Law on State Statistics Published: 2/12/2025 12:00 PM

Law on State Statistics

“Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” No. 54/1997, 21/2007, 51/2011, 104/2013, 42/2014, 192/2015, 27/16, 83/18, 220/18 and 31/20

Consolidated text (unofficial version) - prepared by the State Statistical Office

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

This Law shall regulate the organisation and the area of work of state statistics, the methodological and organisational bases of statistical surveys, the collection, processing, presentation, storage, protection and dissemination of statistical data.

Article 2

State statistics is an independent professional activity which, conducted on a scientific basis, provides users (legal and natural persons) with data on the economy, demography, social life, environmental protection and other areas.

Article 3

Certain terms used in this Law shall have the following meanings:

- “official statistical data of the Republic of Macedonia” shall mean data published by the State Statistical Office and authorised bodies, in accordance with the Programme of Statistical Surveys;

- “statistical survey” shall mean the process of preparing, collecting, processing, storing, archiving, analysis and dissemination of data on mass phenomena, on a scientific basis, covering the areas referred to in Article 2 of this Law;

- “reporting units” shall mean legal entities, natural persons, state administrative bodies and households which, in the frames of statistical surveys, provide data for statistical purposes only;

- ”statistical unit” shall mean the basic observation unit for which data are collected;

- “data set” shall mean registers established by law, records specified by law or by general regulations on the basis of law, databases and databanks maintained on the basis of public and other authorisations;

- “data user” shall mean all legal entities and natural persons that require statistical data;

- “Programme of Statistical Surveys” shall mean an act that establishes the statistical surveys for a multi-annual period in accordance with this Law;

- “dissemination of data” shall mean activities for presenting statistical data and metadata and providing users with access to data;

- “statistical registers” shall mean sets of data on the reporting units with specific content and form that are continuously updated from all relevant sources available and used exclusively for statistical purposes;

- “authorised bodies” shall mean and refer to: the State Statistical Office, the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia and other entities listed in the Programme of Statistical Survey, which in the collection, processing and dissemination of data apply statistical standards, methods and techniques;

- “holders of data sets” shall mean legal entities, state administrative or other bodies that maintain such data sets in accordance with special laws and that use them to determine the rights and obligations of legal and natural persons;

- “use for statistical purposes” shall mean the use of data exclusively for the development and production of official statistics;

- “confidential data” shall mean data that allow the direct or indirect identification of the reporting unit or statistical unit, thereby revealing individual information. The following shall be considered as confidential data:

1. identification data that allow direct identification of the legal entity, natural person or state administrative body, and pertaining to the title or the name and surname, the address and the unique identification number that is maintained in accordance with law,

2. individual data pertaining to a legal entity,

3. individual data pertaining to a natural person (personal data)

4. special categories of personal data in accordance with the Law on Protection of Personal Data, and

5. aggregate statistical data that allow indirect identification of the reporting unit;

- “direct identification” shall mean identification of a statistical unit through its identification data;

- “indirect identification” shall mean identification of a statistical unit in any way other than by direct identification.

Article 4

The activities of state statistics shall be performed according to the principles of professional independence, impartiality, objectivity, reliability, statistical confidentiality and cost-effectiveness.

Article 4-a

The principles referred to in Article 4 of this Law shall have the following meaning:

- “professional independence” shall mean that matters of official statistics must be carried out based on expert and scientific methods and findings, and must be protected from any kind of influence, as well as the timing and content of all forms of dissemination,

- “neutrality” shall mean that the methods and definitions of collecting, processing and disseminating statistical data must be established in a professional manner, unaffected by any kind of influence, and all users must be treated equally,

- “objectivity” shall mean that statistics must be developed, produced and disseminated in a systematic, reliable and impartial manner, by implementing professional and ethical standards, and the policies and practices used are transparent to users and providers of data,

- “reliability” shall mean that statistics measure and describe reality in an accurate and consistent manner, by applying scientific criteria for selection of sources, methods and procedures,

- “statistical confidentiality” shall mean that data collected from reporting units through statistical surveys or indirectly, from administrative or other sources, are confidential and shall be used for statistical purposes only, which prohibits the use of data for non-statistical purposes and their unlawful disclosure,

- “cost-effectiveness” shall mean that the costs of production of official statistics should be proportional to the importance of the results and expected benefits, at the same time minimising the burden on reporting units and achieving optimal use of existing resources.

