Article 1 
1. The purpose of this Regulation is to establish a common statistical classification of economic activities within the European Community in order to ensure comparability between national and Community classifications and hence national and Community statistics. 2. This Regulation shall apply only to the use of classifications for statistical purposes. 3. This Regulation does not per se oblige Member States to collect, publish or supply data and is not concerned with obligations as regards the degree of detail and type of statistical units to be used in statistical surveys and analyses.
Article 2 
1. A common basis for statistical classifications of economic activities within the European Community, hereinafter referred to as ‘NACE Rev. 1’, is hereby established, comprising: — a first level consisting of headings identified by an alphabetical code (sections), — an intermediate level consisting of headings identified by a two-character alphabetical code (subsections), — a second level consisting of headings identified by a two-digit numerical code (divisions), — a third level consisting of headings identified by a three-digit numerical code (groups), — a fourth level consisting of headings identified by a four-digit numerical code (classes). 2. NACE Rev. 1 is annexed to this Regulation.
Article 4 
In addition to the provisions referred to in Article 3, in the event of incompatibility between certain NACE Rev. 1 positions and the national economic structure, the Commission may authorize a Member State to use at a given level an aggregation of NACE Rev. 1 positions in a specific sector. To obtain such an authorization, the Member State concerned must provide the Commission with all the necessary information to consider its request. However, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 3 (2) (a), this authorization shall not entitle the Member State concerned to subdivide the aggregated headings in a way different from NACE Rev. 1. The Commission shall, together with the Member State concerned, periodically review the application of these provisions to verify whether they are still justified.
Article 5 
The Commission shall take all the necessary measures to ensure the implementation and management of NACE Rev. 1.
Article 6 
The Commission shall, at the request of a Member State or on its own initiative, and, after consulting the Committee provided for in Article 7, take the necessary steps to ensure uniform application of NACE Rev. 1.
Article 7 
The Commission shall be assisted by the Statistical Programme Committee, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Committee’, composed of representatives of the Member States and chaired by a representative of the Commission.
Article 8 
The Committee may examine any questions concerning NACE Rev. 1 raised by its chairman, either on his own initiative or at the request of the representative of a Member State, which have a bearing on the application of this Regulation, especially as regards: (a) interpretation of NACE Rev. 1; (b) incorporation of minor amendments to NACE Rev. 1: — designed to take account of technological or economic developments, — designed to align and clarify texts, — resulting from amendments made to other economic classifications, in particular ISIC Rev. 3; (c) preparation and coordination of work on revising NACE Rev. 1; (d) drafting and updating of explanatory notes on NACE Rev. 1; (e) elaboration of guidelines for classifying statistical units in accordance with NACE Rev. 1; (f) examination of problems arising from implementation of NACE Rev. 1 in the Member States' classifications of economic activities; (g) attempting to prepare, as appropriate, a common position concerning the work of international organizations on classifications of economic activities, especially ISIC and its explanatory notes. Measures to be taken under (a) to (g) shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure defined in Article 9.
Article 9 
1. Where reference is made to this Article, Articles 4 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC ( 5 ) shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof. The period laid down in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months. 2. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.
Article 11 
1. There will be a transitional period starting on 1 January 1993 and ending on 31 December 1994. During this period the Commission may, for certain data collected after 1 January 1993, authorize a Member State, on the basis of duly substantiated technical or operational reasons, to use a classification other than that provided for under Article 3. 2. The Commission may extend the transitional period at the request of a Member State.
Article 13 
The Commission shall publish the table of correlation between current NACE and NACE Rev. 1 within the six months following the entry into force of this Regulation.
Article 14 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .