Monthly Report on International Trade in Goods Reference Metadata in Euro SDMX Metadata Structure Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina
	1. Contact
	2. Metadata update
	3. Statistical presentation
	4. Unit of measure
	5. Reference period
	6. Institutional mandate
	7. Confidentiality
	8. Release policy
	9.  Frequency of dissemination
	10. Accessibility and clarity
	11. Quality management
	12. Relevance
	13. Accuracy and reliability
	14. Timeliness and punctuality
	15. Coherence and comparability
	16. Cost and burden
	17. Data revision
	18. Statistical processing
	19. Comment
	1. Contact
	1.1. Contact organisation	AGENCY FOR STATISTICS OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
	1.2. Contact organisation unit	Sector for Economic Statistics - Department for International Trade Statistics
	1.3. Contact name	a) Goran Slatinšek b) Adisa Čubro
	1.4. Contact person function	a) Head of Department for International Trade Statistics b) Senior adviser for calculation of indices
	1.5. Contact mail address	Zelenih beretki 26, 71 000, Sarajevo
	1.6. Contact email address	goran.slatinsek@bhas.gov.ba adisa.cubro@bhas.gov.ba
	1.7. Contact phone number	+387 33 911 965   +387 33 911 959
	1.8. Contact fax number	+387 33 220 622
	2. Metadata update
	2.1. Metadata last certified	31.08.2021.
	2.2. Metadata last posted	31.08.2021.
	2.3. Metadata last update	31.08.2021.
	3. Statistical presentation
	3.1. Data description	BiH international trade in goods statistics measure the value and quantity of goods traded between BiH and other countries. The following main data dimensions are produced and disseminated: • trade flow (export/import), • period (month/year), • partner country (coutry of origin of goods for imports and country of final destination of goods for exports), • product according to relevant classification, • value according to relevant currency, • quantity.
	3.2. Classification system	• Customs Tariff of BiH (in line with Harmonized System and Combined Nomenclature) • Standard International Trade Classification (SITC rev.4) • BiH Classification of Products by Activitiy 2010 (in line with CPA 2008) • Country classification Geonomenclature
	3.3. Sector coverage	BiH international trade in goods statistics cover all goods entering (imports) or leaving (exports) the statistical territories of BiH. The statistical territory of BiH corresponds to its customs territory.
	3.4. Statistical concepts and definitons	Export of goods is a flow in which goods are physically leaving the custom territory of BiH. Import of goods is a flow in which goods are physically entering the territory of BiH. Partner country is a country of origin of goods for imports and a country of final destination of goods for exports. Country of origin of goods is a country in which the goods are produced. Country of final destination of goods is a country where goods are to be delivered. Goods are all movable physical goods. Goods are primarily classified by commodity code as set out in the Customs Tariff of BiH. Customs Tariff of BiH is in line with Harmonized system and Combined Nomenclature. Eurostat's correspondence tables enable transposition of data/codes from Customs Tariff of BiH to data/codes from other classifications of products. Statistical value is a value of goods according to the FOB parity for export and CIF parity for import. Statistical value for export (FOB-Free on Board) is calculated as follows: • if a contracted place of delivery is abroad, invoice value is decreased for transport, insurance and delivery costs from the BiH borders to the place of delivery, • if a contracted place of delivery is in BiH, value from invoice is increased for transport, insurance and delivery costs from the delivery place in BiH to the BiH border. Statistical value for import (CIF – Cost, Insurance, Freight) is calculated as follows: • if a contracted place of delivery of goods is abroad, invoice value is increased for transport, insurance and delivery costs from the place of delivery to the BiH border, • if a contracted place of delivery of goods is in BiH, invoice value is decreased for transport, insurance and delivery costs from the BiH border to the delivery place in BiH. Quantity of goods represents net weight of goods in kilograms of a quantity expressed in some of the supplementary units of measurement.
	3.5. Statistical unit	Observation unit in BiH international trade in goods statistics is any legal and natural person which exports or imports goods i. e. lodges a sigle adminstrative document (customs declaration) to the Indirect Taxation Authority (Customs).
	3.6. Statistical population	BiH international trade in goods includes all goods which add or subtract from the stock of material resources of BiH by entering (imports) or leaving (exports) its economic territory including goods for processing. Information on the trade goods of BiH is provided by legal or natural persons i.e. Indirect Taxation Authority (Customs).