Article 4-b

The State Statistical Office and other authorised bodies shall develop, produce and disseminate statistics in accordance with the following quality criteria: relevance, accuracy, timeliness, punctuality, accessibility and clarity, coherence and comparability.

Article 4-c

The criteria referred to in Article 4-b of this Law shall have the following meaning:

- “relevance” shall mean the extent to which statistics meet current and potential user needs,

- “accuracy” shall mean the degree of closeness of statistical calculations to real values,

- “timeliness” shall mean the period between the occurrence of an event and publication of information describing the event,

- “punctuality” shall mean the publication of data in accordance with the Advance Release Calendar.

- “accessibility and clarity” shall mean that official statistics must be presented in a clear and understandable manner, disseminated adequately, made available and accessible on an impartial basis and accompanied by relevant metadata,

- “coherence and comparability” shall mean that official statistics must be consistent and comparable over time and between regions and countries, with the possibility of combining and making joint use of related data from different sources.

The quality criteria in Paragraph 1 of this Article shall be applied in keeping with the European regulations for different statistical areas regarding the structure and periodicity for preparation of quality reports.

II. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF STATE STATISTICS

Article 5

The basic tasks in conducting the activities of state statistics shall be performed by the State Statistical Office (hereinafter: the Office) by carrying out statistical surveys in cooperation with the reporting units and by obtaining data from the holders of data sets.

Statistical surveys shall also be conducted by:

- the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia and

- other entities listed in the Programme of Statistical Surveys (hereinafter: authorised bodies).

The statistical surveys conducted by authorised bodies referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall be determined in the Programme of Statistical Surveys.

Article 6

While conducting statistical surveys in accordance with the Programme of Statistical Surveys (hereinafter: the Programme), the authorised bodies shall perform the following tasks:

- prepare the methodological bases for statistical survey, in accordance with Articles 14 and 15 of this Law,

- prepare the instruments for execution of the survey (methodologies, guidelines, forms, etc.)

- process and disseminate official statistical data obtained from statistical surveys, and

- perform other tasks prescribed by this Law.

1. State Statistical Office

Article 7

The Office shall be the coordinator of state statistics within the statistical system of the Republic of Macedonia.

The Office shall be an independent, professional, administrative organisation with legal personality and powers established by this Law and other laws.

The Office shall organise regional offices on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia.

The number of regional offices shall be determined by an act for the organisation and operation of the Office.

Article 8

Within its powers, the Office shall perform the following professional activities:

- coordinate the activities of state statistics,

- prepare and prescribe the instruments for statistical surveys (methodologies, guidelines, forms, etc.),

- prepare national statistical standards,

- collect and process statistical data,

- analyse statistical data, prepare statistical forecasts, trends and models,

- meet international obligations in the field of statistics,

- determine the needs for statistical data,

- store and disseminate statistical data,

- coordinate the transmission of statistical data to international organisations,

- cooperate with authorised bodies performing statistical surveys in the field of state statistics within their competence,

- give opinion to authorised bodies on the methodological bases in accordance with Article 15 of this Law,

- give opinion when introducing new and improving existing data sets that can be a source of information for state statistics, in accordance with Article 24-b of this Law,

- prescribe organisational and technical measures to protect confidential data

- give initiatives and suggestions for improving the contents of existing and new data sets which in accordance with the law and the Programme are used for statistical surveys,

- provide services in the field of statistics for users, at their request,

- establish, keep and maintain statistical data sets,

- independently and in cooperation with other authorised bodies, implement projects in the field of state statistics,

- supervise the implementation of the provisions of this Law,

- popularise statistics, and

- perform other tasks prescribed by this Law and other laws.

