FAQCSRD Article 40aEU

CSRD third-country group reporting Article 40a FAQ

Article 40a is the CSRD route for certain non-EU parent groups with significant EU turnover and an EU subsidiary or branch.

Use this FAQ to identify the reporting trigger, publication route, assurance file, missing-information statement, and 2028 application point without relying on unsupported threshold guesses.

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Author
Sorena AI
Published
May 9, 2026
Updated
May 9, 2026
Questions
5

Structured answer sets in this page tree.

Primary sources
3

Cited legal and guidance references.

Publication metadata
Sorena AI
Published May 9, 2026
Updated May 9, 2026
Overview

CSRD Article 40a concerns sustainability reports for third-country undertakings. In practice, the EU publication obligation sits with an EU subsidiary or, where the third-country undertaking has no qualifying EU subsidiary, an EU branch that meets the Article 40a conditions. Timings in this page are source-linked; verify current legal source language before implementation decisions.

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5 of 5 questions
Question 1

When does CSRD Article 40a apply to a third-country group?

Article 40a applies only when both the non-EU group trigger and an EU presence trigger are met. The third-country undertaking must generate more than EUR 150 million net turnover in the Union at group level, or individual level if group reporting is not applicable, for each of the last two consecutive financial years.

The EU presence must be either a qualifying EU subsidiary or, if there is no such subsidiary, an EU branch. For a branch route, the branch must have generated more than EUR 40 million net turnover in the preceding financial year. Directive 2024/1306 describes the reporting requirement for certain third-country undertakings as applying only as of financial year 2028.

  • Check the third-country undertaking's EU net turnover for each of the last two consecutive financial years.
  • Identify whether the group has an EU subsidiary that is a large undertaking or a listed SME that is not a micro-undertaking.
  • Use the branch route only where the third-country undertaking does not have a qualifying EU subsidiary and the EU branch passes the branch turnover condition.
  • Do not use Article 40a threshold numbers in public copy or internal scoping unless they are tied back to the current Accounting Directive text.
Citations
Question 2

Who publishes the CSRD third-country sustainability report in the EU?

The Article 40a report is not published directly by every entity in the non-EU group. Member States must require the qualifying EU subsidiary to publish and make accessible the sustainability report for the ultimate third-country parent at group level.

If the third-country undertaking has no qualifying EU subsidiary, the branch route can apply. The EU branch then publishes and makes accessible the report at the third-country undertaking's group level, or at individual level if group-level reporting is not applicable.

  • For a qualifying EU subsidiary, confirm the subsidiary category before assigning publication responsibility.
  • For a branch, confirm there is no qualifying EU subsidiary before relying on the branch route.
  • Record the reporting perimeter: ultimate third-country parent group level, or individual third-country undertaking level where group-level reporting is not applicable.
  • Keep the publication owner separate from data owners in the non-EU parent group so the EU entity can evidence its Article 40a role.
Citations
Question 3

What must happen if the non-EU parent does not provide all information?

Article 40a does not let the EU subsidiary or branch stay silent because the third-country undertaking withholds information. The subsidiary or branch must request the information needed to meet its obligation.

If not all required information is provided, the EU subsidiary or branch must publish the report using the information it has, and issue a statement that the third-country undertaking did not make the necessary information available.

  • Keep the information request sent to the third-country undertaking.
  • Preserve the response, non-response, or partial data package received from the third-country undertaking.
  • Prepare the Article 40a statement when required information is missing after the request.
  • Make the report and statement consistent with the information actually in the EU entity's possession.
Citations
Question 4

Is an assurance opinion required for Article 40a reports?

Yes. Member States must require the Article 40a sustainability report to be published with an assurance opinion from a person or firm authorised to give an opinion on sustainability reporting assurance under the law of the third-country undertaking or of a Member State.

If the third-country undertaking does not provide the assurance opinion, the EU subsidiary or branch must issue a statement that the necessary assurance opinion was not made available.

  • Identify whether the assurance opinion comes from a person or firm authorised under third-country law or Member State law.
  • Keep the final assurance opinion with the report publication file.
  • If the opinion is missing, prepare the Article 40a statement rather than omitting the assurance issue.
  • Check Article 40d publication timing because the report, assurance opinion, and any required statement travel together.
Citations
Recommended next step

Check Article 40a scope before the report package is due

Use the CSRD Article 40a scoping file to connect EU turnover, subsidiary or branch status, parent-group information requests, assurance, and publication evidence.

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Discuss CSRD reporting scope

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Question 5

When does the Article 40a third-country reporting route start?

Directive (EU) 2024/1306 says the reporting requirement for certain third-country undertakings applies only as of the financial year 2028. Use that application point for the route, but keep the Article 40a scope test and the publication deadline separate in internal scoping.

Citations
Primary sources

References and citations

Consolidated Directive 2013/34/EU, Article 40a
eur-lex.europa.eu
Referenced sections
  • Supports the assurance opinion requirement and the statement required if the opinion is not provided.
"published accompanied by an assurance opinion"
Consolidated Directive 2013/34/EU, Articles 40a-40d
eur-lex.europa.eu
Referenced sections
  • Primary source for Article 40a third-country undertaking scope, EU subsidiary and branch publication duties, missing-information statements, assurance opinions, and Article 40d publication timing.
"Sustainability reports concerning third-country undertakings"
Directive (EU) 2024/1306
data.europa.eu
Referenced sections
  • Supports the financial-year 2028 application point for certain third-country undertakings.
"applies only as of the financial year 2028"
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