Turnover index for transport, tourism and ICT

Turnover comprises total revenue from market sales of goods or services supplied to third parties. Turnover includes all duties and taxes on goods or services with the exception of the VAT invoiced by the unit vis-à-vis its customers and other similar deductible taxes directly linked to turnover. Turnover also includes all other charges (for example transport and packaging) passed on to the customer, even if these charges are listed separately in the invoice. Reduction in process, rebates and discounts as well as the value of returned packing must be deducted. Price reductions, rebates and bonuses conceded later to clients, for example at the end of the year, are not taken into account. Income classified as other operating income, financial income and extraordinary income in company accounts is excluded from turnover. Subsidies received from public authorities or the institutions of the European Union are also excluded.

Standard Industrial Classification (SIC2007)

Name: Turnover index for transport, tourism and ICT
Topic: Transport and tourism

Division for Structural Business Statistics

National level only

Frequency: Quarterly

Timeliness: The reference period is one quarter (i.e., 3 months). The index is published within 60 days after the end of the quarter. Figures should for a time be considered preliminary.

The index is reported to Eurostat immediately after release in Norway.

Primary data and compiled statistics are stored electronically in SAS files.

The aim of the statistics is to measure change in turnover among establishments in the transport, tourism and ICT industries according to EU regulations no. 1165/98 of May 19th 1998 and no. 1158/2005. Eurostat compiles similar statistics from other EEC-countries and publishes EEC-wide statistics.

Data have been collected since the first quarter of 2002 and the index was first published in June 2003. The reference year is 2010 (i.e., 2010=100).

Primary users of the statistics are public sector agencies (Central Bank of Norway, Departments, etc.), private sector agencies and various organisations within the transport, tourism and ICT industries. The index can for instance be used to analyse and monitor economic activity. At Statistics Norway the index is used by the Division for National accounts and for other research and analysis.

No external users have access to the statistics and analyses before they are published and accessible simultaneously for all users on ssb.no at 8 am. Prior to this, a minimum of three months' advance notice is given in the Statistics Release Calendar. This is one of Statistics Norway’s key principles for ensuring that all users are treated equally.

The turnover index is produced for the same industries as in the structural business statistics for transportation and storage , accommodation and food service activities , and information and communication .

The index is also used by the Division of National accounts to compile statistics.

The Statistics Act, Sections 2-1, 2-2, 2-3 and 3-2

The index is published according to EU regulations no. 1165/1998 and no. 1158/2005.

The population includes all establishments in Sections H: Transportation and storage , I: Accommodation and food service activities , and J Information and communication in the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC2007). Establishments in the public sector (sector codes 6100 and 6500) are not included.

The turnover index for transport, tourism and ICT is mainly calculated from data collected from the VAT register. These data are bimonthly, with six periods per year. The bimonthly data are converted into quarterly figures based on industry-specific information (for example number of working days, passengers or guest nights) in different months of the year.

Data for some industries are collected from other sources. Turnover from toll stations is exempt from VAT; data for SIC2007 52.213 Toll gate stations are therefore gathered directly from establishments in the industry. Data for SIC2007 49.1 Passenger rail transport, interurban, 49.2 Freight rail transport and 53.1 Postal activities under universal service obligation are also collected directly each quarter. For SIC2007 49.5 Transport via pipelines we use data released quarterly by the Divsion of National accounts .

No sampling. All units are included.

Statistics Norway receives bimonthly data from the Directorate of Taxes. Data are transmitted electronically, twice for each period. Figures are for a time preliminary and subject to revisions.

Data for SIC2007 52.213 Toll gate stations are collected each quarter directly from the establishments by telephone. Turnover from the enterprises in SIC2007 49.1 Passenger rail transport, interurban, 49.2 Freight rail transport and 53.1 Postal activities under universal service obligation are collected each quarter electronically. For SIC2007 49.5 Transport via pipelines we use production figures from Quarterly national accounts.

Controls are conducted at both macro and micro levels.

At a macro level, figures for each industry are compared to the corresponding period the previous year.

At a micro level, data from the Directorate of Taxes are checked for possible scanning errors. Subsequently, the establishments within each industry that contribute the most (in per cent) to the change in turnover are inspected. Establishments that have changed industries since the corresponding period the previous year are also checked. If necessary, establishments are contacted directly.

VAT units report their turnover to the Directorate of Taxes with the use of a VAT number. For establishments and enterprises that register under the same VAT number, turnover is distributed to each underlying unit based on data from the Central Register of Establishments and Enterprises. If the VAT unit is a single establishment enterprise, no estimation of turnover is required.

Due to the imposed deadline, the index is released before figures for the entire period has been collected. For instance, when figures for the first quarter are published, we only have data for the months of January and February and must therefore estimate the month of March. This estimation is carried out with the use of historical growth. Complete data for the first quarter is available upon publication of the second quarter.

Figures are subjected to calendar adjustment with the use of X-12-ARIMA. In this procedure, figures are adjusted for variations in the number of working days and for moving holidays.

Not relevant

The turnover index is released according to the directions given in the Statistics Act, section 2-6.

New business start-ups, bankruptcies and changes in industry classification may act to reduce comparability over time. The implementation of the new industry classification (SIC2007) may also have compromised comparability over time for some industries.

The total turnover reported by the VAT units might include revenue from transactions excluded from the definition of turnover, for instance sales of fixed assets or subsidies from public authorities.

Some enterprises are registered under the same VAT number in the VAT register (i.e., VAT units that submit turnover for multiple enterprises), which can be a problem for the statistics when the enterprises are registered in different industries or when they are located in different geographical areas. Another possible error is that the distribution of turnover among establishments belonging to one VAT unit is based on information that may be outdated.

In the event of non-responses from large enterprises, the tax office in the county municipality of the enterprise is contacted. Otherwise, turnover for non-responses is initially estimated based on the overall growth of the industry in question. If turnover is still missing upon final transmission of data from the Directorate of Taxes, non-responses are given a value of 0.

Not relevant

Data are collected from the VAT register. Reporting to the the Directorate of Taxes may be subject to delays. As a result, figures for the most recent quarters might be revised in subsequent releases.

A challenge for the index is that small businesses with turnover of less than NOK 1 million per year may apply to submit VAT returns annually (annual year-end returns). These VAT returns are submitted at the end of the year and subsequently distributed equally over the 6 periods. Annual returns in 2007 made up less than 1 per cent of the total turnover in the population and are thus unlikely to represent a a significant source of error.

The Central Register of Establishments and Enterprises is used both to define the population and to gather vital information about the units. Errors in this administrative register (delays in registration, incorrect unit characteristics etc.) may therefore contribute to uncertainty. The magnitude of this problem is difficult to estimate, but errors in administrative registers are unlikely to represent a significant source of statistical uncertainty or bias.

Not relevant