Article 9

The Office shall be headed by a Director, appointed and dismissed by the Government of the Republic of Macedonia for a period of four years, with the right to be reappointed.

The Director of the Office shall have a Deputy Director, appointed and dismissed by the Government of the Republic of Macedonia for a period of four years.

The Director and Deputy Director shall be appointed upon a public announcement for election, published in three daily newspapers issued on the entire territory of the Republic of Macedonia, one of which is issued in a language spoken by at least 20% of citizens speaking an official language other than Macedonian.

A person may be appointed a Director or Deputy Director if they meet the following requirements:

1. be a citizen of the Republic of Macedonia;

2. have not been prohibited by a final court judgment from engaging in a profession, activity or duty;

3. have completed studies of at least 240 ECTS credits or VII/1 degree of education;

4. have at least five years of professional experience;

5. have one of the following internationally recognised certificates of active knowledge of English language, not older than five years:

- TOEFL IBT - at least 74 points,

- IELTS - at least 6 points,

- ILEC (Cambridge English: Legal) - at least B2 level,

- FCE - (Cambridge English: First) - passed,

- BULATS - at least 60 points or

- APTIS - at least B2 level.

6. hold a certificate for completed psychological test and test of integrity.

The term of office of the Director or Deputy Director may be terminated by dismissal or death.

The Director or Deputy Director may be dismissed:

- if they so request,

- if the are convicted of a crime to an unconditional prison sentence of at least six months, and

- in case of unprofessional, biased and dishonest performance of functions and responsibilities entrusted by law.

Article 9-a

The Director of the Office shall be responsible for deciding on matters related to professional and methodological issues of state statistics, and in particular:

- the content and methodology of statistical activities and

- the scope and type of data collected and disseminated on the basis of the Programme.

The Director of the Office shall have the right to make a public statement in case of misinterpretation or misuse of statistical data.

The Director shall have an obligation to protect the professional credibility of state statistics from unprofessional influence of any kind.

2. Statistical Council of the Republic of Macedonia

Article 10

The Statistical Council of the Republic of Macedonia (hereinafter: Council) shall be established as an expert advisory body for state statistics.

Article 11

The Council shall be composed of a President and 13 members appointed and dismissed by the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia. The President and the other members shall be representatives of:

- Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia from the ranks of employees, with an occupation of a State Adviser at least - one member

- Ministry of Finance - one member

- National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia - one member

- Association of the Units of Local Self-Government - two members

- Economic and Social Council - one member,

- non-governmental organisations - one member

- chambers of commerce - three members and

- scientific institutions - three members.

The Director of the Office shall be an ex officio member of the Council. Members of the Council shall be appointed for a term of four years. The Office shall perform administrative and technical tasks for the Council. The financial means necessary for operation of the Council shall be provided from the funds of the Budget of the Republic of Macedonia allocated to the State Statistical Office.

Article 12

The Council shall perform the following duties:

- discuss starting points for the Programme;

- give opinion on the proposal for adopting the Programme;

- make proposals to the Office for amendments to the Programme;

- give opinion on the proposed amendments to the Programme;

- give opinion on the Annual Report of the Office on the implementation of the Programme;

- give opinions and proposals for legislation and other regulations in the field of state statistics;

- propose modernisation and rationalisation of state statistics;

- propose promotion of international cooperation in the field of statistics;

- for its work, the Council shall submit an Annual Report to the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia and

- adopts Rules of Procedure for its work.

Article 13

The Director may establish committees for specific areas (hereinafter: Committee).

The committees referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be composed of professionals who provide expert assistance in the development of statistical methodologies, nomenclatures, standards, etc.

3. Coordination Committee

Article 13-a

A Coordination Committee shall be established as an expert, coordinating and advisory body for coordination of state statistics.

