Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia

Structural Business Statistics unit

5 Milana Rakića St, Belgrade

Serbia

Structural business statistics (SBS) describes the structure, conduct and performance of economic activities, down to the most detailed activity level (several hundred economic sectors).

SBS covers all activities of the non-financial business economy with the exception of agricultural activities and personal services. Limited information is available on banking, insurance and pension funds.

 Main characteristics (variables) of the SBS data category:

• Business demographic variables (e.g. Number of enterprises)
• "Output related" variables (e.g. Turnover, Value added)
• "Input related" variables: labour input (e.g. Employment, Hours worked); goods and services input (e.g. Total of purchases); capital input (e.g. Material investments)

Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE): NACE Rev.1 was used until 2001, NACE Rev. 1.1 since 2002, and NACE Rev 2 is used from 2008 onwards. Key data were double reported in NACE Rev.1.1 and NACE Rev.2 for 2008. From 2009 onwards, only NACE Rev.2 data are available.

The regional breakdown of the EU Member States is based on the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS). Detailed information about the consecutive NUTS Regulations can be found at Eurostat's website

The product breakdown is based on the Classification of Products by Activity (CPA) as stated in the Regulation establishing CPA 2008 and its amending  Commission Regulation (EU) No 1209/2014  (from reference year 2015 onwards)

The SBS coverage was limited to Sections C to K of NACE Rev.1.1 until 2007. Starting from the reference year 2008 data is available for Sections B to N and Division S95 of NACE Rev.2. With 2013 as the first reference year information is published on NACE codes K6411, K6419 and K65 and its breakdown.

The statistical characteristics are defined in Annex I of Commission Regulation (EC) No 250/2009

Statistical and reporting unit is an economically active enterprise or market-oriented other legal unit (business entity) that have submitted the annual financial statement for the previous year. 

The principal statistical unit is the enterprise. Given that the enterprise may perform one or more activities, in one or more sites, the local unit is also considered as statistical unit.  

The SBS survey covers active enterprises engaged in the production and sale of goods and services, as well as the part of other legal entities that produce and render market-oriented services, which is established by a practical criterion saying that their income from selling goods and services should exceed 50% of their total operating income. The target population consists of economically active statistical enterprises that are, according to their principal activity, classified in sections B – J and L – N as well as in division 95 of section S.  Entrepreneurs (unincorporated enterprises) are not included in the survey.

Results are calculated by activities of CA, for the Republic of Serbia and statistical territorial units Srbija– sever and Srbija – jug (NSTJ1) and regions (NSTJ2).

(Remark: Starting from 1999 the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia has not at disposal and may not provide available certain data relative to AP Kosovo and Metohia and therefore these data are not included in the coverage for the Republic of Serbia (total). 

From the reference year 2007 to 2020.

Not applicable.

• Number of enterprises and number of local units are expressed in units.
• Monetary data are expressed in millions of €.
• Employment variables are expressed in units.
• Per head values are expressed in thousands of € per head.

Ratios are expressed in percentages.

2020

SBS data refer to the calendar year that corresponds to the fiscal year.

Year 1995 was the first year for the implementation of the Council Regulation No 58/97 (SBS Regulation).

The Council Regulation No 58/97 has been amended three times: by Council Regulation No 410/98, Commission Regulation No 1614/2002 and European Parliament and Council Regulation No 2056/2002. As a new amendment of the basic Regulation it was decided to recast the Regulation No 58/97 in order to obtain a new "clean" legal text. The European Parliament and Council Regulation No 295/2008 was adopted on 14/02/2008 and the provisions of this Regulation are applicable from the reference year 2008. Regulation No 295/2008 has been amended by Commission Regulation (EU) No 446/2014.

Not applicable.

Data confidentiality is stipulated by following documents:

Official Statistics Law (Official Gazette of RS, number 104/2009), Articles 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, and 49.

Rulebook on statistical data protection in the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia 

Guidelines on measures of data and information protection in the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia

Confidentiality treatment of SBS data is done using software programmes and procedures made by SORS. The development of those tools is based on the logical checks defined and recommended by Eurostat as well as on the rules applied in Tau Argus. Primary and secondary confidentiality treatment was applied. For primary confidentiality it was applied small counts rule – the cell is confidential if 3 or less than 3 units contribute to the total of the cell. Condition was applied for number of enterprises and if this data is confidential, all other variables on the same level of aggregation were considered as confidential.

