PURPOSE: to reduce the administrative burden on enterprises by simplifying provisions relating to statistics on the trading of goods between the Member States.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EC) No 222/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 on Community statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States.

CONTENT: the Council adopted a regulation amending regulation (EC) No 638/2004 on Community statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States. The Regulation aims to provide the legal framework for exempting more companies from providing Intrastat information, while preserving the accuracy of data and satisfying user requirements for statistics on trade by business characteristics.

In particular, the Commission should be empowered to:

adopt different or specific rules applying to specific goods or movements; adapt the reference period to take into account the linkage with value added tax and customs obligations; determine the arrangements for the collection of the information to be collected by the national authorities, particularly the codes to be employed; adapt the minimum Intrastat coverage to technical and economic developments; define the conditions under which Member States may simplify the information to be provided for small individual transactions; define the aggregated data to be transmitted and the criteria with which the results of the estimates are to comply; adopt implementing provisions for compiling the statistics by linking data on business characteristics recorded under Regulation (EC) No 177/2008 with the statistics on dispatches and arrivals of goods; take any other steps necessary to ensure the quality of the data.

Since those measures are of general scope and are designed to amend non-essential elements of Regulation (EC) No 638/2004, inter alia by supplementing it with new non-essential elements, they must be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny provided for in Decision 1999/468/EC.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 20/04/2009.

APPLICATION: 01/01/2009.

The European Parliament adopted, by 664 votes to 13 with 6 abstentions, a legislative resolution amending the proposal for regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 on Community statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States. The report had been tabled for consideration in plenary by Eoin RYAN (UEN, IE), on behalf of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.

The amendments are the result of an agreement between Parliament and Council.

The main amendments – adopted in 1st reading of the codecision procedure – are as follows :

- a new recital states that for long-term efficiency, other steps to reduce the statistical burden further, while maintaining statistics which meet the quality indicators and standards currently in force, should be considered. Such steps could include the further reduction of the compulsory minimum coverage rates of total dispatches and total arrivals, as well as the possible future introduction of a single flow system. For these purposes, the value, viability and the impact on quality of such steps should be further investigated by the Commission;

- Parliament defined in the text the parties responsible for providing the information for the Intrastat system;

- the thresholds below which parties are exempted from providing any Intrastat information shall be set at a level that ensures that the value of at least 97 % of the total dispatches and at least 95 % of the total arrivals of the relevant Member State's taxable persons is covered.

The Commission shall adapt those coverage rates to technical and economic developments, whenever it will be possible to reduce them while maintaining statistics which meet the quality indicators and standards in force. Those measures will be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny;

- on statistical confidentiality, Parliament stated that only where the parties who have provided information so request, shall the national authorities decide whether statistical results which make it possible to identify the said provider(s) are to be disseminated or are to be amended in such a way that their dissemination does not prejudice statistical confidentiality,

- Members laid down the quality assessment dimensions which will apply to the statistics to be transmitted. The Commission shall determine any measures necessary to ensure the quality of the data transmitted according to the quality assessment dimensions;

- Parliament also made amendments in the paragraph relating to the reporting on trade by business characteristics, bringing the regulation in line with developments in related legislation

The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs adopted a report drafted by Eoin RYAN (UEN, IE), and amended the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 on Community statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States.

The main amendments – adopted in 1st reading of the codecision procedure – are as follows :

- the future introduction of a single flow system could be another step forward. To this end, the value and viability of the introduction of single flow reporting should be investigated by the Commission, if appropriate, inter alia, by launching a pilot project;

- for defining thresholds below which parties are exempted from providing any Intrastat information, Member States shall ensure that the information made available by the parties responsible for providing information, covers at least 90 % and at most 95 % of arrivals and dispatches of the relevant Member State's total trade expressed in value. The Commission may adapt the thresholds to technical and economic developments. Those measures will be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny;

- the committee has also made amendments in the area of statistical confidentiality and in the paragraphs relating to the reporting on trade by business characteristics, bringing the regulation in line with developments in related legislation.

PURPOSE: to reduce the administrative burden on enterprises by simplifying provisions relating to statistics on the trading of goods between the Member States.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

BACKGROUND: this proposal is being presented within the context of the Commission’s drive to cut unnecessary red tape. Simplifying existing EU legislation, and thereby reducing the burden on business, is one of the Commission’s key priorities.

Intra-Community trade statistics record physical flows of movable goods between Member States. Data is collected on a monthly basis from companies by the national statistical authorities. The statistics compiled on the basis of this data contains record on incoming flows (arrivals) and outgoing flows (dispatches), expressed in value and quantity broken down by reporting and partner Member State , as well as by commodity. The Commission was asked, by the Ecofin Council, to examine ways in which to reduce the statistical burden on enterprises and to analyse the feasibility of a “single-flow” method (in Intrastat) and alternative methods, which would deliver the same results.