Article 13-b

The Coordination Committee shall be composed of a President and eight members. The President and the members of the Coordination Committee, appointed and dismissed by the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, shall be representatives of the authorised bodies for carrying out statistical surveys, from the ranks of managing officers responsible for conducting statistical surveys, as follows:

- State Statistical Office - one member,

- Ministry of Finance - one member,

- Ministry of Interior - one member,

- Ministry of Justice - one member,

- Pension and Disability Insurance Fund of Macedonia - one member,

- Employment Agency of the Republic of Macedonia - one member,

- Institute of Public Health of the Republic of Macedonia - one member and

- Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy - Hydrometeorological Service - one member.

One representative of the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia, from the ranks of managing officers responsible for conducting statistical surveys, shall also be a member of the Coordination Committee.

The Director of the Office shall be an ex officio President of the Coordination Committee.

Members of the Committee shall be appointed for a term of four years. The Office shall perform administrative and technical tasks for the Coordination Committee.

Article 13-c

The Coordination Committee shall perform the following duties:

- support the work and activities related to the production of official statistics within the national statistical system;

- coordinate and align the activities between the authorised bodies, related to the achievement of the strategic goals for further development of official statistics and the national statistical system as a whole;

- give suggestions and proposals on the methodological bases for the statistical surveys of the Office and authorised bodies;

- strengthen the direct cooperation between the Office and the authorised bodies;

- monitor the implementation of the EU acquis in the field of statistics;

- build a uniform approach in interpreting the principles of the European Statistics Code of Practice, relevant to the authorised bodies, and define the manner of assessing the level of compliance; - monitor the implementation and compliance of state statistics with the European Statistics Code of Practice;

- make proposals to the Office for establishing joint working groups for expert-methodological and IT coordination between the Office and the authorised bodies;

- promote mutual projects and training for employees working on statistical surveys;

- strengthen the identity of the national statistical system;

- give directions and proposals for strategic partnerships for improvement of the statistical system;

- for its work, the Committee shall submit an Annual Report to the Government of the Republic of Macedonia and

- adopts Rules of Procedure for its work.

III. METHODOLOGICAL BASES FOR COLLECTING DATA IN STATISTICAL SURVEYS

Article 14

The methodological bases for collecting data in statistical surveys shall include:

- selection of reporting units;

- required content of statistical forms;

- definitions and standards to be applied in conducting statistical surveys and

- obligation to provide the required data.

Article 15

The methodological bases for collecting data in statistical surveys in accordance with the Programme shall be established by the Office.

As an exception to paragraph 1 of this Article, after having obtained the opinion of the Office, the authorised bodies shall determine the methodological bases for collecting data in statistical surveys for which they are authorised in accordance with the Programme.

The Office shall, within 15 days after receipt of the request, give its opinion concerning the proposed methodological bases by the authorised bodies.

If no opinion is given within the time limit referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, the Office shall be deemed to have given a positive opinion.

In case of a negative opinion on the methodological bases, the Office shall inform the Government of the Republic of Macedonia.

Articles 16 and 17 shall be deleted

Article 18

When carrying out statistical surveys, uniform standards shall be applied, covering classifications and nomenclatures.

The standards referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be determined by the Government of Republic of Macedonia and published in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”.

Article 19 shall be deleted

IV.PROGRAMME OF STATISTICAL SURVEYS

Article 20

The Programme of Statistical Surveys shall be adopted by the Government of Republic of Macedonia.

The motion for the adoption of the Programme shall be prepared by the Office in cooperation with the authorised bodies.

The Programme shall be adopted for a period of five years, and it may be amended annually.

The Programme shall be published in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”.

Article 21

As coordinator of state statistics, the Office shall submit an Annual Report on the implementation of the Programme to the Government of the Republic of Macedonia by 31 May of the current year for the previous year.

Authorised bodies are required to submit data to the Office for preparing the Annual Report by 31 March of the current year for the previous year.

Article 22

The Programme shall establish the:

- identification number of the survey

- name of the statistical survey,

- periodicity of the statistical survey,

- reporting units,

- summary of the statistical survey,

- method and manner of data collection,

- territorial level of data publication

- deadline for data publication,

- deadline for review, and

- international standards and regulations.

Article 23

The execution of the Census of Population, Households and Dwellings and the Census of Agriculture shall be regulated by separate laws.

