The Board agreed the transitional arrangements for the adoption of the 2016 EITI Standard.

Preamble.
On 23 February 2016 the EITI Board adopted the 2016 EITI Standard, replacing the 2013 EITI Standard.  On 2 June 2016, the Board agreed the transitional arrangements for the adoption of the 2016 EITI Standard by implementing countries.

The Board agreed the following:

2. The changes that relate to EITI Reporting listed below will only be assessed in Validations starting from 1 January 2018 onwards. Where feasible, implementing countries are encouraged to address these aspects in ongoing reporting. Countries are expected to address these aspects as they agree their next Terms of Reference for Independent Administrators. Where countries undertake Validation prior to these requirements coming into force, the Board will assess compliance with these provisions as soon as the requirements come into force.

a. The requirement that EITI Reports be available in open data formats (requirement 7.1.c) will come into force on 31 December 2017

b. The requirement that reporting on license allocations is extended to all licenses issued or transferred in the financial year covered by the EITI report (requirement 2.2.a) will come into force on 31 December 2017.

c. The requirement that EITI Reports to cover the government’s policy and MSG’s discussions on disclosure of beneficial ownership (requirement 2.5.b.i) will come into force on 31 December 2017.

d. The disclosure of beneficial ownership information (requirement 2.5.c) will come into force by 1 January 2020.