning of section 1 (1) of the Banking Act insofar as they are not exempted from such application pursuant to section 2 subsections (1), (4) or (5) of said Act;
2. financial services institutions within the meaning of section 1 (1a) of the Banking Act insofar as they are not exempted from such application pursuant to section 2 subsections (6) or (10) of said Act;
3. securities institutions within the meaning of section 2 (1) of the Securities Institutions Act (Wertpapierinstitutsgesetz) insofar as they are not exempted from such application pursuant to section 3 of said Act;
4. institutions within the meaning of section 1 (3) of the Payment Services Oversight Act (Zahlungsdiensteaufsichtsgesetz).
Sentence 1 also is to be applied to field offices of enterprises having their seat in a state other than a member of the European Community and also other than a state party to the Agreement creating the European Economic Area, insofar as the field office is considered a credit institution or a financial institute pursuant to section 53 (1) of the Banking Act. The statutory instrument is not subject to approval by the Bundesrat; it is to be issued in agreement with the Federal Ministry of Finance and in consultation with the Deutsche Bundesbank. The statutory instrument pursuant to sentence 1 may also include more detailed determinations governing the drawing-up of the annual financial statements and of the consolidated financial statements, in the context of the required form sheets for the classifications used in the annual financial statements and in the consolidated financial statements as well as in the interim financial statements pursuant to section 340a (3) and the consolidated interim financial statements pursuant to section 340i (4), insofar as this is required to fulfil the tasks performed by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority or the Deutsche Bundesbank, in particular in order to receive uniform documents serving to assess the bank transactions entered into by the credit institutions and the financial services institutions and the financial services they have provided, as well as the securities services provided by securities institutions.
(3) Subsection (1) applies to insurance enterprises subject to the stipulations of sentences 3 and 4 without regard to their legal form. Sentence 1 applies also to establishments within the territorial scope of this statute established by insurance enterprises having their seat in some other state where they require permission from the German insurance supervisory authority in order to pursue the business of direct insurance. The statutory instrument is subject to approval by the Bundesrat and is to be issued in agreement with the Federal Ministry of Finance. The statutory instrument pursuant to sentence 1 may also include more detailed determinations governing the drawing-up of the annual financial statements and of the consolidated financial statements, in the context of the required form sheets for the classifications used in the annual financial statements and in the consolidated financial statements, and may also include provisions regarding the recognition and valuation of the present value of fulfilment cash flows, in particular the approximation methods. The statutory instrument is not subject to approval by the Bundesrat insofar as the instrument serves solely the purpose of permitting deviations pursuant to subsection (1) sentences 4 and 5.
(4) The statutory instrument pursuant to subsection (1), read in conjunction with subsection (3), may determine that insurance enterprises to which Directive 91/674/EEC does not apply, pursuant to Article 2 of said Directive read in conjunction with Articles 4, 7 and 9 as well as Article 10 number 1 of the Directive 2009/138/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the taking-up and pursuit of the business of Insurance and Reinsurance (Solvency II) (OJ L 335 of 17 December 2009, p. 1), will be exempt from the provisions of Subdivision 2 of Division 4, either entirely or in part, insofar as this is required in order to avoid placing a burden on insurance enterprises that is disproportionate to their size; inasmuch, subsection (1) sentence 2 does not apply. The statutory instrument may grant simplifications to these insurance enterprises that are in keeping with their size also for the classifications used in the annual financial statements and in the consolidated financial statements, for drawing up the notes to the annual financial statements and the management report as well as the notes to the consolidated financial statements and the consolidated management report, as well as for the disclosure.
(5) Subsections (3) and (4) are to be applied accordingly to pension funds (section 236 (1) of the Insurance Industry Supervision Act (Versicherungsaufsichtsgesetz)).
Subdivision 6
Penal provisions and provisions as to administrative fines
Coercive fines