Rules of Procedure of the NSI

 

 

 

Chapter One
GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Art. 1. The Rules define the functions, structure, staff numbers and organization of work of the National Statistical Institute (NSI).

Art. 2. (1) The NSI shall be a legal entity supported by the public budget with status of a state agency with headquarters in Sofia and territorial divisions in the country.

(2) The NSI is managed and represented by a president - the first-level budget administrator.

(3) The NSI shall carry out independent statistical activity of the State and other activities assigned by law.

Chapter Two
FUNCTIONS AND TASKS OF NSI 

Art. 3. The NSI shall carry out statistical activity of the State by conducting periodic and single statistical surveys included in the National Statistical Programme (NSP).

Art. 4. (1) The NSI shall:

1. coordinate the statistical activity of the State by means of:

a) collaboration with the statistical authorities in drafting and implementing the National Statistical Programme;

b) ensuring methodological uniformity in the surveys;

c) participating in the construction of the national statistical information systems;

d) representing the National Statistical System in the European Statistical System, in international organisations and maintaining relations with national statistical offices of other countries;

e) ensuring compliance of the methodology, content and scope of statistical surveys with the requirements of Eurostat;

f) coordinating all activities at national level for development, production and dissemination of the national and European statistical information.

2. study and aggregate the public needs for statistical information;

3. develop a strategy for the development of the National Statistical System for each seven-year period in accordance with the seven-year European Statistical Programme;

4. develop an annual plan for its activity, which shall be in conformity with the goals of the Strategy for Development of the National Statistical System;

5. collect, process and store individual and personal data and statistical information;

6. develop and maintain national statistical classifications, nomenclatures, standards and methodologies, either independently or in cooperation with other statutory bodies;

7. develop demographic forecasts;

8. publish and disseminate statistical information;

9. provide statistical information to domestic and international users;

10. provide individual data and aggregate statistical information to Eurostat for the production of European statistical information;

11. carry out statistical surveys necessary for the production of national or European statistical information, assigned and financed with grants from Eurostat or other international authorities or organisations;

12. develop and maintain national and regional statistical registers and databases;

13. provide methodological and methodical support and supervise the quality of statistical surveys carried out by the statistical authorities;

14. establish, maintain and manage a central statistical archive and a specialised library;

15. develop, produce and disseminate statistical information for administrative-territorial and territorial units according to the Classification of Territorial Units for Statistical Purposes in Bulgaria.

(2) The NSI shall furthermore carry out statistical surveys, which are not included in the National Statistical Programme, as well as process statistical data or provide other statistical services under contract award and experimental statistical research.

Chapter Three
MANAGEMENT

Section І
President

Art. 5. (1) The NSI shall be managed by a President and three Deputy Presidents who shall be appointed by a decision of the Council of Ministers for a term of 7 years, but for no more than two mandates.

(2) The President and the Deputy Presidents of the NSI shall be appointed by the Prime Minister.

Art. 6. (1) The President of the NSI shall represent, manage, coordinate, organize and supervise the activity of the NSI.

(2) The President of the NSI shall exercise the powers defined by the Law on Statistics, such as:

1. manage  and organise the activity of the NSI;

2. represent the NSI;

3. approve, either independently or jointly with the bodies stipulated by a normative act, the national statistical classifications, nomenclatures, regulations for their implementation, as well as statistical methods;

4. approve the Rules of Procedure of the NSI and other internal regulations;

5. enter into contracts and agreements on joint work and cooperation with legal entities, authorities of the European Commission (EC), including Eurostat, and other international statistical organisations;

6. submit for approval by the Council of Ministers a Strategy for development of the National

Statistical System for each five-year period;

7. prepare and submit to the Council of Ministers on an annual basis a Report on the implementation of the NSP and on the activity of the NSI for the previous year as well as a Draft NSP for the next year but not later than 14 days after promulgation of the State Budget of the Republic of Bulgaria Act for the respective year;

8. determine the structure, the number and the positions table of the Head office (HO) and the Regional Statistical Offices (RSO), as well as staff list by name of the HO in the NSI;

9. appoint employees of HO and Directors of RSOs;

10. determine and approve additional staff lists under the Council of Ministers decrees in the HO and the RSO;

11. formulate and implement the NSI’s policy in the field of European statistics and implement general management of international cooperation activities;

12. issue orders and other administrative acts relating to the activity of NSI and monitor their implementation;

13. appoint and remove members of the National Statistical Council;

14. create working groups for achieving specific objectives, as follows: conducting statistical surveys; development of analyses, forecasts, documents and guidelines on the activities of the NSI; solving methodological problems in the field of statistics, performing experimental statistical research;

15. approve the Editorial board and rules for issuing of Statistics Journal;

16. assigns by order to the civil servants in the Central Office of NSI and the directors of TSB, with their consent and against additional remuneration, extra duties in connection with the implementation and/or management of:

a) projects co-financed with funds from the European Structural and Investment Funds, for which the NSI is a beneficiary, under the conditions of Art. 49, para. 3 of the Law on the Management of the European Structural and Investment Funds;

b) projects and programs financed by other international financial institutions and donors, for which the NSI is a beneficiary or executor.

(3) The President of the NSI shall provide healthy and safe working conditions in accordance with the acting legislation.

(4) The President may delegate by order some of his powers to the Deputy Presidents, the Secretary General and the Directors of RSOs.

Art. 7. When performing its activities the President may establish councils as expert advisory bodies in order to solve certain problems of its competence, having strategic importance for the development of NSI.

Art. 8. (1) Auxiliary and consultative bodies shall be created for the president - the National Statistical Council, the President, which are not part of the NSI administration structure.

(2) For participation in the work of the bodies under the preceding paragraph the NSI’s experts shall not receive remuneration.

Section ІІ
Deputy Presidents

Art. 9. (1) When performing its functions and exercise of powers, the President shall be assisted by three Deputy Presidents.

(2) The functions of the Deputy Presidents shall be determined by President’s order on individual responsibility areas.

(3) Deputy Presidents of the NSI shall:

1. manage, supervise and be liable for the structural units by determined responsibility areas;

2. ensure coordination between structural units of the NSI and responsibility areas managed by them in conducting statistical surveys and related activities.

(4) In case of absence of the President due to a business trip or when the latter is using his/her statutory leave his functions shall be performed by appointed for each case Deputy President.

Section ІІІ
Auxiliary-advisory bodies to the President of the NSI

Art. 10. The National Statistical Council shall be a consultative body to the President with composition, functions and manner of work stipulated in Art. 14 of the Law on Statistics.

