Triennial Review of ‘INTRASTAT’ Published by: HM Revenue & Customs – Trade Statistics Cust. Services: Website: May 2010

Trade Statistics - Intrastat Triennial Review | May 2010 | 2 Background – What is INTRASTAT? A Monthly Survey…. INTRASTAT is a compulsory (under EU legislation) monthly survey of the trade in goods made between the UK and other European Union Member States. …completed by approx. 33k businesses… It is completed by all businesses whose EU Imports or EU Exports exceed a specified threshold (£270,000 for 2009). …used to produce statistics! INTRASTAT data is used to form part of the UK Overseas Trade Statistics (OTS) published by HMRC and EUROSTAT. The OTS is used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in the calculation of the Trade in Goods Statistics which are fed into the Balance of Payments. There are also many other uses of the statistics at Government, National, European and International level.

Trade Statistics - Intrastat Triennial Review | May 2010 | 3 What was the purpose of the review? To ensure INTRASTAT remains ‘cost-effective’ Conducting the INTRASTAT survey necessitates both time & financial costs to the Government and to businesses. The Triennial Review acts as a watchdog over these costs, ensuring that they do not escalate. To identify any improvements that can be made The Triennial Review establishes those areas of INTRASTAT that providers and users of trade data are satisfied with, and those they are not. Pointers for improvement of INTRASTAT can therefore be determined from the review. To act as a gateway for communication between HMRC and our Customers The Triennial Review provides customers with an opportunity to feedback praise, queries, and criticisms of INTRASTAT directly to HMRC.

Trade Statistics - Intrastat Triennial Review | May 2010 | 4 How was the review conducted? Questionnaires were sent… Postal Questionnaires were sent to: Data Providers (the businesses who take part in INTRASTAT) Data Users (those who take an active interest in the statistics produced) … to collect data… TRAIT DATA: Eg1. The company’s ‘Main economic area’ Eg2. The company’s ‘Number of employees’ OPINION DATA: Eg1. Ease in declaring trade Eg2. Satisfaction with the quality of the statistics

Trade Statistics - Intrastat Triennial Review | May 2010 | 5 Results of the review - Costs Costs reduced between 2005 and 2009: The costs of INTRASTAT to HMRC dropped £2.2million. The relative costs (at constant prices) of INTRASTAT to Data Providers dropped £900, Costs to HMRC Cost to Providers (2005 Prices) £ Millions

Trade Statistics - Intrastat Triennial Review | May 2010 | 6 Results of the review – Declaration Preference Online INTRASTAT submission was favoured over alternative methods: From analysing responses from Data Providers: 82% agreed that online submission improved time- saving (Compared to 46% in the 2005 survey). 48% agreed that it saved money – (Compared to 36% in the 2005 survey). 63% agreed that it offered security. 88% agreed that it eased the task of declaration completion.

Trade Statistics - Intrastat Triennial Review | May 2010 | 7 Results of the review – Access / Use of Data There is greater access to, and use of, free online data and a high level of satisfaction with both HMRC’s service and quality of statistics. From analysing responses from Data Users: 81% stated they used free data (Compared to only 31% in the 2005 survey). 71% of those who contacted HMRC to obtain trade data were satisfied with the service they received. 74% were satisfied with the quality of statistics produced by HMRC.

Trade Statistics - Intrastat Triennial Review | May 2010 | 8 Next Steps…. Improve the service to Data Providers: Further develop the INTRASTAT Online Submission System so that it provides a more reliable and robust online service. Increase the quality and use of the following HMRC services that are used to assist data providers with submitting declarations: The INTRASTAT Classification Nomenclature (ICN) on-line services ICN Classification Helpline Public Notice 60 Make Notice 60 exclusively online so customers have full access to up-to-date and complete INTRASTAT guidance.

Trade Statistics - Intrastat Triennial Review | May 2010 | 9 Next Steps (continued)…. Improve the service to Data Users: Increase the occurrence and visibility of the uktradeinfo helpdesk contact details on the uktradeinfo website. Investigate enabling the presentation and download of multiple year data in the uktradeinfo interactive tables. Take steps to improve user understanding of the data available to them by improving the metadata offered and the availability / linkage to other data products.

Thank you uktradeinfo Customer Services HM Revenue & Customs Alexander House, 3SC 21, Victoria Avenue Southend on Sea SS99 1AA Telephone no