"This amendment to the Accounting Act must be made as soon as possible to provide businesses with clarity and assurance that they do not need to continue incurring costs to comply with a requirement that is highly likely to be postponed soon and may even be abolished altogether or significantly altered," wrote Mait Palts, director general of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in a letter sent to the ministries.

"We propose amending the Accounting Act so that the deadline for submitting sustainability reports is postponed by two years for companies that, under the current law, would be required to submit their first sustainability report in 2026 or 2027. If the proposal is adopted, the new deadlines for sustainability reporting would be 2028 and 2029. The European Commission has made a similar proposal," the letter stated.

According to Palts, extending the deadline would help approximately 300 companies avoid excessive workloads and unnecessary costs.

On Wednesday, the European Commission presented a comprehensive package of proposals aimed at addressing concerns from industrial companies regarding high energy prices and increasingly burdensome reporting obligations.

Among the proposals is a significant easing of recently adopted sustainability regulations, which would exempt most EU companies from reporting on their environmental impact, climate risks and whether their activities align with the bloc's sustainability criteria.

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