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For any question on data and metadata, please contact: Eurostat user support |
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1.1. Contact organisation | Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia |
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1.2. Contact organisation unit | International Trade Section |
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1.5. Contact mail address | 54 Litostrojska cesta
SI-1000 Ljubljana
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2.1. Metadata last certified | 05/01/2021 | ||
2.2. Metadata last posted | 12/05/2023 | ||
2.3. Metadata last update | 14/05/2024 |
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3.1. Data description | |||
The main objective of the trade in goods statistics by enterprise characteristics (TEC) is to bridge two major statistical domains which have traditionally been compiled and used separately, business statistics and international trade in goods statistics (ITGS). Specifically, this new domain was created to answer questions such as:
For this purpose, the trade in goods between countries is broken down by economic activity, size-class of enterprises, trade concentration, geographical diversification and products traded. The new information is used to carry out more sophisticated kinds of analysis, e.g. to evaluate the role of European companies in the context of globalisation or to assess the impact of international trade in goods on employment, production and value added, essential in a globalised world where economies are increasingly interconnected.
Available datasets TEC data are grouped into ten datasets, each one focusing on a specific aspect: 1. Trade by activity sector and enterprise size class — Trade by activity sector and employment size class shows the contributions of economic activities and size classes (measured in terms of number of employees until 2021 and in term of number of employees and self-employed from 2022 reference year) to total trade. This allows the impact of international trade on employment to be analysed and the importance of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) to be estimated. 2. Concentration of trade by activity — International trade being typically dominated by a few businesses, this indicator shows the share of the total trade accounted for by the top 5, 10, 20, etc. companies. 3. Trade by partner country and activity — Trade by partner country shows how many companies were trading with certain partner countries or country zones, and the value they accounted for. This indicator enables the most typical export or import markets to be identified. 4. Trade by number of partner countries and activity — Trade by number of partner countries shows how geographically diversified the export markets are. For imports, it shows the number of countries from which goods are imported. 5. Trade by commodity and activity — Trade by commodity and activity sector allocates the trade of each commodity to the activity of the trading enterprise. This indicator shows which sectors were involved in the trading of each product group. 6. Trade by type of trader — This indicator provides information on how traders are involved in international trade. It shows the number of companies trading within only one flow or in both flows and the trade value these companies account for. 7. Trade by type of ownership — The type of ownership is referring to the concept of control and to affiliation of an enterprise. It indicates whether an enterprise is domestically or foreign controlled and, if domestically controlled, whether it has affiliates abroad or not. This indicator can be used to analyse the impact of globalisation on international trade and to estimate the importance of multinational companies for trade. 8. Trade by export intensity — Export intensity categorises enterprises according to the importance of foreign markets in their sales. It refers to the share of exports in total turnover. 9. Trade by activity sector — In comparison with trade by activity and enterprise size class (first dataset), this indicator provides more details on the activity sector (2- or 3-digit level) but does not contain information about the enterprise size. 10. Trade by partner country and size class — This indicator aims to give insights into the internationalisation of small- and medium sized enterprises. It complements indicator 3 on trade by partner country and activity by applying the same detailed breakdown of partner countries but categorising enterprises by size class instead of activity sector. |
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3.2. Classification system | |||
Classification of economic activities Economic activities are classified according to the ‘statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community’ (NACE Rev. 2). NACE Rev. 2 is based on the fourth revision of the United Nations’ International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC Rev. 4). Within the international trade in goods statistics, the NACE classification refers to the economic activity of enterprises that are active in international trade in goods.
Product classification As the TEC domain aims to categorise trade flows according to economic activities, product classifications which are based on the industrial origin of the goods are more suitable for analysis than classifications based on material of goods. For this reason, the Classification of Products by Activity (CPA) is used as the product classification in TEC. CPA is a European version of the United Nations’ Central Product Classification (CPC), but arranged so that each product heading is assignable to a single heading of the European activity classification, the NACE Rev. 2. CPA version 2008 is used for TEC data relating to the reference years 2012-2015. CPA version 2.1 is used since 2016 as reference year.
