Commission Regulation (EC) No 1921/2001 of 28 September 2001 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 2494/95 as regards minimum standards for revisions of the harmonised index of consumer prices and amending Regulation (EC) No 2602/2000 (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2001-09-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, consumer price, disclosure of information, price index, statistical method

29.9.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 261/49

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1921/2001

of 28 September 2001

laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 2494/95 as
regards minimum standards for revisions of the harmonised index of consumer prices and
amending Regulation (EC) No 2602/2000

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(7)

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2494/95 of 23
October 1995 concerning harmonised indices of consumer
prices (1), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No
1617/1999 (2), and in particular Article 4 and Article 5(3)
thereof,

(8)

Having regard to the opinion of the European Central Bank (3),

There is considerable scope for procedural differences
between Member States on the revision of index series.
A set of harmonised rules is necessary to ensure that the
resulting HICPs meet the comparability requirement of
Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 2494/95 as well as their
reliability and relevance.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
Statistical
accordance with
Programme Committee established by Council Decision
89/382/EEC, Euratom (5),

opinion

the

the

of

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

By virtue of Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 2494/
95, each Member State is required to produce a harmo-
nised index of consumer prices (HICP) starting with the
index for January 1997.

It is particularly important to secure a high degree of
credibility of the HICP which may be supported by the
objective of limiting in a given context the number of
HICP revisions to the minimum extent necessary.

It is generally accepted that the annual average, annual
and monthly rates of change of the HICPs are important
for the measurement of inflation, more particularly for
assessing price convergence and informing the monetary
policy of the European Central Bank.

Changes in the system of national or harmonised rules
constitute valid reasons for revisions to the HICPs to the
extent that they ensure or improve the comparability,
reliability, or relevance of the HICPs; changes in the
system of harmonised rules should not require revisions
unless otherwise stated in the context of particular
implementing measures.

Article 6 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2602/2000
of 17 November 2000 laying down detailed rules for the
implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 2494/95
as regards minimum standards for the treatment of price
reductions
in the harmonised index of consumer
prices (4) needs to be amended accordingly.

Revisions due to mistakes, or because of new or
improved basic information are valid reasons for revi-
sions to HICPs because they improve the comparability,
reliability, or relevance of the HICPs.

Article 1

Aim

The aim of this Regulation is to provide information on signifi-
cant effects of implementing measures under Regulation (EC)
No 2494/95 and to establish harmonised rules concerning
revisions to the HICP that are consistent with those measures,
and sufficient to ensure their comparability, reliability, and
relevance.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this Regulation the following definitions
shall apply:

(a) a ‘revision’ is an ex-post change in a HICP series, index level,
rate of change or weight, that has been made publicly
available through printed or electronic media by the
Commission (Eurostat) affecting the results to one decimal
place;

(b) a ‘mistake’ is an unintentional breach of an established rule

affecting at least one HICP series;

(c) a ‘provisional’ result is a result which is, subject to revision,

expected to be finalised in a later month.

Article 3

Revisability

(1) OJ L 257, 27.10.1995, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 192, 24.7.1999, p. 9.
(3) OJ C 244, 1.9.2001, p. 5.
(4) OJ L 300, 29.11.2000, p. 16.

1.

The officially published HICP series may be revised.

(5) OJ L 181, 28.6.1989, p. 47.

L 261/50

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

29.9.2001

Revisions to any HICP series, other than on the grounds
2.
of Articles 4, 5 or 9 of this Regulation, shall be subject to prior
approval by the Commission (Eurostat). Their extent and the
timing shall be coordinated with the Commission (Eurostat).

Article 4

Mistakes

1. Mistakes shall be corrected and resulting revisions shall
be implemented without unnecessary delay.

2. Member States concerned shall, at their own initiative,
provide the Commission (Eurostat) with information at the
level of detail necessary to assess the impact on the HICP series
concerned before the release of revisions on the grounds of
mistakes. The Member States shall also notify the Commission
(Eurostat) of the action taken to prevent similar future occur-
rences.

Article 5

New or improved information

Revisions resulting from new or improved basic information
which are considered by Member States necessary in order to
improve the accuracy of an HICP shall be implemented
provided the Commission (Eurostat) does not oppose the
timing of the revisions to be made.

Article 6

Changes in the system of harmonised rules

Unless otherwise stated:

1. changes in the system of harmonised rules shall not require

revisions;

2. changes in definitions, methods, or practices resulting from
the HICP regulatory framework shall take effect with the
index for January each year in all Member States concerned;

3. the impact of any such changes shall be assessed for the 12
months starting with the index for January in which the
changes take effect;

4.

if the changes are likely to affect the average annual rate of
change of the all-items index over the 12-month period
following the change by at least one tenth of a percentage
point then the impact on the all-items index shall be esti-
mated for each of the 12 months;

5. where in addition any COICOP/HICP division, group or
class index is likely to be affected respectively by at least
three, four or five tenths of a percentage point calculated as
in Article 6(4), the impact on the index series concerned
shall be estimated for each of the 12 months.

Article 7

Estimates of the impact

1.
The estimates referred to in Article 6(4) and (5) of this
Regulation shall use the best available methodology in a cost-
effective way. They shall be transmitted to the Commission

(Eurostat) at the latest with the HICPs to which they relate. A
description of
the method of estimation and appropriate
comments on the accuracy of the estimates shall be included.

2.
The estimates shall compare the annual rates of change of
the HICP, and the sub-indices concerned, with an index which
does not take account of the changes in definitions, methods,
or practices.

The estimates referred to in Article 6(4) and (5) shall be
3.
publicly available, with appropriate notes on their quality.
These estimates shall not replace the official HICP.

Article 8

Release of revisions

In the official HICP series released by the Commission
1.
(Eurostat), revisions shall be marked. A revision mark shall be
assigned to those primary or derived series the results of which,
following a revision, have changed at
the level of detail
released. Revision marks shall be shown on the occasion of the
release of the revised series and removed the following month.

2.
Revisions to the all-items HICP, other than to provisional
results, shall be publicly announced together with an explana-
coordination between the Member State
tion,
concerned and the Commission (Eurostat).

in close

Article 9

Provisional result

When an index is published as provisional, it shall be finalised
in the following month's publication.

Article 10

Quality control

In the event of a revision, other than on the grounds of Article
4 or 9, the Member State concerned shall provide the Commis-
sion (Eurostat), at its request, with information at the level of
detail necessary to assess the impact on the HICP series
concerned and demonstrate that the revisions are consistent
with the HICP standards.

Article 11

Amendment

Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 2602/2000 as
regards
minimum standards for the treatment of price reductions in the
HICP is replaced by the following text:

‘Where the implementation of the provisions of this Regu-
lation affects the annual rate of change (m/(m−12)) of the
all-items index by more than one tenth of one percentage
point compared with an index which does not take account
of price reductions, the index series concerned shall be
revised appropriately.’

29.9.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 261/51

Article 12

Implementation

This Regulation shall be implemented by Member States in December 2001 and shall take effect with the
index for January 2002.

Article 13

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Community.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 28 September 2001.

For the Commission

Pedro SOLBES MIRA

Member of the Commission