	3.7. Reference area	Data refer to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
	3.8 Time coverage	Data on BiH international trade in goods have been produced and disseminated monthly since 2005.
	3.9. Base period	Not applicable.
	4. Unit of measure	In BiH international trade in goods statistics, value is presented in national currency (KM/BAM), euros (EUR) and U.S. dollars (USD), while quantity is presented in net mass (kilograms) and supplementary quantity units.
	5. Reference period	The reference period is a month when the single administrative document (customs declaration) is accepted by the Indirect Taxation Authority (Customs).
	6. Institutional mandate
	6.1. Legal acts and other agreements	• Law on Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, • Multiannual statistical programmes and annual work plans of the Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, • Methodology of the BiH international trade in goods statistics, • International laws, recommendations and manuals (EU, Eurostat, IMF, UN).
	6.2. Data sharing	Agency for Statistics of BiH is the official producer of BiH international trade in goods data. Indirect Taxation Authority is responsible for collection and primary check of single administrative documents (customs declarations). These institutions have signed a Protocol on Data Exchange. Agency for Statistics of BiH provide data to the main users.
	7. Confidentiality
	7.1. Confidentiality-policy	Confidentiality of statistical data is regulated by law and the personnel conducting statistical surveys has the legal obligation to protect confidentiality. Law on Statistics of BiH (Off. Gazette of BiH 26/04 and 42/04 - Chapter XI - Article 23.-29.) establishes the principle of confidentiality as one of the main principles. Agency for statistics of BiH distributes statistics in line with statistical principles of the European Statistics Code of Practice and in particular with the principle of statistical confidentiality.
	7.2. Confidentiality-data treatment	The document "Rules on the Protection of Statistical Data in the Agency for Statistics" lists procedures for ensuring confidentiality during collection, processing and dissemination - including protocols for securing individual data being accessed, rules for defining confidential cells in output tables and procedures for the detection and prevention of subsequent disclosures as well as access to microdata for research purposes. By signing the Memorandum of Understanding with Agency for statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, data users having access to individual data are obliged to: treat individual anonymized data as confidential in accordance with the rules, regulations and procedures, ensure adequate protection of individual data in accordance with the rules, regulations and procedures, protect the transfer of microdata and destroy the media where the data are, as well as the accompanying documentation, five days after the publication of the results.
	8. Release policy
	8.1. Release calendar	At the end of December every year, BHAS announces the Release Calendar with the precise date and time of publication of the statistics for the following year.
	8.2. Release calendar access	The Calendar is placed on:
		https://bhas.gov.ba/Calendar/
	8.3. User access	BiH international trade in goods data are disseminated on website of the Agency for Statistics of BiH in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equitably. The principle that all users have equal access to statistical data on an impartial basis is set out in Article 8, paragraph 2, point h, and Article 19 paragraph 2 of the Law on Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Agency for Statistics of BiH implements it consistently in practice:
		https://bhas.gov.ba
	9.  Frequency of dissemination	BiH international trade in goods data are updated on a monthly basis.
	10. Accessibility and clarity
	10.1. News release	• Monthly release „BiH International Trade in Goods Statistics“ :
		https://bhas.gov.ba/Calendar/Category/11
	10.2. Publications	• Thematic Bulletin „BiH International Trade in Goods“:
		https://bhas.gov.ba/Calendar/Category/11
		• Publication „BiH in Figures“
		http://bhas.gov.ba/Calendar/Category/30
	10.3. On-line database	Detailed BiH international trade in goods data can be found in Comext (Eurostat's on-line database on international trade in goods):
		http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/newxtweb/
	10.4. Micro-data access	The document „Rules on the Protection of Statistical Data in the Agency for Statistics of BiH“ lists procedures for access to microdata for research purposes.