Art. 11. (1) The President shall establish a Council to the President directly subordinated to himself/herself as an auxiliary advisory body to him/her.

(2) The Council to the President shall comprise the following members: Deputy Presidents, Secretary General, Directors of directorates at NSI’s Head Office, Heads of independent units which report directly to the President and Directors of RSOs.

(3) The Council to the President shall have consultative, information and analytical functions, shall summarize assessments of the state and development prospects of statistical activities, shall discuss programmes to achieve policy objectives in the field of statistics and shall provide directions to develop forecasts and strategies for successful development of this policy.

Art. 12. The Council to the President shall assist the President in carrying out the policies and activities of the NSI, such as:

1. make proposals for strategic priorities in the field of statistics;

2. make proposals for development of programmes, action plans and other documents in the field of statistics and assist in coordination of their development and implementation;

3. make proposals on methodological issues in the field of statistics;

4. give opinions on draft strategic documents in the field of statistics;

5. discuss reports, analyzes and evaluations on the implementation of state policy in the field of statistics;

6. propose and discuss measures in order to improve the processes of development, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, consultation and coordination of the state policy in the field of statistics;

7. discuss issues related to the management and functioning of the administration in NSI.

Art. 13. (1) The Council to the President shall convene meetings by the President at least once a quarter.

(2) The Council to the President shall carry out its activities on the basis of rules approved by the President.

(3) The President of the Council shall be the President of the NSI, who shall lead its activity.

(4) One of the members of the Council designated by the President shall act as Secretary of the Council.

(5) The meetings of the Council could be attended by NSI’s experts as well as representatives of other state and municipal authorities, NGOs and other organizations invited by the President.

(6) An official designated by the President shall participate in the meetings in order to keep minutes.

Art. 14. The President of the NSI shall appoint by order a person responsible for network and information security in the NSI, as well as persons performing the functions of information security manager, quality manager, information security coordinator, quality coordinator and regional coordinators of the Integrated Management System in the NSI.

Chapter Four
FUNCTIONS AND STRUCTURE OF THE NSI

Section I
Structure 

Art. 15. (1) The administration of NSI shall consist of Head Office (HO) and 6 Regional Statistical Offices (RSOs).

(2) Head Office (HO) shall be organized into six directorates and independent units,

of which five directorates are specialized administration and one directorate is general administration.

(3) There are independent units and positions that are directly subordinated to the president of NSI.

(4) The RSOs shall be administrative units which shall perform the functions and tasks of the National Statistical Institute for production and dissemination of statistical information at the regional level. By Decree of the Council of Ministers No. 272/08.10.2015, the territorial statistical bureaus from 28 in number are reduced and optimized to six secondary manager offices with a budget to the President of NSI as follows:

1. The RSO - Severozapad with the center the city of Pleven shall include: General administration Department, Statistical surveys Department - Lovech, Statistical surveys Department - Montana, Statistical surveys Department - Vidin, Statistical surveys Department - Vratsa and Statistical surveys Department - Pleven;

2. The RSO - Sever with the center the city of Ruse shall include: General administration Department, Statistical surveys Department - Silistra, Statistical surveys Department - Veliko Tarnovo, Statistical surveys Department - Gabrovo, Statistical surveys Department - Razgrad and Statistical surveys Department - Ruse;

3. The RSO - Severoiztok with the center the city of Varna shall include: General administration Department, Statistical surveys Department - Shumen, Statistical surveys Department - Dobrich, Statistical surveys Department - Targovishte and Statistical surveys Department - Varna;

4. The RSO - Jugoiztok with the center the city of Burgas shall include: General administration Department, Statistical surveys Department - Sliven, Statistical surveys Department - Yambol, Statistical surveys Department - Stara Zagora and Statistical surveys Department - Burgas;

5. The RSO - Jug with the center the city of Plovdiv shall include: General administration Department, Statistical surveys Department - Pazardzhik, Statistical surveys Department - Smolyan, Statistical surveys Department - Kardzhali, Statistical surveys Department - Haskovo and Statistical surveys Department - Plovdiv;

6. The RSO - Jugozapad with the center Sofia-city shall include: General administration Department, Statistical surveys Department - Blagoevgrad, Statistical surveys Department - Kyustendil, Statistical surveys Department - Pernik, Statistical surveys Department - Sofia district and Statistical surveys Department - Sofia.

(5) The number of NSI staff and its individual administrative units is indicated in the appendix to these regulations.

(6) The total number of staff in the NSI structural units is 968 full-time employees.

Art. 16. The President of the NSI shall approve the structure of administrative units in the NSI.

Section ІІ
Secretary General

Art. 17. (1) The Secretary General shall perform the administrative management of NSI.

(2) The Secretary General shall coordinate and supervise the administrative units in order to observe strictly the regulations and the legal provisions of the President and shall be liable for planning and accountability in the implementation of the annual objectives of the administration.

(3) The Secretary General shall:

1. assist the President in the performance of his/hers powers;

2. create conditions for normal and effective work of the administration of NSI;

3. implement a common coordination between the administrative units of the NSI;

4. organize and be liable for maintenance and management of provided to the NSI real estate and movable property;

5. supervise and be liable for the work with documents, their storage and protection of official secrecy;

6. organize and be liable for administrative service to individuals and legal entities;

7. organize and be liable for the access of individuals and legal entities to public information in accordance with their legal rights;

8. coordinate the operational cooperation of the administration of NSI with the administration of the Council of Ministers and other executive authorities;

9. represent the NSI in cases where he/she shall be explicitly empowered by the President on issues related to administration;

10. approves the employees' job descriptions in the Head Office of the NSI;

11. approve the flexible working time of the employees;

12. coordinate drafts prepared by NSI for legal and administrative acts, which shall be adopted by the Council of Ministers;

13. organize the preparation of the NSI’s budget and the budgetary forecast;

14. perform other tasks assigned by the President.

(4) In case of a business trip or use of statutory leave the functions of the Secretary General shall be performed by an employee appointed by the President of NSI for each particular case. The empowerment shall be done by issuance of the President’s explicit order.

Art. 18. The order under Art. 6, paragraph 4 shall define the powers of the Secretary General.

Section ІІІ
Units and positions directly subordinated to the President of the NSI

Art. 19. (1) The administration of the NSI’s HO shall consist of four structural units and two position directly subordinated to the President:

1. ‘Security of information, Information and Communication Technologies and DM’ Division;

2. Inspectorate under Art. 46 of the Administration Act;

3. Finance Controller;

4. Internal Audit Unit;

5. ‘International Relations and Projects’ Department;

6. ‘Communications and Secretariat’ Department.