V. DATA SETS

Article 24

To rationalise the implementation of the Programme and to meet other requirements in accordance with this Law, the Office shall use data from the data sets.

Article 24-a

Data sets and registers shall contain:

- identification data

- units of the data sets or units of the registers,

- methodologies of operation and maintenance

- linking functions

- bases of data and information protection, and

- data units of data files or the registry.

Article 24-b

Holders of data sets, prior to establishing or amending data sets, are obliged to obtain a written opinion from the Office.

In the cases referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the Office shall give an opinion within 15 days of receipt of the request.

If no opinion is given within the time limit referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, the Office shall be deemed to have given a positive opinion.

In case of a negative opinion which is not accepted by the holder of the data set, the Office shall inform the Government of the Republic of Macedonia.

Article 25

Data sets can be used as data sources for statistical surveys conducted by the Office, provided that data protection is ensured in accordance with law.

In maintaining data sets used for statistical surveys, the holders of data sets apply uniform standards (classifications and nomenclatures).

Holders of data sets determined by law shall have an obligation to provide the Office with data that are contained in the data sets and that are necessary for the implementation of statistical surveys.

After obtaining data from other data sets, the Office shall arrange, store and keep these data in its data sets.

VI. STATISTICAL REGISTERS

Article 25-a

The Office shall use data from data sets, censuses, surveys and statistical data collected by observation and monitoring, for organising and maintaining statistical registers.

The Office shall have the right to adjust the data obtained from the data sets in order to harmonise them with the definitions and standards used for the statistical registers it maintains.

Article 25-b shall be deleted

Article 25-c

Data from statistical registers shall be used exclusively for statistical purposes.

Statistical purpose in terms of paragraph 1 of this Article shall mean use of data from statistical registers for conducting statistical surveys, and publication of statistical data.

VII. DATA COLLECTION, PROCESSING AND STORAGE

Article 26

Legal entities and state administrative bodies that are reporting units shall be required to provide data for the statistical surveys conducted by the Office in a predefined format in accordance with the Programme, free of charge.

Article 27

Before data collection, the Office and authorised bodies shall inform the reporting units of the following:

- legal basis for data collection;

- purpose for which data are collected;

- name of the authorised body that will collect and process data;

- data protection;

- scope and method of data collection;

- obligation to provide data.

Article 28

The predefined format for collecting data with the statistical survey shall contain:

- legal basis for carrying out the survey;

- name of the authorised body that is responsible for conducting the statistical survey;

- title and content of the statistical survey

- obligation for data protection.

Article 29

The Director of the Office shall issue written authorisation to the persons (interviewers, assessors, enumerators, etc.) who collect data directly from the reporting units, and to the persons who perform control of data from the reporting units.

The written authorisation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall contain the following information: name and surname of the person, address, name of the statistical survey for which they are authorised to collect or verify data, responsibility for data protection and period of validity of the authorisation.

The written authorisation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be valid only with ID, and the authorised person is obliged, before collecting or controlling statistical data, to present the authorisation to the reporting unit.

Article 30

Legal entities and state administrative bodies that are reporting units according to the Programme are required to submit to the Office and authorised bodies with complete and accurate data within the specified deadlines.

If data are not submitted at all, not submitted within the specified time limits, or if the data are incomplete and inaccurate, the reporting units are obliged to submit or amend the data within a specified period, after receiving a written notice from the Office and the authorised bodies.

The written notice referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall be delivered to the reporting unit by the Office and the authorised bodies within ten days of determining that data have not been submitted at all, not submitted within the specified time limits, or that the submitted data are incomplete and inaccurate.

If the reporting unit does not comply with the written notice within the prescribed period, the Office shall, within 15 days, initiate a procedure for supervision of the reporting unit.

Article 31

In cases where it is necessary to assess the methodology and quality of the source of data needed for statistical surveys or for census purposes, the Office and the authorised bodies may conduct pilot surveys even when such surveys are not envisaged in the Programme.

Article 32

Data collected in accordance with the Programme shall be stored at the Office and at the authorised bodies in compliance with the prescribed norms and standards.