	10.5. Other	Agency for Statistics of BiH receives many ad-hoc requests from data users.
	10.6. Documentation on methodology	„BiH International Trade in Goods Statistics - Quick User Guide“:
		https://bhas.gov.ba/data/Publikacije/Metodologije/ETR_00_2017_MD_0_EN.pdf
	10.7. Quality documentation	„BiH International Trade in Goods Statistics - Quality Report“:
		http://bhas.gov.ba/Content/Read/92?title=Kvalitet&lang=en
	11. Quality management
	11.1. Quality assurance	Quality Management Policy as an element of the system of quality management generally is related to the following components: product quality of the process as well as other elements of the system for quality management, such as planning and controls. To assure the quality of processes and products, Agency for statistics is the implementation of the Quality management model (TQM) done using the CAF tool. The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is a total quality management tool developed by the public sector for the public sector, inspired by the Excellence Model of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). Process of self-assessment identifies and monitors all organization results, provides feedback on organizational capacity and results of policy and planning processes. The scoring tool for self-assessment has 9 key indicators and 28 criteria based on which it is possible to measure management level achieved and determine which are the critical points for improvements in future. It looks at the organization from different angles at the same time: the holistic approach to organization performance analysis. BHAS use „The CAF guidelines for implementation “and a 10-step implementation plan developed to help organizations use it in the most efficient and effective way. Process of self-assessment identifies and monitors all-important organizational results and provides feedback on organizational capacities and results of policy and planning processes. This model of quality monitoring requires the development of a standardized questionnaire that includes all principles in the model. Agency for statistics of BiH is committed to quality assurance in the production of official statistics based on Article 19, Paragraph (1) “Law of Statistics BIH, Official Gazette of BiH 26/04; 42/04”. In order to ensure the quality of statistics Agency developed a documented Policy and programme for quality management which is available on web site:
		https://bhas.gov.ba/Content/Read/92?title=Kvalitet
	11.2. Quality assessments	The quality of official statistics’ products (main indicators/statistics) are regularly assessed in quality reports through the calculation of quality indicators. On other hand, processes included in statistical production are assessed by specific process quality indicators in quality reports and additionally through Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM) documentation.
	12. Relevance
	12.1. User needs	As international trade forms a major part of the world economy, BiH international trade in goods statistics are an instrument of primary importance for numerous public and private sector decision makers. For example, BiH international trade in goods statistics: • enables BiH authorities to prepare for bilateral and multilateral negotiations in the framework of trade agreements, • represents an important source of information for statistics on balance of payments and national accounts as well as for economic studies, • helps companies conduct market research and develop their business strategy. BiH international trade in goods statistics satisfy these needs in a variety of ways. Users may need either annual aggregated or detailed monthly data on products or partner countries. They may be interested in trade values in current prices or at constant prices. Alternatively, their interest may be in quantities rather than in values. These examples show the diversity of users and their requirements.
	12.2. User satisfaction	One of the key elements in securing the quality of statistical data is monitoring the users’ satisfaction. The results of the User Satisfaction Survey are available on:
		https://bhas.gov.ba/data/Dokumenti/Kvalitet/AZK2020_BS.pdf
	12.3. Completeness	All key indicators, which are required by EU legislation and international standards for international trade in goods statistics, are produced.
	13. Accuracy and reliability
	13.1. Overall accuracy	Accuracy of BiH international trade in goods data is affected by data revisions, confidentiality and controls (data validity and credibility checks). Data accuracy is at a satisfactory level. Since the basic data consist of a large number of single administrative documents (customs declarations), it is difficult to achieve the absolute accuracy of disseminated data.
	13.2. Sampling error	BiH international trade in goods statistics are not collected via samples and so are not impacted by sampling errors. BiH international trade in goods data are obtained from administrative source (Indirect Taxation Authority-Customs).
	13.3. Non -sampling error	Errors often arise when trying to capture movements of goods or trade activities about which little information is available or which are inherently complex to measure, such as: goods that by their nature are difficult to classify (errors may arise in the product code allocated due to the complexity of the Customs Tariff of BiH which comprises around 10 000 product codes) or processing trade valuation (errors arise when just the processing costs i.e. added value are reported as a product value rather than the total product value).
	14. Timeliness and punctuality
	14.1. Timeliness	First results are disseminated 20 days after the end of reference month. Final results are disseminated 7 months after the end of year in the Thematic bulletin (annual data are presented).
	14.2. Punctuality	Thanks to the well-established system of collection, processing and dissemination of BiH international trade in goods data, the punctuality of data dissmination is very good. Problems appear rarely.
	15. Coherence and comparability
	15.1. Comparability-geographical	BiH international trade in goods statistics follow EU legislation and Eurostat's recommendations. Special trade system (relaxed definition) is applied. It's a system which includes industrial free zones, premises for inward processing and free circulation area. Goods from a foreign country which are received into customs warehouses are not recorded as imports unless they subsequently go into free circulation in the country of receipt (or are placed under the customs procedures for inward processing or processing under customs control). Similarly, outgoing goods from customs warehouses are not recorded as exports. BiH international trade in goods data are geographically comparable with the data of other countries which can be found in the Eurostat's database Comext. Comparison can be conducted by analysing „mirror“ flows. However, there are reasons which lead to „mirror“ data discrepancies and which cannot be avoided. These are: • definition of partner country (country of re-export of goods vs. country of origin of goods), • different methods of calculation of statistical value (FOB method of calculation for exports and CIF method of calculation for imports), • statistical confidentiality (the data are made confidential by one of the partners), • quasy-transit for trade in goods of BiH with EU countries (EU customs legislation allows EU importers to release the goods into free circulation at basically any customs office in the EU, which can lead to different partner country registration in the BiH data and the EU countries data).