(2) The Directors of the Regional Statistical Offices shall be also directly subordinated to the President of the NSI.

Art. 20. The ‘Security of information, Information and Communication Technologies and DM’ Division (SIICT&DM) shall perform the following activities:

1. perform a leading role in developing and implementing Information Security Policy, procedures and plans, as monitor the harmonization with current legislation, existing international standards and generally accepted good practices;

2. develop, propose and monitor the implementation of procedures for management of work and changes to all means of information processing by establishing and allocating responsibilities and obligations;

3. participate in the development, propose and monitor the implementation of a system of safeguards and additional mechanisms for the secure management of networks in the organization, in terms of data flow, business applications, monitoring and safety;

4. participates in the development, proposes and monitors the implementation of procedures for the management, handling, storage and protection of classified and sensitive information and documentation, taking into account all threats of unauthorized disclosure, modification and/or destruction;

5. participate in the development, propose and monitor the implementation of a system of methods and techniques for monitoring information systems and the actions performed on them in order to control the effectiveness of the implemented control mechanisms;

6. participate in and analyze information systems security requirements and specifications;

7. participate in projects, propose and analyze a system of control mechanisms to ensure the correct operation of application systems, based on security requirements and risk assessment;

8. develop, propose and monitor the implementation of procedures for reporting and responding to events related to information security;

9. develop, propose and monitor the implementation of procedures for the effective treatment of events and weaknesses related to information security, establishing and allocating responsibilities and obligations for this purpose;

10. participate in the development, propose, analyze and monitor the implementation of activities to maintain and/or restore all means of information processing, in the event of disasters, accidents and unforeseen situations and to ensure the availability of information after interruption or malfunction of a critical business process;

11. initiate/propose administrative and financial actions necessary to ensure the planning, action, monitoring and continuous improvement of information security;

12. initiate the need for qualification of staff performing activities on the functioning of security elements;

13. provide consultations and methodological guidance on all issues related to security management of other structures in NSI;

14. initiate extraordinary meetings of the bodies designated for information security;

15. initiate proposals for amendments to internal security regulations;

16. participate in determining the scope of information security in relation to the characteristics of the organization's activity, its location, assets and technologies;

17. participate in the preparation, discussion and adoption of information security policy and objectives;

18. participate in the discussion and adoption of the classification of assets and their owners;

19. participate in the determination and adoption of the risk assessment methodology;

20. participate in the discussion and acceptance of the risk assessment reports, risk treatment plan and residual risks;

21. participate in the development, discussion and adoption of the applicability declaration;

22. participate in the discussion and adoption of all information security procedures;

23. participate in the discussion and acceptance of roles and responsibilities for information security;

24. get acquainted  himself with the results of the external audits performed, as well as perform internal audits of the information security management system;

25. monitor compliance with the requirements of the Classified Information Protection Act

26. develop a plan for the protection of classified information through organizational, physical and technical means;

27. organize and is responsible for the access and security regime in the administrative buildings of the NSI Head Office (low and high body);

28. create conditions for carrying out the activities of the specialized administration in crisis conditions;

29. keep registries for classified information;

30. organize the defense-mobilization preparation;

31. administer, maintain and operate the database of the access control and working time systems;

32. carry out other activities resulting from the enactments related to classified information.

Art. 21. (1) The Inspectorate under Art. 46 of the Administration Act is directly subordinate to the President for exercising administrative supervision over the activity within the NSI.

(2) The Inspectorate's activity is aimed at fully and accurately clarifying the checked cases and proposing measures for their solution in order to:

1. prevention and elimination of violations in the functioning of the administration;

2. independent and objective assessment of the activities of the administration;

3. improvement of the performance of the administration.

(3) The Inspectorate carries out its activity according to internal rules, approved by the President of the NSI.

(4) The Inspectorate shall:

1. perform planned and unplanned inspections of structures, activities and processes in the administration;

2. evaluate the risk of corruption and propose measures for its limitation;

3. collect and analyze information and carry out inspections to identify violations, cases of corruption and ineffective work of administration;

4. inspect for the observance of the laws, secondary and internal institutional regulations for the organization of work of the administration officials;

5. may propose institution of disciplinary proceedings in case of established violations of official duties as well as of the Code of Conduct of the State Administration Civil Servants;

6. carry out inspections of signals against illegal or improper actions or inactions of the administration officials;

7. supervise and carry out inspections under the Anti-Corruption and Forfeiture of Illegally Acquired Assets Act;

8. draw up acts for administrative violations in cases of established violations by the administration officials, where provided by law;

9. send alerts to the prosecution authorities when in checks it finds evidence of a crime;

10. make proposals for preparation of new internal regulations regulating the organization of work and the activity of the administration or make proposals for amendments to them;

11. perform inspections of the provision of administrative services;

12. perform other functions related to administrative supervision arising from legal acts or assigned by the President.

(5) The Inspectorate shall exercise administrative control over the activity of the Second Level Spending Units within the NSI system.

(6) The Inspectorate shall prepare a Strategic plan and an Annual plan on the activity, which shall be approved by the President of the NSI.

(7) Annually the Inspectorate shall present its Annual report on the activity to the President of the NSI.

(8) Annually the Inspectorate shall send, until March 1st, to the Chief Inspectorate report on the inspections under para. 4 in the previous year.

(9) The Inspectorate does not carry out checks on budgetary discipline.

Art. 22. The financial controller shall assist the President in the functioning of financial management and control systems and to this end, he/she shall:

1. carry out a preliminary control of legality in accordance with the legislation and the Law on financial management and control in the public sector of all documents related to the overall activity of NSI’s Head Office;

2. carry out a preliminary control of activities related to the utilization of funds received from international programmes and projects;

3. keep a register of all concluded contracts;

4. carry out preliminary control on the utilization of funds provided by European commission, as well as under European Structural and Investment funds;

5. submit periodically reports on its activity to the President.

Art. 23. (1) The Internal Audit Unit (IAU) shall perform internal audit of all structures, programmes, activities and processes, including of administrators of resources of the European Union and the administrators at the lower level in the NSI under the Public Sector Internal Audit Act.

(2) The internal audit shall be performed by the implementation of particular audit assignments for assurance and consulting.

(3) The Head of Internal Audit Unit shall report directly to the President.

