# Prior Period Items (AS 5)
## Definition
Prior period items are income or expenses which arise in the current period as a result of errors or omissions in the preparation of the financial statements of one or more prior periods.
The term does not include other adjustments necessitated by circumstances which, though related to prior periods, are determined in the current period.
## Two essential conditions
For an item to be classified as a prior period item, BOTH must be true:
1. The income/expense arises in the current period, AND
2. It results from an error or omission in preparing prior period financial statements.
## Items that ARE prior period items
- Rectification of error in inventory valuation (e.g., omission of inventory sheets)
- Bills relating to earlier years that should have been accrued but were missed (e.g., final fuel surcharge bill paid before year-end but unrecorded)
- Insurance claim that should have been recognized in the year goods were destroyed but was omitted, then settled later
- Capitalisation of borrowing cost on working capital (interest on working capital loans is not eligible for capitalisation - represents an error)
- Treating an operating lease as a finance lease (mis-classification = error)
- Applying wrong depreciation rate (e.g., 10% instead of 15%)
- Theft of stores in preceding year, detected in current year, where the loss caused overstatement of closing inventory and profits b/f
- Non-provision for salary already due in an earlier year
## Items that are NOT prior period items
- Writing off old outstanding balances (e.g., creditors of 5+ years) – this is a current decision, not an error in prior period statements
- Revision of an estimate (e.g., actual expense Rs. 9 lakhs vs. provision Rs. 7 lakhs – the Rs. 2 lakh difference is a change in estimate)
- Retrospective wage revisions under a new agreement signed in current year (this is a current-period transaction, not an omission)
- Retrospective legislative changes to minimum wages (a current period expense, not an error)
## Disclosure
The nature and amount of prior period items should be separately disclosed in the statement of profit and loss in a manner that their impact on current profit or loss can be perceived. Two approaches:
- Include in the determination of net profit/loss for the current period with separate disclosure, OR
- Show after determination of current net profit/loss
In either case, the objective is to indicate the effect on current profit/loss.
### Example 1
Q1: Old creditor balance written off
People Ltd. wrote off a 5-year-old creditor balance of Rs. 50,000 and treated it as a prior period item, arguing the original balance was recognized in prior period(s).
Answer: Not correct. Writing off old balances in the current year does not imply any error/omission in prior period financial statements. It is merely the company's current policy to write off balances older than 5 years. Hence it is not a prior period item.
### Example 2
Q2: Final fuel surcharge bill received in February
Final bill of Rs. 5.30 lakhs for fuel surcharge (Oct 20X1–Sept 20X7) was received and paid in February 20X8 but accounted in 20X8-X9.
Answer: The bill, having been paid in Feb 20X8, should have been accounted for in FY 20X7-X8. Failure to do so is an omission in the prior period. Therefore, it should be treated as a Prior Period Item in FY 20X8-X9. (It is not an extraordinary item since fuel surcharge arises in the ordinary course of business.)
### Example 3
Q4: Inventory sheet pages omitted
Inventory sheets dated 31.3.20X1 did not include two pages worth Rs. 14.5 lakhs (detected in 20X1-X2).
Answer: Rectification of error in inventory valuation is a prior period item. Separate disclosure as a prior period item is required.
### Example 4
Q8: Provision Rs. 7 lakhs, actual Rs. 9 lakhs
Provision made on 31.3.2020 = Rs. 7 lakhs; actual expenses in 2020-21 = Rs. 9 lakhs.
Answer: The Rs. 2 lakh shortfall is a change in accounting estimate, NOT a prior period item. Estimates inherently involve judgment; revising them based on new information is normal and does not arise from an error/omission.
### Example 5
Q11: Major theft of stores detected next year
Theft of Rs. 10 lakhs in 2019-20 detected only in 2020-21.
Answer: Closing inventory and profits of 2019-20 were overstated. Adjustments to opening inventory (current year) and profit b/f must be made as Prior Period Items, separately disclosed showing impact on current profit. Alternative: if physical verification in prior year had already captured this (i.e., no error existed), only disclosure of the theft loss is required.
### Example 6
Q15(i): Insurance claim received 3 years later
Goods destroyed Sept 2015; no claim entry passed in FY 2015-16; claim of Rs. 3,50,000 received March 2018.
Answer: Failure to recognize the claim receivable in FY 2015-16 is an omission. The receipt in FY 2017-18 is a prior period item requiring separate disclosure.
### Example 7
Q16: Retrospective minimum wage revision by legislation
Govt enhanced minimum wages in April 2022 with retrospective effect from 1.1.2022; additional Rs. 30 lakhs payable for Jan-Mar 2022.
Answer: Wages payable for Jan-Mar 2022 are NOT a prior period item (no error/omission – the law itself was passed only in April 2022). They are a current-year ordinary expense. They are also not extraordinary (wages arise from ordinary activities), but due to their size, separate disclosure of nature and amount is needed.