Country classification Except for the cases listed below, the reporting and partner countries are classified according to the ‘Nomenclature of countries and territories for the external trade statistics of the Community and statistics of trade between Member States’, known as the ‘Geonomenclature’. An alpha-2 coding applies, which means that each country is identified with a two-letter alphabetical code. See the publication Geonomenclature applicable to European statistics on international trade in goods for more information. Exceptions: code CN_X_HK instead of CN for China (except Hong Kong); code UK instead of GB for United Kingdom; code EL instead of GR for Greece.
Statistical classifications can be accessed here. |
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3.3. Coverage - sector | |||
TEC data cover all activity sectors, from sections A to U of the NACE Rev. 2 classification. |
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3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions | |||
Trade value The value of traded goods is calculated at the national frontier, on a FOB basis (free on board) for exports and a CIF (cost, insurance, freight) basis for imports. Hence, only incidental expenses (freight, insurance) are included and they are incurred for:
Number of enterprises The number of enterprises consists of a count of the number of enterprises involved in trade during at least a part of the reference period. For intra-EU trade, VAT data are used to identify the smallest traders (and to estimate their trade value), which are exempted from Intrastat reporting. These traders account for a limited share of the trade value. In line with the legal requirements, this share should not exceed 3 % of the total value of the intra-EU exports and 7 % of the total value of the intra-EU imports. However in terms of number of enterprises the smallest enterprises below threshold trade make the majority.
Partner country Trade flows are broken down by partner country.
Product The product is the outcome of economic activity and the generic term used for goods and services. Product classifications are designed to categorise goods and services that have common characteristics. They provide the basis for preparing statistics on the production, consumption, international trade and distributive trade. However, the scope of TEC is limited to the trade in goods.
Economic activity The economic activity consists in offering goods and services on a given market. An activity is characterised by an input of products, a production process and an output of products. In other words, an economic activity is said to take place when resources such as equipment, labour, manufacturing techniques, information networks or products are combined, leading to the creation of specific goods or services. Classifications of economic activities are designed to categorise data that can be related to the unit of activity. They provide the basis for preparing statistics of output, the various inputs to the production process, capital formation and the financial transactions of such units. Economic activities are classified according to NACE, the classification used to classify economic entities (enterprises, local units and similar statistical units). Within the international trade statistics, the NACE classification refers to the economic activity of traders, i.e. enterprises that are active in international trade.
Number of employees and self employed persons The number of employees refers to the number of those persons who work for an employer and who have a contract of employment and receive compensation in the form of wages, salaries, fees, gratuities, piecework pay or remuneration in kind. A worker is considered to be a wage or salary earner of a particular unit if he receives a wage or salary from the unit regardless of where the work is done (in or outside the production unit). A self-employed person is the sole or joint owner of the unincorporated enterprise (one that has not been incorporated i.e. formed into a legal corporation) in which he/she works, unless they are also in paid employment which is their main activity (in that case, they are considered to be employees). Self-employed people also include:
Until reference year 2021 only the number of employees was used to determine enterprise size classes. The number of employees is a mandatory variable to be recorded in the business registers for each enterprise and local unit. According to the Business Register Regulation, the intention is to use the situation at the end of the year. However, as the end date approach is not harmonised the annual average can also be used as reference.
Type of traders In the context of the TEC data, the type of trader specifies the type of trade activity of the enterprise. It indicates whether the enterprise is involved only in exports or only imports or trade in both flows. The type of trader aims to describe the heterogeneity of enterprises according to their involvement in trade.
Type of ownership In the context of the TEC data, the type of ownership refers to the concept of control and to the affiliation of an enterprise. It indicates whether an enterprise is domestically or foreign controlled and if it is domestically controlled, whether it has affiliates abroad or not. In other words, the type of ownership refers to the delineation of enterprise groups and categorising them. In this context, the concept of control prevails as referred in article 3 (4) of the Business Register Regulation (EC) No 177/2008. This Regulation applies the European System of Accounts (ESA) definition for the control as set out in point 2.26 of Annex A to Regulation (EC) no 2223/96. The concept of control prevails also in the FATS Regulation and is defined as follows: "control shall mean the ability to determine the general policy of an enterprise by choosing appropriate directors, if necessary. In this context, enterprise A is deemed to be controlled by an institutional unit B when B controls, whether directly or indirectly, more than half of the shareholders voting power or more than half of the shares". This definition is consistent with the ESA definition. The type of ownership aims to describe the heterogeneity of enterprises according to their global status. A distinction of enterprises into domestically and foreign controlled enterprises has specific interest because of the important role of foreign affiliates. Furthermore, if domestically controlled enterprises with own affiliates abroad are further distinguished from all domestically controlled enterprises, the population all of multinational enterprises can be identified.