(4) The Internal Audit Unit shall:

1. plan, perform and report on the internal audit activity in accordance with the requirements of the Public Sector Internal Audit Act, International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing, Code of Ethics of Internal Auditors, the Status of the Internal Audit Unit in NSI and the methodology for internal audit in the public sector approved by the Minister of Finance;

2. internal audit is an independent and objective activity  for ensuring confidence and consultation designed to benefit and improve the organization's operations;

3. Internal audit helps the organization achieve its goals by applying a systematic and disciplined approach to evaluating and improving the effectiveness of risk management, control and management;

4. prepare a three-year Strategic plan and Annual plan on activity, which shall be approved by the President;

5. prepare a plan for each audit engagement that includes the scope, objectives, timing and allocation of resources for the performance of the engagement. The audit engagement plan is reviewed and approved by the head of internal audit;

6. provide an independent and objective assessment on the state of the audited systems for financial management and control;

7. verify and evaluate the compliance of the activities with the legislation, internal regulations and contracts; reliability and integrity of financial and operational information; effectiveness, efficiency and economy of activities; the protection of assets and information and performance of tasks, and achievement of objectives;

8. report and discuss with the President and the heads of the structures under audit the results of each implemented audit assignment and submit an audit report;

9. provide recommendations in the audit reports in order to improve the activities in the organization, assist the President in the preparation of Action plan for implementation of the given recommendations and carry out inspections to monitor the implementation of the recommendations;

10. prepare an Annual report on internal audit activity and provide it to the President, who shall submit it to the Minister of Finance, in accordance with Art. 40 of the Public Sector Internal Audit Act;

11. ensure further improvement of professional qualification of internal auditors and maintain contacts with other internal audit units to the organizations in the public sector in order to exchange best practices.

Art. 24. The ‘International Relations and Projects’ Department shall perform  the following functions:

1. organize and coordinate the joint activities with the statistical office of the European Union (EU) - Eurostat;

2. organize and coordinate the international activities and establishing operational contact with EU institutions, as well as with partner institutions and international organizations;

3. coordinate, plan and control the implementation of national, European and international programs and projects, the participation of NSI representatives in meetings of working groups and committees, seminars, conferences and trainings;

4. organize the work of Working Group 12 "Statistics" of the Council on European Affairs (CEA), coordinating the preparation and coordination of framework positions, written opinions and instructions on European legislation with the relevant institutions at the national level and providing them to the EU institutions on competence;

5. supports the exchange of information through the EUnet and InfraSolv information systems.

Art. 25. The 'Communications and Secretariat' Department (CS) shall perform the following functions:

1. develop a communication strategy and implement the communication policy of NSI;

2. develop programs for presenting the NSI activities;

3. organize the public appearances of the NSI management and support experts from NSI and RSOs in their participation in public events;

4. participate in the implementation of the NSI's information policy;

5. inform the public about policies in the field of statistics, projects, programs and activities of NSI;

6. monitor and analyze publications in mass media and public opinion about the activities of the NSI;

7. plan and conduct information campaigns to present the activities of the NSI and the National Statistical System;

8. prepare rules for media communication of the HO and RSO of the NSI;

9. ensure the overall movement of the correspondence of the President and Deputy Presidents of NSI and organize the activities according to the internal protocol;

10. carry out clerical work and introduce management resolutions according to the provided correspondence;

11. carry out international protocol activity.

Section ІV
General Administration 

Art. 26. (1) The General Administration of the NSI shall be organized in one directorate - General Administration Directorate (GA), which shall consist of  four departments:

1. ‘Legal activities’ Department;

2. ‘Human Resources’ Department;

3. ‘Financial Accounting Activities’ Department;

4. ‘Property Management and Maintenance’ Department.

(2) The ‘Legal activities’ Department (LA) shall perform the following activities:

1. perform procedural representation in cases where the NSI or the President of the NSI shall be a part in courts, arbitration and the Commission for Protection of Competition;

2. draft internal regulations, administrative acts, contracts and other documents;

3. draft penal ordinances issued by the President;

4. prepare opinions on legal matters;

5. render legal assistance to the NSI’s top management, to the Directors of the RSOs, as well as to specialized and general administration in order to carry out their activity lawfully;

6. coordinate the legality of draft legal and administrative acts, acts of administrative violations, orders, contracts and other documents;

7. prepare the legal part of the tender documentation and implementation of procedures for  awarding of public procurement and tenders;

8. participate with its experts in committees, councils, working groups, which shall require the involvement of a lawyer;

9. organize the storage and usage of archive on public procurement.

(3) The ‘Human Resources’ Department (HR) shall perform the following activities:

1. develop a strategy for the development and management of human resources in the NSI;

2. assist the President of the NSI to implement the policy on human resources management;

3. prepare a draft staff establishment plan and a staff list by name of NSI’s Head Office;

4. assist the directors and the heads of departments within the NSI in preparation of job descriptions of their employees and shall prepare the job descriptions of the directors of the RSOs and of the employees directly subordinated to the President;

5. render methodical support to the directors of the RSOs concerning the human resources;

6. organize training in order to improve professional qualification and requalification of NSI’s employees;

7. organize and render methodical support in the process of assessment of the annual performance of the position of the NSI’s employees;

8. carry out the processing, archiving and storage of documentation related to the appointment, reappointment, release and length of service of employees under Civil Service Act and under Labour Code at NSI’s Head Office and directors of RSOs;

9. maintain and update the information in automated system for human resources management developed by the Council of Ministers;

10. organize office activity and administer the document registry system;

11. organize departmental archive of the NSI and shall be responsible for its transmission to the National Archival Fond;

12. participates in the process of determining key positions in administrative structures, prepares a list of key positions to be provided to the Appointing Authority for approval.

(4) The ‘Financial Accounting Activities’ Department (FEA) shall perform the following activities:

1. develop three-year Budget forecasts and the Draft Annual Budget of the NSI;

2. organize and perform accounting and financial reporting within the NSI’s system;

3. carry out periodic inventories under the Law on Accounting;

4. develop a proposal to determine the annual budgets of RSOs;

5. prepare and submit to the Ministry of Finance and the National Audit Office summary financial statements and reports on budget expenditures;

6. prepare and submit to the Ministry of Finance requests on monthly spending limits according to monthly budget allocation approved by the Ministry of Finance and estimates and reports on capital costs of NSI;

7. organize the storage and usage of the accounting archive;

8. implement financial reporting and accounting of targeted funds from the European Commission and the EU;

9. analyze and administer costs incurred by the NSI;

10. monitor the effective and lawful spending of budgetary funds, extra-budgetary funds and target funds according to the released limits in compliance with the financial discipline;

11. control of payments under contracts jointly with the Finance Controller;

12. elaborate, coordinate and propose for approval lists for acquisition of tangible fixed assets;

13. prepare proposals for updating the system for financial management and control and taking measures for its improvement in fulfillment of the recommendations of internal audit and other checks;

14. develop draft internal rules for financial management and control within the NSI.

