Obligation of statistical reporting

April is the month when nature wakes up, but also the statistical office in connection with the collection of statistical data. In this period, a deadline is set for the submission of most annual statistics of companies, which result from the statistical survey program of the Czech Republic and are set by State Statistical Service Act No. 89/1995 Coll., as amended. The reporting obligation of accounting units is published by decrees always in the autumn of the previous year and the given statistical surveys are carried out by the Czech Statistical Office, in short “CSO”.

How do I know they have selected me for statistical surveys?

Each accounting unit, which is selected for statistical surveys, is informed by the CSO via a data box or by official letter. It will find out in this announcement that it has become a respondent (reporting unit) and will be presented with the approximate number of reports that you will fill in a given year.

Why is my company chosen?

The criterion for submission of statistical reports by entities is its classification according to the Classification of Economic Activities (CZ-NACE), i.e. according to the predominant economic activity, its size and turnover, and then whether the specific survey is so-called exhaustive or selective set on based on mathematical-statistical methods. Thus, the company can be included in the statement "Monthly statement in trade and services", or in the statement "Annual statement of total labor costs". In addition, there are reports to be completed by all reporting agents, regardless of their sectoral affiliation, such as the report on waste or on fuel and energy consumption or the very frequent annual report of economic activities P5-01.

What to do if nothing comes into the data box?

You will find out the first information about your reporting obligation and which reports you have to fill in from the letter with the Notification on Reporting Obligation, which the statistical office sends to respondents at the beginning of calendar year. If I did not receive the letter or message, it is possible to check the obligation at any other time.

An overview of reports, including deadlines for their completion and contacts to the relevant CSO employees, can be found continuously after entering your identification (usually ID number) in the "Reports by ID number" application, which is available at www.czso.cz/vykazypodleico. Here, after entering the ID number of your company, you will see a list of required reports for individual years.

What are the statistical reports for?

You can ask yourself what the statistical reports, collected by the state, are used for. The provided data are used for GDP calculation and inflation rates, for forming of basis for economic policy-making, influence the Czech Republic's contributions to the EU and for drawing of subsidies from European funds. The Czech Republic also has an information obligation towards international organizations.

Does the entity have to participate in a survey?

Pursuant to Section 10 of Act No. 89/1995 Coll., everyone who is approached is obliged to fulfill his reporting obligation, which cannot be relieved. In the event of non-compliance, the subject risks a sanction of up to 100 thousand CZK for one statement.

How to send reports?

The Czech statistical office allows most statistical reports to be filled in electronically via the online application DANTE WEB danteweb.czso.cz, it is a fast way of data transfer with a built-in system of a number of checks of the logical correctness of data filling. The downside is that you have to remember the password you entered at the beginning, and if you lose it, the recovery process can be lengthy.

You can also use the interactive PDF form and after saving it to your computer, the completed report can be sent to the email address [email protected] or to the email of a contact person listed in a header of form. The disadvantage is that the form contains a limited number of inspections and in the event of a subsequent finding of an irregularity you can be contacted by CSO employee with a request for an explanation and a possible correction. Possible ways of filling in the report are described in more detail on the Czech statistical office’s website - How to fill in the reports.

What is the outlook for statistical surveys in the Czech Republic?

The state has planned measures to reduce the administration associated with reporting statistical data, in the following years some reports should be abolished, the limits for the obligation to report statistical data should be moved, or the scope of statistical surveys should be reduced and in the remaining cases new methods and assessments of existing procedures in order to propose further simplification.

For 2020, the Quarterly Report for Economic Entities in Selected Production Sectors (P 3-04) was abolished, it was replaced by the econometric model. According to estimates, the measure will bring savings of over CZK 41 million / year for 13,000 entrepreneurs.

A significant reduction in the annual survey on waste and secondary raw materials is planned for 2021 - Annual Report on Waste 5-01.

What can be said in conclusion?

Each economic entity may be requested to participate in a statistical survey of the Czech Statistical Office or a survey conducted by the Ministry and the Czech National Bank. An economic entity cannot refuse to participate in the state survey and there is a risk of sanction up to 100 thousand CZK for non-compliance with the reporting obligation.

Unfortunately, this obligation cannot be avoided and you have no other choice, you must take part in the statistical survey. But what to do if you don't have time to fill out these reports? Try to use the services of our accounting company, we will be happy to help you with filling of these documents, we have extensive experience with them.