Exports intensity The exports intensity refers to the share of exports of turnover (ratio between exports and turnover). Exports intensity categorises enterprises according to the importance of foreign markets in their sales. The recent developments in the area of global value chains have raised a question on the heterogeneity of enterprises. It has been traditionally assumed that enterprises in the same activity sector are homogenous in terms of their productivity as well as in generating value-added and employment. However, this may not be a valid assumption any more in the globalised economy as productivity, value-added and employment may depend on the international orientation of enterprises, i.e. their involvement and position in the global value chains. Enterprises with high exports intensity are often also large-scale importers. |
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3.5. Statistical unit | |||
The statistical unit is an enterprise which in a certain observation period exported goods to other countries (exporters) and/or imported goods from other countries (importers). The set of data is prepared by linking detailed data on trade in goods with detailed data from the Business Register of Slovenia. |
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3.6. Statistical population | |||
The statistical population should comprise all the enterprises involved in intra- and extra-EU trade flows. However, in practice, the linkage between the Trade Register and the Business Register is not systematically straightforward as there may be more complicated linkages or the linkage may not always provide expected outcomes. This relates in particular to the following cases:
The reference population used in the compilation of TEC datasets relates to traders who have reported trade transactions under a valid ID number and were successfully matched with the Business Register. This means that the enterprise characteristics reported in the TEC datasets refer only to a part of total trade. Are out of scope:
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3.7. Reference area | |||
Slovenia |
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3.8. Coverage - Time | |||
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat From 2012 as reference year TEC data disseminated at national level
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3.9. Base period | |||
Not applicable. |
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The reference period is the same as for monthly trade in goods statistics. It should be the calendar month of export respectively that of import of the goods. However, in practice the reference period is in general:
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6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements | |||
General statistical legislation Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European statistics
International trade in goods statistics legislation: Up to 31 December 2021, ITGS are based on the following regulations: Intra-EU trade legislation
Extra-EU trade legislation
As of 1 January 2022, ITGS are based on the following regulations
Business Registers legislation
All regulations relevant for the European statistics on international trade in goods can be consulted from the ‘Legislation’ page of the ‘International trade in goods’ section on Eurostat website. All legal texts are also accessible online on Eur-Lex. |
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6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing | |||
Not applicable. |
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7.1. Confidentiality - policy | |||
Regulation (EC) No 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society. National legislations related to statistical confidentiality determine National Statistics Act (OJ RS, No. 45/95 and 9/01). |
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7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment | |||
Dataset 2 is checked manually – no protection is needed. Other datasets are protected using cell suppression; the same criteria for primary confidential cells are used for all these datasets; secondary protection is applied; if a cell is presented in more than one dataset, it has the same protection in all these datasets; a cell with total value of export or import for each partner country or partner country aggregate is safe due to passive protection. |
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8.1. Release calendar | |||
TEC data disseminated at national level The release calendar at national level for the TEC data exists. This calendar is publicly accessible.
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat See item 8.1 ‘Release calendar’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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8.2. Release calendar access | |||
TEC data disseminated at national level http://www.stat.si/StatWeb/en/releasecal (Theme ‑ ‘Foreign Economic Relations’, Sub-theme ‑ ‘Exports and Imports of Goods’)
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat Not applicable |
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8.3. Release policy - user access | |||
TEC data disseminated at national level In line with the national framework, SURS disseminates statistics on its website respecting professional independence and in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equally. The detailed arrangements are governed by the protocol on impartial access to data for users.
