Section 7 of the Act gives the central bank the authority to collect the data. Section 8 of the Act stipulates that the data of individual reporting institutions are confidential. The balance of payments data on goods are compiled by Statistics Netherlands. The independence of Statistics Netherlands was granted by the Royal Act of 1899 and reconfirmed by law in 1996. Data provision was made compulsory by law in 1936.
Confidentiality is guaranteed and individual data are never published without consent.
The Royal Act of 19 January 1899 concerning the Central Bureau of Statistics and the Central Commission for Statistics is repealed. Our Minister shall not give him instructions in this respect. Law of 18 April 1996 established the Central Bureau of Statistics and the Central Commission for Statistics. Non-authoritative translations into English are available. The public can obtain copies of relevant laws governing activities of the Central Bank at the Bank and at the Ministry of Finance.