The original materials through which data have been obtained from reporting units in accordance with the Programme shall be stored for time periods necessary for achieving the purpose for which they have been collected.

The Director of the Office or the manager of the authorised body shall determine the time frames of paragraph 2 of this Law for the statistical surveys within their competence.

Article 33

Official statistical data obtained from statistical surveys, determined by the Programme, shall be stored permanently as aggregate data in a manner and procedure prescribed by the Director of the Office or by the manager of the authorised body within their competence.

VIII. DATA PROTECTION

Article 34

The Office and the authorised bodies may collect confidential data for statistical purposes for the surveys determined by the Programme.

Article 35

Individual data may be used only for statistical purposes as determined by the Programme and for other purposes in accordance with this Law. Individually, these data may not be compiled or placed in other data sets that are used for non-statistical purposes.

Article 35-a shall be deleted

Article 36

In cases where individual data are collected directly from the reporting units, they shall be informed of the data referred to in Article 27 of this Law.

Article 37

Special categories of personal data processed for statistical purposes shall be collected in a form that does not allow identification of the person concerned.

As an exception to paragraph 1 of this Article, if the processing of special categories of personal data requires identification of the person concerned, then adequate protection shall be ensured including separation of identification data while still in the phase of data collecting, unless this is clearly unreasonable or impractical.

The unique identification number of the citizen may be used for statistical purposes in the phase of collecting, processing and control of personal data contained in the statistical registers.

During collection, processing and control of personal data referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, the Office shall ensure that the unique identification number of the citizen is not unnecessarily visible, printed or taken from statistical registers.

Article 38

All confidential data collected for statistical purposes shall be subject to protection under the law.

Article 39

Persons employed at the Office and at the authorised bodies for a definite or indefinite period of time, as well as persons engaged in data collection on the basis of work contracts or those who during their work have access to confidential data, shall have an obligation to treat as confidential and not disclose these data during and after the termination of their employment or work contract engagement.

Persons referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, before gaining access to confidential data, shall sign a statement on the protection of statistical confidentiality, by means of which they are informed about their responsibilities with respect to data protection.

Article 40

After processing, individual data collected and processed for statistical purposes shall be stored and kept until the publication of official statistics.

As an exception to paragraph 1 of this Article, data may be stored for longer periods of time, in accordance with Article 32, paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Law.

Article 41

The Office and authorised bodies referred to in Article 6 of this Law may, upon written request, give individual data without identification data on the reporting unit, only to registered research organisations and registered individual researchers for scientific and research purposes, if the user ensures all protection measures prescribed by law and other regulations.

The written request referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall include: status of the user, purpose of data use, data protection, project description, date of completion of the activity, manner and time of data publication.

To use the data from paragraph 1 of this Article, the data user shall enter into a separate agreement based on which the user is obliged to use the data for the purpose stated in the request, not disclose or make the data available to unauthorised persons, and destroy the data after use.

The cost of preparing data shall be borne by the users referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

The Office and authorised bodies shall keep records of the users referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, and of the purpose for which statistical data are given for use.

The form, content and manner of keeping user records shall be prescribed by the Director of the Office or the manager of the authorised body.

The specific conditions and manner of using individual data shall be prescribed by the Director of the Office or the manager of the authorised body.

Article 42

Official statistics shall be published provided they do not contain confidential data.

As an exception to paragraph 1 of this Article, confidential data without direct identification collected for statistical purposes may be published and disseminated in the following cases:

- there is written consent from the statistical unit the data refer to,

- data are taken from the publicly available data sets, and

- data are published by the statistical unit in accordance with law.

The Office may publish confidential data without direct identification regarding import and export, which allow indirect identification of the statistical unit, provided it is not prohibited by the statistical unit.

The written consent referred to in paragraph 2 indent 1 of this Article may be withdrawn at any time without explanation.

Article 43

To ensure the protection of confidential data collected for statistical purposes, measures shall be taken against unauthorised access, transmission or any unauthorised processing, as well as measures to prevent the destruction, loss, modification, misuse or unauthorised use of data.