(5) The ‘Property Management and Maintenance’ Department (PMM) shall perform the following activities:

1. plan, organize and supervise capital expenditure and construction and repair works within the NSI system in accordance with the investment policy of NSI;

2. plan, organize and supervise the management, the maintenance and the protection of property and assets of NSI's in recreation centers in the town of Primorsko, in the town of Kiten and “Borovets” resort;

3. arrange for the inventory of assets in the NSI’s HO and procedures for their scrapping and liquidation;

4. organize transport services in the NSI’s HO, monitor for the maintenance and repair of the vehicle fleet of NSI and supervise costs and reports on fuels in the NSI’s HO;

5. organize the procedures on rental property, or renting part of them - public and private state property allocated for management of the NSI;

6. arrange insurance of real estate of the NSI and movable property allocated for management to the NSI’s HO;

7. monitor the implementation of the contracts related to property of the NSI’s HO;

8. organize and provide cleaning and shall be liable for sanitary and hygienic conditions in the administrative buildings of NSI’s HO (high and low bodies) and courtyard;

9. organize and conduct holiday activities of the employees in the NSI’s recreation centers in the town of Primorsko, in the town of Kiten and “Borovets” resort;

10. organize and conduct economic activity in the NSI’s recreation center and “Borovets” resort;

11. organize occupational safety and health activities in the NSI system.

Section V
Specialized administration

Art. 27. The NSI specialized administration shall be organized into five directorates:

1. ‘Business Statistics’ Directorate;

2. ‘Demographic and Social Statistics’ Directorate;

3. ‘Macroeconomic Statistics’ Directorate;

4. ‘Multi-Domain Statistics, Methodology and Registers’ Directorate;

5. ‘Information systems and Infrastructure’ Directorate.

Art. 28. (1) The ‘Business Statistics’ Directorate (BS) shall consist of five Departments:

1. ‘Annual Business Statistics and Business Registers’ Department;

2. ‘Short-term Business Statistics and Transport Statistics’ Department;

3. ‘Statistics on Labour costs, Research and Development, Innovation and Information Society’ Department;

4. ‘Statistics on foreign trade in goods’ Department;

5. ‘Statistics on Tourism and Business surveys’ Department.

(2) The ‘Annual Business Statistics and Business Registers’ Department (ABSR) shall: organize, coordinate, supervise and participate in the development and implementation of the NSI’s policy in the field of structural business statistics (SBS), statistics of foreign affiliates (FATS), production and sales of industrial products (PRODCOM), the revenue from sales of the enterprises providing business services by type of product, statistics of financial enterprises, non-profit and non-financial enterprises and annual specific surveys by economic activities, build, maintain and update the Statistical Business Register (Register of Statistical Units (RSU). In this regard, the department shall perform the following activities:

1. develop new and improve existing methodologies and methods for conducting statistical surveys in the mentioned areas, ensuring their compliance with the requirements of the European and national legislation, and the guidelines and requirements of Eurostat;

2. develop and update tools for collecting Annual Reports on the activity of the enterprises and be liable for maintenance and extension of the Information System "Business Statistics" (ISBS);

3. develop and update the instruments for collecting monthly reports on production and sales on the domestic market of basic industrial products (PRODCOM).

4. organize and conduct statistical surveys included in the NSP in the mentioned areas;

5. validate and produce annual data and support time series in the field of structural business statistics, statistics of non-financial enterprises, of financial enterprises and non-profit enterprises, foreign direct investments, the expenditure on acquisition and the acquired fixed assets, receipts of construction enterprises by kind of construction, wholesale and retail sales by group of good and trade premises by kind and by commodity specialization, production and  sales of main industrial products on domestic market in accordance with the requirements of the national and European legislation;

6. submit statistics to Eurostat and to state and local authorities, as well as information on the implementation of individual users' requests and concluded contracts and agreements with professional, branch, public and other organizations;

7. prepare and provide statistical references for the code of economic activity and copies of annual tax returns, which are subject to legalization by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

8. organize and conduct activities to improve the quality and reliability of the collected and provided statistical information in the field of structural business statistics, statistics of non-financial enterprises, financial enterprises and non-profit enterprises, foreign direct investments, acquisition costs and acquired fixed tangible assets, the income of construction enterprises by types of construction, wholesale and retail sales by groups of goods and commercial establishments by type and commodity specialization, the production and sales on the domestic market of basic industrial products;

9. provide methodological support and assistance to the respondents, to the RSOs experts, to other Bodies of Statistics and to users of statistical information concerning statistical surveys conducted by the Department, the calculation of indicators and their use for scientific research and annual analyses;

10. prepare answers and opinions for Eurostat and other international organizations related to the preparation of normative acts, manuals, programs and projects;

11. participate in the work of Eurostat and other international organizations in the form of committees, working and task groups, seminars, pilot projects and others, as well as in the work of inter- and intradepartmental expert groups on topics related to structural business statistics, enterprise statistics under foreign control, production and sales of industrial products, revenue from sales of enterprises providing business services by type of products, statistics of financial enterprises, non-profit enterprises, non-financial enterprises and annual specific surveys of economic activities;

12. prepare and provide the results of statistical research in the field of structural business statistics, statistics of non-financial enterprises, financial enterprises and non-profit enterprises, foreign direct investments, acquisition costs and acquired fixed tangible assets, income of construction enterprises by types of construction, wholesale and retail sales by groups of goods and commercial establishments by type and commodity specialization, production and sales of basic industrial products for publication on the websites of Eurostat and NSI, IS Infostat and statistical publications;

13. prepare reports on the quality of data on structural business statistics (SBS), statistics of enterprises under foreign control (FATS) and production and sales of industrial products (PRODCOM);

14. provide information by filling in specific questionnaires for Eurostat, national and international institutions;

15. participate in the creation and updating of the classifications, nomenclatures and registers used in NSI.

