DEVELOPMENT OF THE BUSINESS REGISTER TO MEET THE NEEDS OF ECONOMIC STATISTICS

1. DEVELOPMENT OF THE BUSINESS REGISTER TO MEET THE NEEDS OF ECONOMIC STATISTICS Irena Tvarijonavičiūtė Head of National Accounts Division Statistics Lithuania Work Session Convened by the Friends of Chair Group on Integrated Economic Statistics PREZENTACIJOS PAVADINIMAS

2. CONTENTS • Historical changes • Changes in Economic statistics • Problems • Registration of legal units • Development steps of the Statistical Business Register • Achievments • Conclusions Work Session Convened by the Friends of Chair Group on Integrated Economic Statistics PREZENTACIJOS PAVADINIMAS

3. HISTORICAL CHANGES • March 1990 - Restoration of the State Independence • From Central Planning Economy towards Market Economy Work Session Convened by the Friends of Chair Group on Integrated Economic Statistics PREZENTACIJOS PAVADINIMAS

4. CHANGES IN ECONOMIC STATISTICS • Implementation of SNA has become one of the top priority objectives • Old system of Material products required to be expanded covering all services and other activities Work Session Convened by the Friends of Chair Group on Integrated Economic Statistics PREZENTACIJOS PAVADINIMAS

5. PROBLEMS • Required Classifications not implemented • Pivatisation process started: • Large enterprises have split to a number of small joint-stock companies • Activity of the majority was short-term and unstable • Unemployment increased • Informal business started • Small business units often changed their activity • Majority of them were not covered by statistical surveys • Legal Enterprise Register did not hold the history records Work Session Convened by the Friends of Chair Group on Integrated Economic Statistics PREZENTACIJOS PAVADINIMAS

6. PROBLEMS (cont.)Number of enterprises in the Legal Enterprise Register, thousands Work Session Convened by the Friends of Chair Group on Integrated Economic Statistics PREZENTACIJOS PAVADINIMAS

7. REGISTRATION OF LEGAL UNITS • Administrative Legal Enterprise Register was functioning from 1 August 1990 • Obligation to register all legal units • Identification code (9 digit level) • Registration for fiscal purposes according to the Law of fiscal institutions. • Over 10 other Registers existed • Lack of information for statistical purposes Work Session Convened by the Friends of Chair Group on Integrated Economic Statistics PREZENTACIJOS PAVADINIMAS

8. DEVELOPMENT STEPS OF SBR • Establishment of the Statistical Business Register in Statistics Lithuania at the end of 1992 • Goal – to make a background for economic statistics and to ensure the reliability of statistical data • To cover all legal units registered in administrative register and natural persons who carry on an economic activity and to be a base for statistical units, sample frames, business demography and to serve users. • First priority – to make good statistics in the national level • Objective – enterprise • To determine – status of activity (active or not), kind of activity Work Session Convened by the Friends of Chair Group on Integrated Economic Statistics PREZENTACIJOS PAVADINIMAS

9. DEVELOPMENT STEPS OF SBR (cont.) • Establishment of the separate Division for the Economic Entities Register in Statistics Lithuania in 1997 • Regular maintenance: Questionnaire for newly created units after 6 months after registration since 1998 • Data from different statistical surveys, information from Regional Statistical Offices and other registers • Updating frequency: • Annual • Quarterly • Daily • Records in SBR at 1 November – basis for all statistical surveys and sample design. Work Session Convened by the Friends of Chair Group on Integrated Economic Statistics PREZENTACIJOS PAVADINIMAS

10. DEVELOPMENT STEPS OF SBR (cont.) • Second priority – profile for the regional level • Object – establishment (local kind of activity unit) • Since 2003 the Tax Payers Register provides information about LKAU (no information on number of employees) • Statistics Lithuania every year carries out a survey • Structural Business Survey also included questionnaire for LKAU since 2004 • Not covered: natural persons (patent/license) – access to this register in the Tax Inspectorate; lawyers, advocates – access to the Social Insurance tax Payers Register Work Session Convened by the Friends of Chair Group on Integrated Economic Statistics PREZENTACIJOS PAVADINIMAS

11. ACHIEVMENTS in SBR Number of registered units and active units from SBR, thousands Work Session Convened by the Friends of Chair Group on Integrated Economic Statistics PREZENTACIJOS PAVADINIMAS

12. ACHIEVMENTS in SBR (cont.) • Administrative part covers information: • identification number • name • legal address and telephone number • The statistical part contains: • number of employees, • turnover, • status of activity (active or not), • form of ownership, • activity (NACE, Rev.1, by four digit level), • secondary activity • institutional sector and sub-sectors • source • historical data • statistical units: legal unit - enterprise, local unit, local kind of activity unit, kind of activity unit. Work Session Convened by the Friends of Chair Group on Integrated Economic Statistics PREZENTACIJOS PAVADINIMAS

13. Conclusions • SBR made a significant progress • Actual and uniform framework for all statistical business surveys since 2003 • It allows to reduce the burden for respondents • Comparable data • National accountants fell more comfortable in balancing procedures and benchmarking • Successful integration in Economic statistics • SBR provides data to the Bank of Lithuania on kind of activity and institutional sectors (produces monetary statistics for NA), to the Tax Inspectorate and other users. Work Session Convened by the Friends of Chair Group on Integrated Economic Statistics PREZENTACIJOS PAVADINIMAS