The measures and techniques to ensure the protection of data collected in accordance with the Programme shall be prescribed by the Director of the Office or the manager of the authorised body.

IX. DATA DISSEMINATION

Article 44

Official statistical data published in accordance with the Programme shall be public and available to anyone, and shall be published by the Office and the authorised bodies.

The authorised bodies shall submit to the Office a copy of the official statistical data they publish and that are obtained from statistical surveys under the Programme.

The integral publications from the statistical surveys envisaged in the Programme shall be published by the Office.

The exchange of data collected for statistical purposes between the Office and the authorised bodies shall be based on agreement.

The Office and the authorised bodies shall have an obligation to publish reference metadata according to a standardised structure along with the disseminated data.

Article 45

The Office and the authorised bodies shall prepare an Advance Release Calendar for publication of official statistics and update it at the beginning of each quarter.

The Office and the authorised bodies shall have an obligation to publish information in accordance with the Calendar of paragraph 1 of this Article and to inform data users of any delay.

The Calendar of paragraph 1 of this Article shall contain the name of the published data and the date of their publication, and it shall be published on the web sites of the Office and the authorised bodies.

Articles 46 and 47 shall be deleted

Article 48

The prices of publication materials and the costs for preparation of data at the request of domestic and foreign users shall be determined by the Office and the authorised bodies.

The prices of publication materials shall be published by the Office and the authorised bodies on their web sites.

Article 48-a

Within the system of official statistics the Office shall have a coordinating role in the frames of international statistical cooperation.

In performing international obligations, the Office, in cooperation with other authorised bodies, must ensure comparability of data with other European countries, observe and apply international standards including the European Statistics Code of Practice, and actively participate in the development of official statistics at the international level.

X. INTERNATIONAL STATISTICAL COOPERATION

Article 49

In meeting international obligations, the Office shall, in cooperation with authorised bodies in the field of statistics, collaborate, liaise and exchange information with other countries and international organisations.

A copy of the data submitted by authorised bodies within the international statistical cooperation shall also be provided to the Office.

As an exception to paragraph 2 of this Article, if the data provided by authorised bodies need to be harmonised with international statistical norms and standards, prior approval shall be required from the Office.

In performing the obligations referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the Office and the authorised bodies shall cooperate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and if necessary, with other state bodies.

Article 49-a

The Office and the authorised bodies may, upon written request, provide individual data without identification data on the reporting unit to international statistical organisations and institutions that produce statistics from other countries.

Any further transmission of individual data without identification data on the reporting unit provided in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article must be approved by the Office.

Article 49-b

The Office and other authorised bodies may transmit individual data without identification data to international statistical organisations and institutions that produce statistics from other countries for statistical purposes and for research purposes, provided that all measures are taken for the protection and transmission of data in accordance with law.

Article 50

To perform its tasks, the Office may join international organisations and cooperate with them, upon prior approval of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia.

Funds to cover the membership fee in the cases of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be provided from the Budget of the Republic of Macedonia.

Article 51

International statistical cooperation is achieved through:

- preparation of statistical data in accordance with international and inter-state agreements the Republic of Macedonia has signed and accepted;

- membership and cooperation with international and regional organisations and associations;

- participation in the preparation of international publications;

- participation in international projects;

- cooperation with statistical institutions of other countries in the field of statistics and

- preparation and provision of statistical data at the request of foreign users.

Article 52

The provisions of this Law and the Law on Protection of Personal Data shall apply with respect to data protection in international statistical cooperation.

XI. FUNDING OF STATE STATISTICS

Article 53

Funds for implementation of the Programme shall be provided from the Budget of the Republic of Macedonia and from other sources in accordance with law.

The revenues generated from the activities of state statistics shall be paid to separate accounts of the bodies performing activities in the field of statistics.

XI-a SUPERVISION

Article 53-a

The Office shall supervise the work of the respondents regarding the obligation to submit complete and accurate data within the established deadlines.