16. shall build, maintain and update an information system ‘Enterprises Groups Register’ as an integral part of RSU;

17. prepare and exchange data on multinational groups of enterprises in order to update the EuroGroup register of Eurostat;

18. conduct annual research related to the demographics of enterprises and family business statistics;

19. perform profiling of complex enterprises;

20. perform methodological work on defining, creating and updating the statistical units ‘enterprise’, ‘local unit’, ‘unit by type of activity’ and ‘group of enterprises’ in RCU;

21. process and enter data from internal administrative sources;

22. process data from the registers maintained at the Registry Agency (BULSTAT, Trade Register);

23. load data on insured persons from the Register of Insured Persons of the National Insurance Institute;

24. administer and maintain the system-wide information of RCU and the information system of the Trade Register. Support national and departmental classifications (EKATTE, classifier of professions, departmental nomenclatures and others);

25. administer the access to the database of the Statistical Business Register and the data information system of the Commercial Register;

26. define aggregates for statistical studies of enterprises;

27. perform the processing on the formation of the statistical observations samples of the enterprises;

28. register data from observations and update the characteristics of statistical units;

29. perform the procedures for the ‘Annual closing of statistical units’, by which the scope of active, inactive or discontinued units is formed;

30. process the journal with proposals for ‘changing the data of the statistical units - demographic events’;

31. prepare reports for internal and external users;

32. provide methodological assistance to the statistical departments in NSI and RSO when using the Business Register.

(3) The ‘Short-term Business Statistics and Transport Statistics’ Department (STSTS) shall perform the following activities:

1. develop new and improve the existing methods, methodologies and tools for conducting short-term statistical surveys in industry, construction, domestic trade and services and transport, ensuring their compliance with the European and national legislation, and the  guidelines and requirements of Eurostat;

2. implement the organization of surveys, collection, processing, presentation and storage of statistical information regarding the short-term indicators and indicators in the field of transport and communications;

3. be liable for operational planning and reporting of statistical surveys included in the NSP, in the specified areas;

4. be liable for the maintenance, updating and expansion of the ‘Business Cycles’ Information System (ISBC) by incorporating new modules (surveys) in implementation of the current European legislation in the field of Short-term Business Statistics and Transport Statistics;

5. provide methodological support and assistance to the respondents, to the RSOs experts, to the Bodies of Statistics and to users of statistical information concerning statistical surveys conducted by the Department, the calculation of the indicators and their use for short-term analysis;

6. organize and conduct events to improve the quality and accuracy of collected and provided statistical information on STS in the fields of industry, construction, trade, services, transport and communications;

7. perform data revisions in the specified areas in accordance with European legislation;

8. prepare for publication metadata and report on the quality of short-term business indicators, including the "Main European Economic Indicators" system;

9. prepare and provide the results of statistical studies in the field of Short-term Business Statistics and Transport statistics for publication on the websites of Eurostat and NSI, IS Infostat and the statistical publications ;

10. provide information by filling in specific questionnaires for Eurostat, national and international institutions;

11. participate in working and target groups of Eurostat and other institutions and organizations at the national and international levels;

12. prepare opinions and answers to Eurostat and other international organizations and institutions related to the preparation of regulations, guidelines, programmes and projects;

13. process the needed information and calculate separate aggregates for quarterly national accounts in the field of industry, domestic trade, construction and services;

14. participate in the creation and updating of classifications, nomenclatures and registers used in the NSI.

(4) The ‘Statistics on Labour costs, Research and Development, Innovation and Information Society’ Department shall perform the following activities:

1. process and distribute official statistical information on the state and dynamics of employed persons, vacancies, labour costs, scientific research and development (R&D), innovations and the information society (use of information and communication technologies by enterprises, households and individuals);

2. organize, conduct and be responsible for research on short-term statistics of employment and labour costs in order to provide monthly and quarterly information on labour remunerations, employers' costs related to the hired labour they use, and vacancies;

3. organize, conduct and be responsible for the research included in the NSP on annual statistics of employment and labour costs in order to provide annual data on the average salary and labour costs in accordance with the requirements of European legislation;

4. monitor the salary structure in order to provide detailed and comparable information on the European level about the distribution and the relationship between the amount of remuneration, the individual characteristics of the employees and those of their employer;

5. organize, conduct and be responsible for the research included in the NSP, for scientific research and development activity (R&D), budget expenditures for R&D, innovation activity and information and communication technologies in households and enterprises;

6. develop new and improve the existing methodologies, methods and tools of the statistical research carried out by the department in a way that ensures maximum compliance with the quality requirements of the European Statistical System and satisfaction of users' needs;

7. be responsible for the operational planning and reporting of statistical studies in the field of employed persons and labour costs, research and development, innovation and the information society;

8. provide methodological assistance and cooperation to the respondents, to the experts from the RSO, to other statistical bodies and the users of statistical information regarding the statistical studies conducted by the department;

9. participate in the work of Eurostat and other international organizations in the form of working groups, task groups, seminars and pilot projects, as well as in the work of interdepartmental and intradepartmental expert groups on topics related to employment statistics and labour costs, scientific research and development, innovation and the information society;

10. develop and update technical assignments for the automatic processing of information from statistical studies conducted by the department;

11. participate in the coordination and updating of the regulatory framework in the field of the labour market, research and development, innovation and the information society in accordance with the requirements of national and international standards;

12. organize and conduct events to improve the quality and reliability of the collected and provided information about the employed persons and labour costs, research and development activities, innovations and the information society;

13. prepare quality reports and metadata for publication on the websites of Eurostat and NSI in the field of employment statistics and labour costs, research and development, innovation and the information society;

14. maintain dynamic rows and provide data from statistical studies conducted by the department for general statistical publications, international questionnaires, as well as for user information service;

15. participate in the development and updating of the classifications, nomenclatures and registers used in NSI.

(5) The ‘Statistics on foreign trade in goods’ Department (FTS) shall perform the following activities:

1. develop new and improve existing methodologies, methods and statistical tools for conducting statistical surveys in the field of foreign trade in goods statistics and ensure their harmonization with Eurostat’s requirements;

2. conduct statistical surveys included in the National Statistical Programme in the field of foreign trade in goods statistics;

3. develop, coordinate and update the legal framework in the field of foreign trade in goods statistics in compliance with the European legislation;

4. coordinate the work of the department with other structures inside and outside NSI related to provision, processing, validation, control and dissemination of data on foreign trade in goods statistics;

5. define the thresholds and estimate the values of the trade in goods below the thresholds and of non-response for the Intrastat system;

6. be liable for updating, maintenance and extension of the Information System "Foreign Trade" (ISFT);

7. be liable for dissemination of foreign trade data to the users in the country and abroad;

8. be liable for the organization in carrying out mirror exercises on commodity flows;

9. provide methodological support to the institutions providing data from administrative sources and participate in the development and maintenance of registers, classifications and nomenclatures used in reporting foreign trade statistics;

10. participate in the work of committees, working and target groups, meetings and seminars at national and international level in the field of foreign trade in goods statistics;

11. work on improvement of foreign trade data quality and prepare quality reports;

12. provide methodological support to the respondents and to the users of foreign trade data;

13. carry out information exchange of foreign trade data with Eurostat, other institutions, international organizations and countries;

14. prepare reports and statements on the issues of foreign trade in goods statistics;

15. prepare and provide data on foreign trade in goods necessary for the Eurostat and NSI websites, the general statistical publications of the NSI, IS Infostat and international questionnaires;

16. prepare tailor-made data on users’ requests.

(6) The ‘Statistics on Tourism and Business surveys’ Department (STBS) shall perform the following activities:

1. elaborate new and improve the existing methodologies, methods and instruments for carrying out the statistical surveys in the field of business surveys and tourism;

2. organize and conduct statistical surveys on tourism, business tendencies and consumers, included in the National Statistical Programme in accordance with the harmonized methods of the EU;

3. be liable for operational planning and reporting of statistical surveys in the mentioned areas;

4. elaborate and update technical specifications for automated processing of information from the statistical surveys on tourism, business tendencies and consumers;

5. participate in coordination and updating of legal basis in compliance with the requirements of national and international standards;

6. be liable for the quality, reliability, protection and dissemination of data from statistical surveys on tourism, business tendencies and consumers;

7. provide methodological assistance and support to the respondents, to the Regional Statistical Offices and to users of statistical information for tourism, business surveys and consumers;

8. prepare analytical materials, support time series and disseminate statistical information necessary for general statistical surveys and international questionnaires;

9. prepare and submit data to the European Commission, to Eurostat and to other structures of the European Commission within the legal deadline, provide information based on the interinstitutional agreements and information services to external users;

10. participate in working groups, task forces, seminars organized by the European Commission, Eurostat and other international organisations.

Art. 29. (1) The ‘Demographic and Social Statistics’ Directorate (DSS) shall be consist of five Departments:

1. ‘Statistics on Population and Housing fund’ Department;

2. ’Health and Justice Statistics’ Department;

3. ‘Education and Culture Statistics’ Department;

4. ‘Statistics on Living Conditions’ Department;

5. ‘Labour Force Statistics’ Department.

(2) The ‘Statistics on Population and Housing fund’ Department (SPHF) shall perform the following activities:

1. develop new and improve the existing methodologies in the field of demographic statistics, demographic processes, housing fund and demographic projections;

2. conduct statistical surveys included in the NSP in the field of demographic statistics, demographic processes (births, deaths, marriages and divorces, internal and external migration) and demographic projections;

3. be liable for operational planning and reporting of statistical surveys in the mentioned areas;

4. provide methodological support to other Bodies of Statistics and to public authorities maintaining administrative registers used for statistical purposes;

5. develop, coordinate and update the legislation in the field of demographic statistics, statistics on demographic processes, housing fund and demographic projections in compliance with the requirements of international standards and Eurostat;

6. prepare methodological developments, proposals and statements in the field of demographic statistics, demographic processes and demographic projections as well as within the NSI system and Eurostat;

7. prepare and provide data on population, demographic processes, housing fund and demographic projections necessary for general and specialized statistical publications, international questionnaires and information services to users;

8. participate in the work of departmental and interinstitutional working groups on the issues of demographic statistics, demographic processes, housing fund and demographic projections;

9. participate in the work of Eurostat and other international organizations in the form of working groups, task forces, seminars and other related to demographic statistics;

10. participate in the development and maintenance of registers, classifications and nomenclatures in the part of the population;

11. be liable for storage of statistical information in accordance with the Law on Statistics and the Law for Protection of Personal Data;

12. maintain and update ‘Demography’ Information System;

13. provide methodological support to the RSOs in the processing of the primary reports on demographic events;

14. update, maintain and provide access to data in the population of individuals and households of which the samples are selected for surveys of the NSI;

15. improve methodology and develop basic guidelines for conducting Population and housing censuses in accordance with Bulgarian and European legislation and international recommendations;

16. carry out international exchange of statistical information with Eurostat and statistical departments of international organizations in the field of methodology of Population and housing censuses;

17. coordinate the activities on preparation and coordination of tools for population and housing censuses with other state authorities and academic society;

18. cooperate with other structural units of the NSI, which are competent in the field of population and housing censuses, including through data exchange.

(3) The ‘Health and Justice Statistics’ Department (HJS) shall perform the following activities:

1. ensure the implementation of the relevant part of the NSP through methodological work in accordance with the European legislation and international contracts in this area, as organize and conduct statistical surveys in the field of:

a) Health statistics - annual surveys on activities of: the In-patient, out-patient and other health care establishments; Homes for medico-social care for children; Creches; System of health accounts (statistical system for description, classifying and analysis of health expenditure and financial sources); Implementation of the European Health Interview Survey (every six years);

b) Justice statistics - statistical surveys on crimes, accused and persons convicted (crimes with

penalty inflicted, accused persons and  convicted persons with penalties imposed), activities of  Local commissions for prevention of juvenile delinquency - anti-social acts of minor persons and crimes of juvenile persons;

2. be liable for operational planning and reporting of statistical surveys in the mentioned areas;

3. develop new and improve the existing methodologies and methods for conducting statistical surveys in the field of health and justice, ensuring their compliance with the requirements of Eurostat and other international organizations;

4. provide methodological support and assistance to other Bodies of Statistics and to public authorities supporting administrative sources used for statistical purposes in the field of health and justice;

5. carry out international exchange of statistical data and information with Eurostat and statistical departments of international organizations in the field of health and justice;

6. carry out interinstitutional coordination with other Bodies of Statistics and institutions concerning health and justice statistics;

7. prepare analyzes, analytical reports, methodological developments, proposals and statements in the field of health and justice;

8. participate in the work of departmental and interinstitutional working groups on the issues of health and justice statistics;

9. provide methodological support to the RSOs experts in conducting the surveys on health and justice.

(4) The ‘Education and Culture Statistics’ Department (ECS) shall perform the following activities:

1. ensure the implementation of the relevant part of the NSP through methodological work in accordance with the European legislation in this area, as organize and conduct statistical surveys in the field of:

a) Statistics on education - annual surveys on activities of educational institutions (pre-primary education; basic and secondary education; vocational training after secondary education; vocational training centers; tertiary education; Ph.D.) as well as representative surveys of households and enterprises in the field of education and training;

b) Statistics on culture - annual surveys on activities of cultural institutions (museums, theaters, libraries, cinemas, radio- and television programme activity; film production, book- and publishing activity).