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat See item 8.3 ‘Release policy - user access’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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Statistics by enterprise characteristics are updated once a year with a new reference year. Historical data are exceptionally revised. |
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10.1. Dissemination format - News release | |||
TEC data disseminated at national level First Release (Foreign Economic Relations, Exports and Imports of Goods): “Trade in goods by enterprise characteristics”, Slovenia, annually
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat No news release |
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10.2. Dissemination format - Publications | |||
TEC data disseminated at national level Data for reference years before 2015:
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat See item 10.2 ‘Dissemination format - Publications’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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10.3. Dissemination format - online database | |||
TEC data disseminated at national level SI-STAT data portal: Economy – External trade – Trade in goods by enterprise characteristics. Results are published as absolute data. Data can be viewed by economic activity of the enterprise, by enterprise size, by selected trade partners, by number of trade partners, by type of trader, by type of ownership, by export intensity and by product activity. Economic activity of the enterprise corresponds to the Standard Classification of Activities (SKD 2008). Product activity corresponds to the CPA 2008.
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat See item 10.3 ‘Dissemination format - online database’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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10.3.1. Data tables - consultations | |||
Not available. |
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10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access | |||
Not applicable |
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10.5. Dissemination format - other | |||
Not applicable |
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10.5.1. Metadata - consultations | |||
Not available. |
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10.6. Documentation on methodology | |||
TEC data disseminated at national level Methodological explanation relating to the data release: “Trade in goods by enterprise characteristics” (First Release and SI-STAT data portal). Link: http://www.stat.si/statweb/en/Methods/QuestionnairesMethodologicalExplanationsQualityReports.
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat See item 10.6 ‘Documentation on methodology’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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10.6.1. Metadata completeness - rate | |||
100% |
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10.7. Quality management - documentation | |||
TEC data disseminated at national level Quality Report on Intrastat, Trade in goods between EU MS. This Report provides users with a tool to assess the quality of the Intra-EU trade in goods statistics.
TEC data disseminated by Eurostat See item 10.7 ‘Quality management - documentation’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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11.1. Quality assurance | |||
See item 11.1 ‘Quality assurance’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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11.2. Quality management - assessment | |||
See item 11.2 ‘Quality management - assessment’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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12.1. Relevance - User Needs | |||
Trade in goods data broken down by economic activity, size-class of enterprises, trade concentration, geographical diversification and products traded are used to carry out more sophisticated kinds of analysis, e.g. to evaluate the role of national and European companies in the context of globalisation or to assess the impact of international trade in goods on employment, production and value added, essential in a globalised world where economies are increasingly interconnected. |
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12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction | |||
No user survey on TEC data was carried out so far but direct feedback from main users as for example some state institutions indicates a good level of satisfaction as regards the data coverage and indicators available. The timeliness is however assessed as to be improved, which has been taken into account in new legal provisions currently in preparation. |
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12.3. Completeness | |||
See item 12.3 ‘Completeness’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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12.3.1. Data completeness - rate | |||
See document TEC Quality indicators |
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13.1. Accuracy - overall | |||
See item 13.1 ‘Accuracy - overall’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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13.2. Sampling error | |||
Not applicable. Neither the international trade in goods statistics, nor the business registers are affected by errors related to sample surveys. |
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13.2.1. Sampling error - indicators | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.3. Non-sampling error | |||
See item 13.3 ‘Non-sampling error’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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13.3.1. Coverage error | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.3.1.1. Over-coverage - rate | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.3.1.2. Common units - proportion | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.3.2. Measurement error | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.3.3. Non response error | |||
See item 13.3.3 of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims- International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’ |
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13.3.3.1. Unit non-response - rate | |||
See document TEC Quality indicators |
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13.3.3.2. Item non-response - rate | |||
See document TEC Quality indicators |
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13.3.4. Processing error | |||
Not applicable. |
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13.3.5. Model assumption error | |||
Not applicable. |
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14.1. Timeliness | |||
See item 14.1 ‘Timeliness’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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14.1.1. Time lag - first result | |||