Calendar of releases is available at SORS website on the 1st day of December every year for the forthcoming year (https://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/calendar).

Any divergence from the defined time schedule are announced in advance and explained in the Calendar.

Calendar of releases is available at SORS website:

https://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/calendar

The data obtained through statistical surveys are released:

- at the internet presentation (https://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/),

- in the database (https://data.stat.gov.rs/?caller=SDDB&languageCode=en-US),

- in statistical releases and publications (https://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/publikacije/). 

The results of official statistics are available at the same time to all users on impartial basis; any privileged access by external users before their release is not allowed.  

Annual

Not available.

Data are published in Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Serbia on SORS web site

https://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/publikacije/publication/?p=13253

Data from theme Structural Business Statistics, subtheme Annual Structural Business Statistics, are available on SORS statistical database:

https://data.stat.gov.rs/?caller=SDDB&languageCode=en-US

On request, the access to anonymized microdata is ensured to scientific and research institutions.

The request can be placed by email or by regular mail addressed at 5 Milana Rakića St, Belgrade.

For more information, see https://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/korisnicka-podrska/micropodaci. 

Data have been transmitted to Eurostat from the reference year 2016 in the required technical format.

Notes on methodology on paper and electronic versions of Statistical yearbook, on SORS web site:

https://www.stat.gov.rs/en-us/publikacije/

Notes on methodology are available on SORS statistical database:

https://data.stat.gov.rs/?caller=SDDB&languageCode=en-US 

The documentation is available on serbian and english language.

Reference metadata for SBS statistics was made and stored on SORS web site

https://www.stat.gov.rs/en-us/istrazivanja/referentni-metapodaci/

The documentation is available on serbian and english language.

The SORS quality management system is relied on the Serbian official statistics mission and vision, as well as on the European Statistics Code of Practice – CoP and the Total Quality Management – TQM principles, which together make the common quality framework of the European Statistical System (ESS).

For more information, see the documents at https://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/o-nama/sistem-upravljanja-kvalitetom.

Results from the Annual Structural Business Survey are produced in line with methodological requirements and standards, combining data from statistical survey SBS-01 and administrative data sources (annual financial reports).

Data are compared with data from the previous period as well as with data from the other statistical domains. The level of reliability and accuracy is high. Before data publishing detailed quality control of data is done.

Release of data is in line with Calendar of releases and data are available to all the users.

Combining multiple sources and data collection methods is in line with international recommendations, standards and practice. Data are internationally consistent because they follow EU practice as well as relevant international concepts, definitions and classifications.

Beside data released in regular publications in SORS, special data processing is done at the request of the user.

Users on statistical data on structural business statistics are found in all areas of economic and social life. These are natural persons, business entities, state administration bodies and units of local self-government, academic and scientific-research institutions, Eurostat and other domestic and international users.

Internal users are:

• Statistical Business Register (updated with feedback information from SBS);
• Inward FATS - generated from SBS results;
• STS - Industry statistics (value added and production value for weighting and structure defining, as well as for updating the survey frame);
• STS - Construction statistics – turnover and value added for updating the survey frame.

On biennial basis (once in two years), by the means of web interview, the User Satisfaction Survey is implemented. The survey results are available at SORS website:

https://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/o-nama/sistem-upravljanja-kvalitetom. 

The SBS-01 survey includes all economically active enterprises engaged in the production and sale of products and services, as well as other legal units that produce and provide services for the market. Entrepreneurs are not included in the survey. The survey covers majority of the variables required by Eurostat regulations and guidelines.

Given that the response rate for the Structural Business Statistics survey for 2019 was about 88% as well as the usage of administrative data sources in the case of non-response, the overall accuracy is very high.

Possible errors from inputs for SBS survey are:

• Statistical Business Register data source errors (coverage, activities, turnover, number of employees quality);
• Annual financial reports errors (quality of accounting data);
• Annual report on gross investments in fixed assets and investments in environmental protection and expenditures on goods and services in environment data source (quality of statistical source).

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

The data are published on the SORS website 15 months after the reference period.
Preliminary data are transmitted to Eurostat in the required technical format 10 months after the reference period, and complete final data 18 months after the reference period.

All data is published in accordance with the announced Calendar of Release  (https://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/calendar).

The data are transmitted to Eurostat in the required deadlines and technical format.

