Your answers are valuable
The purpose of the survey is to collect data for analysis of Norwegian enterprises' economic relations with abroad. Such information on Norwegian enterprises' economic relations with other countries is crucial for Norway's balance of payments, and to meet national and international reporting obligations to institutions as The Central Bank of Norway, Eurostat, IMF, OECD, and the UN.
The survey results will be included in the foreign balance of payments and the national accounts. The statistics is used by public institutions and politicians when negotiating trade agreements. Private sector uses the statistics to identify new markets, evaluate market developments, and future planning. The statistics is also used by media, researchers, students and trade organizations.
You have a responsibility to respond by the deadline
As these statistics are vital for society it is mandatory to participate. If you fail to send the information before the deadline, the enterprise will receive a compulsory fine.
The submission deadline is specified in the Altinn inbox.
For SSB to produce high quality statistics on external trade in services, we need information on Norwegian non-financial enterprises:
- Income generated by export of services to foreign customers.
- Expenses generated by import of services from foreign suppliers.
By services, we refer to output that derives from non-intangible commodities, such as transport services, reparations, IT-services, license fees, management fees etc. For some types of services, we also ask for income and expenditure for goods/materials that are included in the delivery. Furthermore, goods that are purchased and sold directly abroad also should be included.
Regardless of where the service is being delivered, the transactions must exchange between Norwegian registered enterprises and foreign actors.
Trade in services between group companies must be included in the survey, given that the transactions take place between Norwegian and foreign group companies.
For more information, see under attachments.
Statistics Norway collects information from a sample of enterprises. The sample is sourced from the Virksomhets- og foretaksregisteret (VoF). VoF is Statistics Norway’s central registry for all legal enterprises and businesses in the Norwegian private and public sectors.
You must answer this survey even if there has been no activity in the enterprise during the reporting period.
Deadline for submission is the 25th of the following month, each quarter.
- 4th quarter 2023: January 25th, 2024
- 1st quarter 2024: April 25th, 2024
- 2nd quarter 2024: July 25th, 2024
- 3rd quarter 2024: October 25th, 2024
- 4th quarter 2024: January 25th, 2025
The duty to provide information, and the right to collect information: Statistics Act, Section 10
The right to impose a compulsory fine: Statistics Act, Section 20
The right to enforce the collection of a fine and demand payment for costs: Tax Administration Act
The right to appeal an administrative decision: Public Administration Act, Chapter VI
The legislation is available at The Lovdata Foundations website.
Do you have any questions?
Guidance - how to submit the survey
Below you can find frequently asked questions regarding the survey. If you don't find the information you are looking for, you can contact us on chat, e-mail or by phone. You can find contact information at the bottom of this page.
Questions:
Submitted forms and receipts are located under ‘Archive’ in the enterprise’s Altinn inbox.
If you wish to make corrections to a form that has already been submitted, retrieve the form under ‘Archive’ and click on the button ‘Create a new copy’.
After submission, you will receive a receipt number (beginning with the letters AR). This receipt can be sent to any chosen e-mail address.
Statistics Norway collects information from a sample of enterprises. The sample is retrieved from the Register of Legal Entities, Statistics Norway’s register of all Norwegian-registered legal entities in both the private and public sector.
In addition, the sample is based on a number of criteria. Furthermore, the need to achieve a certain degree of coverage within a particular industry will also have a large impact on the composition of the sample.
Statistics Norway does not grant extensions for this survey. If you do not respond within the deadline, you will automatically receive a reminder giving you a final deadline. For extraordinary cases, contact Statistics Norway.
In order for the statistics to be as accurate as possible, the information provided needs to be correct and complete. In addition, all enterprises that are selected to participate must respond. All types of non-response reduce the accuracy and hence the quality of the statistics.
The information is obtained under the provisions of Act no. 54 of 16 June 1989 relating to official statistics and Statistics Norway (the Statistics Act) section 2-2 (1), and a letter of delegation from the Ministry of Finance of 13 February 1990.
If you believe that you are not subject to the duty to provide information or that you are not legally permitted to provide information, you may appeal the order within 3 weeks. The right to appeal does not apply to the question of whether the duty to provide information is reasonable or necessary.
Pursuant to section 2-4 of the Statistics Act, all information is treated as confidential. Statistics Norway will use the information to prepare official statistics, and for other purposes such as research and public planning. The information will be stored and, where relevant, destroyed in a responsible manner.
Yes. There is no need to fill out the whole form in a single session. The form will store the information that has already been input.
Yes. Statistics Norway will send ordinary reminders along with the administrative decision to impose a compulsory fine to enterprises that have not answered the survey within the initial deadline. If data is submitted by the second and final deadline, the compulsory fine will be withdrawn. If an enterprise fails to meet the second deadline, the matter will be forwarded to the Norwegian National Collection Agency for further processing.
Pursuant to section 3-2 of the Statistics Act, a compulsory fine may be imposed as a one-off fine or a running fine. The fine will increase if the enterprise fails to provide complete information for several consecutive periods. In cases where an enterprise repeatedly fails to provide complete information over an extended period of time, a fixed compulsory fine may be imposed.
The duty to provide information means that, in some central statistical areas, Statistics Norway has the right to impose a compulsory fine on enterprises that do not complete the survey within the specified deadline. This survey is one of the central statistical areas. No financial compensation is given for answering the survey.
For more information see:
• The duty to provide information, and the right to collect information: Statistics Act, Section 2-2
• The right to impose a compulsory fine: Statistics Act, Section 2-3
• The right to enforce the collection of a fine and demand payment for costs: Tax Administration Act
• The right to appeal an administrative decision: Public Administration Act, Chapter VI
The information is to be reported electronically via Altinn. Enterprises can access the survey form in their Altinn inbox.
Note that the person answering the form must have the role necessary to access the enterprise’s Altinn inbox. If you do not have the necessary role, contact senior management, who will assign this to you.
For more information, refer to the guidelines ‘How to answer surveys in Altinn on behalf of an enterprise’ in the column at the right.