Article 53-b

The provisions of the Law on General Administrative Procedure and the Law on Inspection Supervision shall apply in the procedure for supervision, unless otherwise stipulated by this Law.

Article 53-c

Supervision over the implementation and enforcement of this Law and other regulations in the field of state statistics shall be performed by authorised persons for supervision from the ranks of employees of the Office (hereinafter: authorised person).

The authorised person shall perform supervisory functions in an organisational unit of the Office.

The authorised person shall, besides meeting the general terms of employment of civil servants established by law, have a university degree and relevant work experience of at least three years.

Article 53-d

During the supervision, the authorised person shall present the individual authorisation for supervision issued by the Director of the Office.

For the purpose of supervision, the authorised person may:

- enter the business premises of the subject of surveillance,

- inspect the financial, accounting and other documentation of the subject of surveillance and request copies of documents and

- request verbal or written explanation regarding the documentation.

Article 53-e

After completing the supervision the authorised person shall prepare a report of factual findings. The report shall be submitted to the subject of supervision within 15 days of completion of the supervision.

The subject of supervision may submit comments within eight days of receipt of the report.

After expiry of the period referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, the authorised person shall draft a decision determining the measures and deadlines for removing the deficiencies found during the supervision.

With the decision referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the authorised person shall determine the appropriate measures and activities that need to be taken by the subject of surveillance.

If no violations of regulations are identified during the supervision or the violations are eliminated during the supervision, the authorised person shall, instead of a decision, make a conclusion to stop the supervision procedure, against which no legal remedy shall be allowed.

Article 53-f

The decision of the authorised person may be appealed within eight days of receipt of the decision.

The appeal against the decision of the authorised person shall be considered by a special committee consisting of a President and two members appointed by the Director of the Office.

The committee referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall make a decision within 15 days of receipt of the appeal.

Article 53-g

If the supervision by the Office determines a violation of those referred to in Articles 54 to 58 of this Law, a settlement procedure shall be initiated with the offender before submitting a request to initiate legal proceedings in accordance with the Law on Misdemeanours.

XII. PENALTY PROVISIONS

Article 54

A fine of EUR 500 to 1000 in MKD equivalent shall be imposed on a legal entity that does not have the status of a company for failure to provide the Office or the authorised body with the required data in accordance with Article 30 of this Law.

A fine of EUR 100 to 200 in MKD equivalent shall be imposed on the responsible person of the legal entity or the officer of the state administrative body for the violation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

Article 54-a

A fine of EUR 500 to 1000 in MKD equivalent shall be imposed on a legal entity that does not have the status of a company for failure to provide the Office or the authorised body with complete and accurate data in accordance with Article 30 of this Law.

Article 54-b

A fine of EUR 500 to 1000 in MKD equivalent shall be imposed on a legal entity that does not have the status of a company for failure to provide the Office or the authorised body with data within the prescribed period referred to in Article 30 of this Law.

Article 54-c

For the violation committed by a company that fails to provide the Office or the authorised body with the required data in accordance with Article 30 of this Law, the following fines shall be imposed:

- EUR 250 to 500 in MKD equivalent for the legal entity – micro-sized enterprise.

- EUR 500 to 1000 in MKD equivalent for the legal entity – small-sized enterprise.

- EUR 1000 to 2000 in MKD equivalent for the legal entity – medium-sized enterprise.

- EUR 2000 to 5000 in MKD equivalent for the legal entity – large-sized enterprise.

For the violation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the following fines shall be imposed:

- EUR 50 to 100 in MKD equivalent for the responsible person of the legal entity – micro-sized enterprise.

- EUR 100 to 150 in MKD equivalent for the responsible person of the legal entity – small-sized enterprise.

- EUR 150 to 250 in MKD equivalent for the responsible person of the legal entity – medium-sized enterprise.

- EUR 250 to 500 in MKD equivalent for the responsible person of the legal entity – large-sized enterprise.

Article 54-d

For the violation committed by a company that fails to provide the Office or the authorised body with complete and accurate data in accordance with Article 30 of this Law, the following fines shall be imposed: