Vision 2020 for Statistical Classifications of Economic Activities and Products

Transcription

1 Vision 2020 for Statistical Classifications of Economic Activities and Products Item 6.4 of agenda Standards Working Group meeting 2017 DELCAMBRE Danny Eurostat, Unit B5

2 Introduction Vision 2020 In January 2017, a proposal with a Vision 2020 for statistical classifications was circulated to Member States Main elements of the proposal were : Improved search functionality based on a detailed alphabetical index that would make it possible to know where a product (good or service) is classified in any of the classifications of the system, even if the said product is not explicitly mentioned in the classification material (labels and explanatory notes) Improved navigation : navigating easily from one clasification to another Delineation of the content of classification categories : top-down approach where any category of an aggregated classification will be described using the categories of the more detailed classifications, thus providing a (possibly long) list of the products covered by these categories. Useful for drafting explanatory notes and constructing ad hoc alphabetical indexes (e.g. restricted to a specific classification) Automatic generation of correspondence tables : Researchers, data analysts and similar categories of users often need to establish relationships between classifications which are not interconnected via direct correspondence tables and we would like to make a tool that will meet their needs Assistance for the identification of the main activity of statistical units

3 Proposed vision Alphabetical index + NACE CPA PRODCOM + HS CN Detailed alphabetical index based on CN for goods and CPA for services = Granularity Correspondence tables Unique alphabetical index for all classifications in the system

4 Introduction Survey results A short survey questionnaire accompanied the proposal for gathering feedback from Member States Results of the survey were the following : Very useful Useful Not very useful Useless Augmented search functionality (alphabetical index) BE, BG, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IT, LT, NL, PT, RO, SI, SK, SV, UK AT CZ Improved navigation AT, BE, CH, DK, ES, FI, LT, SI, SK, SV, PT BG, CY, DE, FR, HR, HU, IT, NL, RO, UK CZ Delineation of the content of classification categories BG, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FR, LT, NL, SV AT, BE, HR, FI, HU, IT, PT, RO, SI, SK, UK CZ Construction of ad hoc correspondence tables BG, CY, DK, FR, LT, SK BE, DE, ES, HR, HU, IT, PT, RO, SI, UK AT, CH, NL CZ Assistance in the identification of the principal activity of statistical units BE, CY, ES, PT BG, DK, FI, FR, HR, HU, IT, LT, NL, RO, SI, SK, UK AT, CZ, DE, SV CH Nine countries (14 people) OK to actively participate in the project

5 Introduction In April 2017, meeting with Directorate TAXUD (Taxation and Customs Union) TAXUD has strong reservations concerning the alphabetical index : Management of CN is under the responsibility of DG TAXUD. Incorrect nomenclature code can result in loss of customs duties and related VAT (used in the calculation of the European Union's own resources) They want to maintain control over the CN. The proposed alphabetical index could end up with subjective classification decisions, because based on non legally binding material

6 Conclusion Considering the reservations of DG TAXUD concerning the alphabetical index, the vision 2020 for classifications has to be revised Hopefully DG TAXUD is presently developing a tool called "CLASS" that could provide a satisfactory proxy for the alphabetical index Considering the result of the survey questionnaire among questionnaires, it was decided to abandon the idea of a tool providing assistance in the identification of the main activity of statistical units Some requests have been expressed for new download files, especially using the Linked Open Data (LOD) technology

7 Conclusion Revised proposal will be made of the following elements: CLASS tool developed by DG TAXUD ( search tool in all legally binding information relating to the Combined Nomenclature ) Improved navigation Delineation of the content of classification categories Automatic generation of correspondence tables New download formats: e.g. RDF (resource description framework Linked Opend Data), xlxs, web services, persistent URIs. Classification decisions published in the Official Journal to be advertised to the MS using the NACE/CPA discussion forum Let's have a closer look at all this!

8 New proposal CLASS project State of the art Classification information scattered over different places depending on their nature: Official Journal of the European Union, Comitology register, Curia website, World Customs Organization, etc. (Taric, European Binding Tariff Information [EBTI] system, European Customs Inventory of Chemical Substances [ECICS], etc.). Solution Development of a Classification Information System ( CLASS ) with a consultation module: a single platform where all legally binding information relating to CN is centralised, possibility to search for any classification information relating to specific goods (using keywords, nomenclature code), or to any measure applicable from any date, in all the official languages.

9 New proposal CLASS project Estimated benefits improving the functioning of the Customs Union and of the internal market classification divergences should decline equal treatment of economic operators should be strengthened reducing the administrative burden for economic operators (Tariff classification of goods is nr. 12 among the most burdensome legislative acts, in particular for SMEs). "one-stop-shop" helping the customs administrations and the national statistical offices of the Member States limiting the time required to find and share the relevant information. Deadline : Q4 2018

10 CLASS project The user will be able to search free text within: - Classification Documents; - CN (& CNEN) Notes; - TARIC Information (Codes descriptions). 10

11 CLASS project The user will be able to search with specific Classification Document characteristics. The documents will have been imported by DG TAXUD. 11

12 CLASS project The user will be able to search with Keywords which are associated with Classification Documents 12

13 CLASS project The user will be able to search with specific Commodity Codes or even ranges. 13

14 CLASS project The user will view the matched information grouped by related Commodity Codes. 14

15 Pros and Cons Advantages Less burden on NSIs ( CLASS will be maintained by TAXUD and we will not have to build the alphabetical index ) Search tool based only on legal and official material Drawbacks CLASS is not as much integrated as the alphabetical index; users will first have to first perform a search in CLASS and then use RAMON to know where the product is classified in other classifications ( web services and similar tools could be considered to improve the situation ) Less flexibility than the alphabetical index ( e.g. for what concerns the management of synonyms )

16 New proposal Improved navigation For the time being, navigation is possible only within one given classification at a time. The only options proposed to users are browsing the hierarchical structure of the classifications and reading all information relating to this specific classification. The objective of this proposal is to allow an easy navigation from one classification to another, thus offering to users an improved navigation experience. Eventually, the objective would be to be able, for a given code of a specific classification, to display all related information in all or selected other classifications which are part of the integrated system of international classifications. For example, it could be possible to display on one page all information linked to NACE Rev. 2 code "Manufacture of other tanks, reservoirs and containers of metal", i.e. its explanatory notes, translations, possible rulings, and corresponding links in a series of classifications, such as ISIC, CPA, CPC, HS, CN, together with explanatory information taken from these related codes.

17 New proposal Category description Delineation of the content of classification categories The tool proposed here follows a top-down approach where any category of an aggregated classification will be described using the categories of the more detailed classifications, thus providing a ( possibly long ) list of the products covered by these categories. Useful for drafting of explanatory notes and identifying outliers. Such delineation of classification categories already exists for a few classifications but the production of such information requires manual intervention (using proprietary software) and is specific to each exercise. It is expected to automate this procedure.

18 New proposal Category description

19 New proposal Correspondence tables Construction of ad hoc correspondence tables Researchers, data analysts and similar categories of users often need to establish relationships between classifications which are not interconnected via direct correspondence tables. The objective of this tool will be to automatically generate such ad hoc correspondence tables, which, even though they will not be 100% reliable, will however provide useful inputs for further processing and save a lot of time for users who are not used to handle such information. Again, it is already possible to generate such correspondence tables manually but the outcome is never made publicly available via tools like RAMON because the information has not been validated by an established working group of experts.

20 New proposal Download formats New download formats It is proposed to extend the list of download formats and functionalities : CSV HTML XML Existing formats/functionalities + RDF XLS Web services Persistent URIs Proposed new

21 New proposal Classification decision New information about the Combined Nomenclature ( explanatory notes, classification decisions ) is published regularly in the Official Journal of the European Union. Example : It is proposed to advertise these decisions to the MS using the NACE/CPA discussion forum.

22 Questions What do you think about this new set-up? Did we forget something? Any questions? THANK YOU