The same concept of calculation of results is applied in the territory of the whole Republic of Serbia.
SORS applies a methodology that is in line with international standards in the area of structural business statistics, which ensures good comparability with other countries.

Data have been available since the year 2007 onwards. The data are comparable and available for all years, taking into account that value data is given at current prices.

Data from the annual structural business statistics is compared with data from the other statistical domains, such as:

• Quarterly structural business statistics on operating income and costs (Turnover, Production value);
• Business Register data (Number of enterprises, Turnover and Number of persons employed);
• Turnover in Annex VIII is completely consistent with Turnover in Annex I, 
• SBS and corresponding National accounts data (SBS data are used as input for annual national accounts and for creating an input-output tables);
• Comparison of SBS data with the results from the Annual Survey on Industrial Production.

It is planned to achieve a coherence between structural business statistics and business demography data for the reference year 2021, in line with EBS regulation.

Data for different aggregates inside SBS are completely consistent.

Considering that for majority of units in the SBS frame the input data are taken from existing administrative and statistical sources, costs of SBS data production as well as the additional burden on the reporting units are minimized as much as possible.

No revision policy for SBS.

The general SORS revision policy is available at https://www.stat.gov.rs/media/2332/general-revision-policy.docx

Methodology and preliminary data compilation process is identical to the one for final data production. That means, the same methodology and sources are used in both cases. Due to the longer available period, for final data more control and checks of data are carried out, including the checking with units, which improves the final data quality.

Published data are considered final, unless otherwise stated. 
Significant methodological changes are announced and users can be informed about them on the SORS website.

Reporting method of data collection based on the SBS-01 questionnaire is applied in the survey. In addition, data from administrative sources (annual financial statements) are also used. The survey is exhaustive.
Data sources for structural business statistics are:

• SBS-01 statistical survey for large and medium-sized enterprises (with 50 or more persons employed), as well as for business entities with less than 50 employees which according to the financial statements for the previous year, are large or medium, or of greater importance for the certain activity;
• administrative data sources, mainly annual financial statements, as well as Tax office data, in addition to the survey on the field; data is used for the other business units defined by the coverage of units and for imputations in the case of unit or item non-response;
• Central Register of Compulsory Social Insurance, for data related to employment;
• individual Tax return on calculated taxes and contributions on wages and salaries, for data related to wages and salaries;
• Statistical Business Register;
• results from regular annual statistical survey on gross investments in fixed assets and investments in environmental protection and expenditures on goods and services (sample survey);
• results from regular survey on employment, for employment related variables. 

Annual data collection

The survey is carried out as mandatory, prescribed by the Annual Plan of Statistical Surveys adopted by the Government of the Republic of Serbia.
Reporting units transmit the data by entering them through a web questionnaire (no paper). Also tailored questionnaires for a few the most important complex enterprises was made in order to apply a new definition of enterprise. Data entry and checking is done in the regional statistical units of the SORS, responsible for collecting data for its territory, and the Administration of the City of Belgrade, Department of Statistics.

Apart from submitting data via a web questionnaire, reporting units can send completed questionnaires by e-mail. It is usual practice to contact the reporting unit by telephone or e-mail, for the purpose of providing expert assistance and consultations when filling in the questionnaire, due to its scope and complexity. Sometimes the data is collected by telephone.

Data quality control is carried out within data entry through a web application, in which the criteria of logical and calculation control are implemented. This way wrong data or warnings are marked in the application, suggesting that the reporting unit should check and correct such data.

The data are then transmitted to IST, a software application created in the SORS, which is used to control, process and tabulate data. In addition to the data from the current year (at the reporting unit level), the IST also contains relevant data from the previous year, as well as data from administrative sources. Based on this data set, data control is performed as well as imputation of data in case of non-response. IT programs function on the basis of a rule for error detection, distinguishing "warning" and "very significant" errors, which indicate that data correction is necessary. In order to correct errors, consultation with reporting units is often necessary.

Aggregated data is also controlled in the Eurostat InputHall service. Validated data are transmitted to Eurostat. 

The collected data from the survey are stored in IST software application which is used to control, process and tabulate data. Also data from annual financial statement are stored in the same base. After data editing in IST and imputations in the case of non-response, the calculation of variables in the same application follows.

Variables related to investments and environmental protection are calculated or estimated from regular annual statistical survey on gross investments in fixed assets and investments in environmental protection and expenditures on goods and services. 

Not applicable.

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