On August 22, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted a new rule and form, as mandated by Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”), to require companies to publicly disclose their use of conflict minerals that originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (“DRC”) or an adjoining country (together with the DRC, “Covered Countries”). The new rule took effect on November 13, 2012.
The new rule applies to a company that uses any conflict minerals if:
- the company files reports with the SEC pursuant to Exchange Act Sections 13(a) or 15(d); and
- the minerals are “necessary to the functionality or production” of a product manufactured by the company or contracted by the company to be manufactured.
Under the final rule, the company is required to provide its conflict minerals disclosure in new Form SD. All affected companies will file the new form for the same period, a calendar year, regardless of their fiscal year end. They will be required to make their first Form SD filing on May 31, 2014 for the 2013 calendar year, and annually on May 31 for each calendar year thereafter.
Caltha LLP provides technical support to companies that are subject to the Conflict Metals reporting requirement under the SEC rule. For further information contact info@calthacompany.com