Recital 17

(17)Directive 2004/109/EC requires issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market situated or operating within a Member State to prepare and disclose their annual financial reports in a single electronic reporting format, starting from financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2020. That single electronic reporting format is specified in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/815 ⁸ . Considering that the preparation of annual financial reports using the single electronic reporting format requires the allocation of additional human and financial resources, in particular during the first year of preparation, and considering the constraints on issuers’ resources due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a Member State should be able to postpone the application of the requirement to prepare and disclose annual financial reports using the single electronic reporting format by one year. To exercise that option, a Member State should notify the Commission of its intention to allow for such postponement and its intention should be duly justified.