The tightening of the EFL rules at a meeting on Wednesday, where Middlesbrough and Sunderland were present, follows similar moves by the Premier League in the wake of the Leicester case.
The EFL revealed last April that its rules as they were written would not permit it to apply a points sanction on Leicester after they were charged by the Premier League with breaching its profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) the month before in relation to the period ending with the 2022-23 season.
The Foxes were vying for promotion to the Premier League at the time.
An appeal board ruled last September that the Premier League did not have jurisdiction to charge Leicester in relation to the club’s 2022-23 submission because they were in the EFL when the accounts were submitted.
The Premier League said at the time it was “surprised and disappointed” by the appeal board ruling and in January this year the English top flight confirmed the matter was still the subject of ongoing arbitration proceedings.
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The EFL confirmed that as well as it being able to apply sanctions imposed by top-flight independent commissions, the Premier League could now apply sanctions imposed by EFL panels.
Clubs in the EFL will now have to submit an estimated P&S calculation in March for that current season. The EFL said it would still be able to take pre-emptive action if a club is forecasting a breach, which can be in the form of a business plan or requiring player sales once the transfer window opens in June.
As part of the changes agreed on Wednesday, after submitting the March estimate, a club would then file their audited accounts and final P&S calculation for the previous season in December, with whichever league they are in at that time.
The EFL said talks remained ongoing on the merits of introducing a UEFA-style squad cost ratio system, which would limit clubs to spending a set percentage of their income on player-related costs.
A similar system is being trialled in shadow form in the Premier League this season.
The Premier League has already updated its handbook to make clear that relegated clubs “remain bound” by its rules.