CONTENT: based on the above, the Commission is proposing this Regulation, the purpose of which is to reduce the administrative burden on enterprises by simplifying provisions relating to statistics on the trading of goods between the Member States. It intends to realise this objective by:

reducing the number of enterprises obliged to report their intra-Community trade statistics (Intrastat), thus reducing the statistical reporting burden; tightening the quality requirements for the compilation of intra-Community trade statistics in order to compensate for the loss in data accuracy for trade that is not declared by enterprises but estimated by national authorities; responding to user needs through the compilation of intra-Community trade statistics broken down by business characteristics; and adjusting, in accordance with the joint European Parliament, Council and Commission states, Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission. This Regulation introduced a regulatory procedure with scrutiny for measures of general scope designed to amend non-essential elements of a basic instrument adopted, including the deleting of some elements by supplementing the instrument by the addition of new non-essential elements.

Adoption of these provisions should lead to a significant reduction in the statistical reporting burden on enterprises, whilst at the same time ensuring the quality of statistical data. The proposed measures should reduce the trade coverage for arrivals to 95% and keep the current trade coverage for dispatches at 97%. This solution is consistent with a future single-flow option based on the collection of dispatch data and benefit SMEs in particular.

In other measures, the proposal allows for additional user requests, as regards trade by business. Member States will be able to provide annual trade data broken down by business characteristics that show, for example, how European companies operate within the global context. The link between business and trade statistics will be established by matching information available in the intra-Community trade register with information from the Member States’ business registers. Currently, most Member States compile these statistics on a voluntary basis. This proposal seeks to make the compilation of this data mandatory.

On a final point, although lowering the coverage rate for companies reporting to Intrastat, will have no budgetary implications, applying tighter quality requirements will do. The budgetary implication concern investing in research and in validation and adjustment tools within the national administration. The budget for the MEETS programme will cover these implementation costs.

PURPOSE: to reduce the administrative burden on enterprises by simplifying provisions relating to statistics on the trading of goods between the Member States.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

BACKGROUND: this proposal is being presented within the context of the Commission’s drive to cut unnecessary red tape. Simplifying existing EU legislation, and thereby reducing the burden on business, is one of the Commission’s key priorities.

Intra-Community trade statistics record physical flows of movable goods between Member States. Data is collected on a monthly basis from companies by the national statistical authorities. The statistics compiled on the basis of this data contains record on incoming flows (arrivals) and outgoing flows (dispatches), expressed in value and quantity broken down by reporting and partner Member State , as well as by commodity. The Commission was asked, by the Ecofin Council, to examine ways in which to reduce the statistical burden on enterprises and to analyse the feasibility of a “single-flow” method (in Intrastat) and alternative methods, which would deliver the same results.

CONTENT: based on the above, the Commission is proposing this Regulation, the purpose of which is to reduce the administrative burden on enterprises by simplifying provisions relating to statistics on the trading of goods between the Member States. It intends to realise this objective by:

reducing the number of enterprises obliged to report their intra-Community trade statistics (Intrastat), thus reducing the statistical reporting burden; tightening the quality requirements for the compilation of intra-Community trade statistics in order to compensate for the loss in data accuracy for trade that is not declared by enterprises but estimated by national authorities; responding to user needs through the compilation of intra-Community trade statistics broken down by business characteristics; and adjusting, in accordance with the joint European Parliament, Council and Commission states, Regulation (EC) No 638/2004 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission. This Regulation introduced a regulatory procedure with scrutiny for measures of general scope designed to amend non-essential elements of a basic instrument adopted, including the deleting of some elements by supplementing the instrument by the addition of new non-essential elements.

Adoption of these provisions should lead to a significant reduction in the statistical reporting burden on enterprises, whilst at the same time ensuring the quality of statistical data. The proposed measures should reduce the trade coverage for arrivals to 95% and keep the current trade coverage for dispatches at 97%. This solution is consistent with a future single-flow option based on the collection of dispatch data and benefit SMEs in particular.

In other measures, the proposal allows for additional user requests, as regards trade by business. Member States will be able to provide annual trade data broken down by business characteristics that show, for example, how European companies operate within the global context. The link between business and trade statistics will be established by matching information available in the intra-Community trade register with information from the Member States’ business registers. Currently, most Member States compile these statistics on a voluntary basis. This proposal seeks to make the compilation of this data mandatory.

On a final point, although lowering the coverage rate for companies reporting to Intrastat, will have no budgetary implications, applying tighter quality requirements will do. The budgetary implication concern investing in research and in validation and adjustment tools within the national administration. The budget for the MEETS programme will cover these implementation costs.