The (in)sufficiency of the right to reimbursement in Portugal. The particular study of wine cooperatives in the Douro demarcated region

  • Deolinda A. Meira Polytechnic Institute of Porto/ISCAP/CECEJ http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2301-4881
  • Ana Maria Bandeira Polytechnic Institute of Porto/ISCAP/CECEJ
  • Vítor Gonçalo Polytechnic Institute of Porto/ISCAP/CECEJ
Keywords: cooperative, right to reimbursement, right to withdraw, IAS32, share capital, debt

Abstract

This study intends to demonstrate that the changes introduced in the legal regime of the right to reimbursement, in the Portuguese Cooperative Code reform of 2015, are not sufficient to remove the accounting qualification of cooperative share capital as a debt. This qualification stems from the subjection of cooperatives to international accounting standards, with particular reference to IAS 32. The practical relevance of this issue is demonstrated by an empirical study that analyses the effects that the application of the current accounting treatment for cooperatives has on wine cooperatives in the Douro Demarcated Region. It concludes by advocating a legislative intervention that allows the cooperatives to be subject to a specific and differentiated accounting treatment, respecting the variability of share capital, resulting from the right to reimbursement of contributions in case of withdraw of the cooperator, under the cooperative principle of voluntary and open membership.

Received: 29 November 2016
Accepted: 01 September 2017
Published online: 22 December 2017

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Author Biographies

Deolinda A. Meira, Polytechnic Institute of Porto/ISCAP/CECEJ

Professora Adjunta do Instituto Politécnico do Porto / ISCAP / CECEJ.

Ana Maria Bandeira, Polytechnic Institute of Porto/ISCAP/CECEJ
Professora Adjunta do Instituto Politécnico do Porto / ISCAP / CECEJ / CEPESE.
Vítor Gonçalo, Polytechnic Institute of Porto/ISCAP/CECEJ
Mestre em Contabilidade e Finanças pelo do Instituto Politécnico do Porto / ISCAP. Contabilista Certificado
Published
2017-12-22
How to Cite
Meira, Deolinda A., Ana Maria Bandeira, and Vítor Gonçalo. 2017. “The (in)sufficiency of the Right to Reimbursement in Portugal. The Particular Study of Wine Cooperatives in the Douro Demarcated Region”. International Association of Cooperative Law Journal, no. 51 (December), 135-65. https://doi.org/10.18543/baidc-51-2017pp135-165.