	15.2. Comparability-over time	BiH international trade in goods data are comparable over time. Comparability over time of BiH international trade in goods data can be affected by changes in the Customs Tariff of BiH at the detailed level as well as methodological changes. In order to improve comparability over time, Eurostat's conversion tables between different versions of Combined Nomenclature are used. Customs Tariff of BiH is in line with Combined Nomenclature, so these tables can be used. Also, when certain changes in the groupings of countries appear (for example, changes in the composition of EU), a data revision for all the years backwards is performed.
	15.3. Coherence-cross domain	Apart from BiH international trade in goods statistics, information on trade flows can be found in statistics of national accounts of BiH, BiH business statistics and statistics of balance of payments of BiH. These statistics are produced according to the recommendations (sources and methods) of various international organisations, for example Eurostat, International Monetary Fund, United Nations. Therefore, trade flows presented in these statistics can differ.
	15.4. Coherence-internal	BiH international trade in goods data are internally coherent. Aggregated data are obtained from detailed data.
	16. Cost and burden	BiH international trade in goods data are collected by the Indirect Taxation Authority (Customs). These are data from single administrative documents (customs declarations). Therefore, there are neither costs nor burden for the Agency for Statistics of BiH regarding the collection and primary control of data.
	17. Data revision
	17.1. Data revision-policy	The Agency for statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have an official revision policy document.
	17.2. Data revision-practice	Revision of BiH international trade in goods data is carried out monthly and annually. Monthly data revision is carried out every month. Data for all months from the beginning of the year are revised. Annual data revision is carried out once annually. Data for the previous year are revised. After this revision data are considered „final“ and they are disseminated in the Thematic Bulletin. The Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH (Customs) frequently updates data which then send to the Agency for Statistics of BiH. Therefore, the Agency for Statistics of BiH has to carry out data revisions. Also, data revision has to be carried out as a consequence of errors in the data received from the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH.
	18. Statistical processing
	18.1. Source data	The only data source for BiH international trade in goods statistics is the Indirect Taxation Authority (data from single administrative documents - customs declarations).
	18.2. Frequency of data collection	The Indirect Taxation Authority (Customs) provides the Agency for Statistics of BiH with the data monthly.
	18.3. Data collection	Legal or natural person which wants to export or import goods must submit a single administrative document to the Indirect Taxation Authority (Customs). Data from single administrative documents (customs declarations) can be used for statistical purposes. These data are of high quality. They enable almost total coverage of BiH international trade in goods. The Indirect Taxation Authority provides the Agency for Statistics of BiH with the data from single administrative documents (customs declarations). These data enable the production of BiH international trade in goods statistics in line with international recommendations.
	18.4. Data validation	The Indirect Taxation Authority carries out primary checks of single administrative documents (customs declarations). For example, a check whether all the necessary fields in single administrative documents (customs declarations) are filled in. The Agency for Statistics of BiH carries out data validity and credibility checks. A data validity error is detected when a data entry is incorrect, which can cause a problem when processing data, so the data can not be included in the statistical analysis and must be deleted or corrected. Examples of such errors are inaccurate or missing codes, values ​​that do not exist in single administrative documents, letter labels in numeric fields and vice versa. Data credibility checks mean checks of data accuracy and estimation of all possible errors related to data. The fact is that some data that passed validity checks can still be inaccurate. Residual errors can be detected if inconsistent variables are sought. For example, a single administrative document is internally inconsistent when different variables are compared, or it is inconsistent with the data submitted in previous months.
	18.5. Data compilation	BiH international trade in goods data are in current prices. For analytical purposes, it is necessary to have an indicator of movement of export and import prices over time. Therefore, the Agency for Statistics of BiH produces unit value indices of export and import (quarterly; base year 2015). These indices serve as an approximation of movement of export and import prices.
	18.6. Adjustment	No data adjustment is applied (for example, seasonal adjustment of data).
	19. Comment	/