See document TEC Quality indicators |
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14.1.2. Time lag - final result | |||
Not applicable. |
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14.2. Punctuality | |||
See item 14.2 ‘Punctuality’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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14.2.1. Punctuality - delivery and publication | |||
See document TEC Quality indicators |
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15.1. Comparability - geographical | |||
See item 15.1 ‘Comparability - geographical’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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15.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient | |||
Not applicable. |
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15.2. Comparability - over time | |||
Changes due to definitions, classifications, coverage or methods will have an impact on the continuity of the time series. No methodological change occurred in recent years. The changes relate to the definition of the intra- versus extra-EU areas following
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15.2.1. Length of comparable time series | |||
10 years (from 2012 onwards) for mandatory tables 8 years (from 2014 onwards) for optional tables |
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15.3. Coherence - cross domain | |||
See item 15.3 ‘Coherence - cross domain’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims- International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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15.3.1. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics | |||
Not applicable. |
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15.3.2. Coherence - National Accounts | |||
Not applicable. |
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15.4. Coherence - internal | |||
See item 15.4 ‘Coherence - internal’ of the related metadata ‘ext_tec_sims - International trade in goods – trade by enterprise characteristics (TEC)’. |
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TEC data are derived from information made available by two major statistical domains: the international trade in goods statistics and the business statistics. No specific data collection is then necessary, which means that the burden is null for the traders and businesses. The cost of TEC data only relates to the compilation steps carried out by SURS. |
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17.1. Data revision - policy | |||
At national level Only exceptionally the data can be revised, especially due to the revision of final annual external trade statistics data, changes in survey methodology at the EU level, changes in data sources, methodological improvements or discovery of major data inconsistencies. |
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17.2. Data revision - practice | |||
Statistics by enterprise characteristics are only exceptionally revised. The TEC data that Slovenia sends to Eurostat have not yet been revised. |
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17.2.1. Data revision - average size | |||
Not applicable. |
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18.1. Source data | |||
International trade in goods statistics by enterprise characteristics are derived from two data sources: the monthly detailed trade in goods data and data taken from the business registers. Trade in goods data are collected on the basis of:
Note that missing data (exempted intra-EU traders, missing Intrastat declarations, incomplete or delayed customs declarations) are estimated by the National Statistical Authority in order to disseminate trade in goods data covering 100% of the trade but those estimates are not part of the TEC data. The national business registers serve as the sources for the enterprise characteristics. No samples are drawn from the registers, but the full registers are processed. Some differences in the coverage among the countries can occur. Different administrative sources depending on national law, as well as surveys, are used to update the business registers, and in some countries VAT thresholds for registration apply. |
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18.2. Frequency of data collection | |||
Intra-EU trade and Extra-EU trade Monthly.
Business Register Annual
TEC data Annual. |
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18.3. Data collection | |||
For Intrastat any VAT-registered business that trades goods with other EU MS is required to provide information on its transactions. The information is obtained directly by the national authority responsible for the collection of trade statistics, using the various media available. All businesses are legally required to provide information on their total sales and purchases to and from other EU countries on their VAT returns. The largest ones also submit Intrastat questioners on a monthly basis within a fixed deadline. For the compilation of Extrastat the standard data source is the customs declaration submitted by businesses and in some cases by private individuals involved in an international transaction of goods with a non-EU country. The customs declaration is in electronic format. The maintenance of business register is normally based on the effective use of various administrative and statistical data sources. The frequency of updating the business registers depends on the kind of unit, the variable considered, the size of the unit and the source generally used for the update. |
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18.4. Data validation | |||
TEC data disseminated on national level and by Eurostat have passed the following quality checks:
See the section ‘Data validation’ of the European business statistics compilers’ manual for international trade in goods statistics – trade by enterprise characteristics for information on the main validation rules implemented. |
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18.5. Data compilation | |||
Not yet available |
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18.5.1. Imputation - rate | |||
No imputation made by Eurostat |
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18.6. Adjustment | |||
The trade in goods data used to compile the TEC data do not include adjustments for missing trade (trade below threshold and non-response in intra-EU trade; missing, delayed and incomplete records for extra-EU trade). There are no specific adjustments made to the TEC data. |
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18.6.1. Seasonal adjustment | |||
Not applicable. |
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All reference documents and relevant information on TEC data can be found on the ‘Focus on enterprise characteristics (TEC)’ page of the ‘International trade in goods’ section on Eurostat website. |
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