2. be liable for operational planning and reporting of statistical surveys in the mentioned areas;

3. carry out interinstitutional coordination with other Bodies of Statistics and institutions concerning statistics on education and culture;

4. participate in coordination and updating of legislation in the field of statistics on education and culture in accordance with the requirements of international standards and regulations of the European Commission and Eurostat;

5. prepare and disseminate statistical information in the field of statistics on education and culture;

6. conduct international exchange of statistical information in the field of statistics on education and culture; coordinate activities on data provision from other Bodies of Statistics;

7. prepare analyzes, analytical reports, methodological developments, proposals and statements in the field of statistics of education and culture within the NSI system as well as for Eurostat;

8. participate in the work of departmental and interinstitutional working groups on the issues of statistics on education and culture;

9. provide methodological support to the RSOs experts in conducting the surveys on education and culture.

(5) The ‘Statistics on Living Conditions’ Department (SLC) shall perform the following activities:

1. develop new and improve the existing methodology in the field of statistical surveys ‘Household Budget Survey’ (HBS), ‘Survey on Income and Living Conditions’ (SILC), and ‘Integrated Social Protection Statistics’ (ESSPROS);

2. conduct statistical surveys included in the NSP in the field of statistics on household budgets, income and living conditions, integrated social protection statistics;

3. be liable for operational planning and reporting of statistical surveys in the mentioned areas;

4. provide methodological support to other Bodies of Statistics and to public authorities maintaining administrative registers used for statistical purposes;

5. develop, coordinate and update the legislation in the field of statistics on household budgets, income and living conditions, and integrated social protection statistics in accordance with the requirements of international standards and Eurostat;

6. prepare methodological developments, proposals and statements in the field of household budgets, income and living conditions, and integrated social protection statistics within the NSI system as well as for Eurostat;

7. prepare and provide data on household budgets, income and living conditions, and integrated social protection statistics, necessary for general and specialized statistical publications, international questionnaires and information services to users;

8. participate in the work of departmental and interinstitutional working groups on the issues of statistics of household budgets, income and living conditions, and integrated social protection statistics;

9. participate in the work of Eurostat and other international organizations in the form of working groups, task forces, seminars, etc., related to households, families and surveys conducted by the department;

10. participate in development and maintenance of registers, classifications and nomenclatures in their part for surveys conducted by the department;

11. be liable for the storage of statistical information in accordance with the Law on Statistics  and the Law on Protection of Personal Data;

12. maintain and update databases for surveys conducted by the department;

13. provide methodological support to the RSOs experts in primary data processing.

(6) The ‘Labour Force Statistics’ Department (LFS) shall perform the following activities:

1. collect, process and distribute official statistical information on the state and dynamics of employment and unemployment;

2. monitor the labour force survey with the aim of providing information on the most important characteristics of employment and unemployment in the Republic of Bulgaria;

3. develop new and improve the existing methodology, methods and tools of the statistical study of the labour force in a way that ensures maximum compliance with the quality requirements of the European Statistical System and satisfaction of the users' needs;

4. be responsible for the operational planning and reporting of the statistical study of the labour force;

5. provide methodological assistance and support to the respondents, to the experts from RSO, to other statistical bodies and the users of statistical information regarding the statistical study of the labour force;

6. participate in the work of Eurostat and other international organizations in the form of working groups, task groups, seminars and pilot projects, as well as in the work of interdepartmental and intradepartmental expert groups on topics related to labour force statistics;

7. develop and update technical assignments for the automatic processing of information from the statistical study of the labour force;

8. participate in the coordination and updating of the regulatory framework in the field of the statistical study of the labour force, in accordance with the requirements of national and international standards;

9. organize and take measures to improve the quality and reliability of the information collected and provided about the labour force;

10. prepare quality reports and metadata for publication on the websites of Eurostat and NSI in the field of labour force statistics;

11. provide data from the labour force survey for the general statistical publications of the NSI, international questionnaires, as well as for the information service of users;

12. participate in the development and updating of the classifications and nomenclatures used in the NSI.

Art. 30. (1) The ‘Macroeconomic Statistics’ Directorate (MES) shall consist of six Departments:

1. ‘Non-financial National and Regional Accounts’ Department;

2. ‘Financial National Accounts’ Department;

3. ‘SUT and Institutional National Accounts’ Department;

4. ‘Consumer Prices, Housing prices and PPP’ Department;

5. ‘Environmental and Energy accounts’ Department;

6. ‘Accounts and prices in Agriculture and Forestry’ Department.

(2) The ‘Non-financial National and Regional Accounts’ Department (NFNRA) shall perform the following activities:

1. develop express, preliminary, regular and ultimate quarterly and annual GDP and GVA estimates at the national and regional levels;

2. develop non-financial national accounts, according to Regulation (EU) No. 549/2013 of the EP and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the European Union;

3. develop quarterly estimates for main macroeconomic indicators, according to the European System of Accounts, with the aim of implementing the mandatory program for providing data in the field of national accounts and ensuring comparison at the EU level;

4. develop the Gross National Income (GNI) at market prices, according to Regulation (EU) 2019/516 of the EP and of the Council of March 19, 2019, on the harmonization of the gross national income at market prices for the purposes of the EU own resources;

5. answer questionnaires regarding the composition of the GNI aggregates and their components and quality;

6. develop quarterly and annual assessments of employment, man-hours worked and labour productivity in accordance with the principles of the European System of Accounts;

7. develop regional accounts in accordance with the principles of the European system of accounts;

8. take responsibility for the operational planning and reporting of statistical research in the specified areas in accordance with the implementation of the National Statistical Program, the Annual Plan for the activities of the NSI, the Program for providing data to Eurostat and the commitments of Bulgaria under signed international treaties;

9. perform revisions of the data in the relevant areas, in order to ensure comparability;

10. carry out international exchange of statistical information in the field of national accounts with Eurostat and other international institutions and organizations, respond for the implementation of the methodology in the field of national accounts in accordance with the principles of the European System of Accounts, coordinate the activity to ensure control and quality of national accounts data, participate in task groups and expert missions of national and international bodies and organizations in the field of national accounts and participate in the preparation of opinions in the field of non-financial accounts;

11. if necessary, request additional information from other structural units of NSI for the provision of sufficient and reliable information for the purposes of national accounts.

(3) The ‘Financial National Accounts’ Department (FNA) shall perform the following activities:

1. develop preliminary and final annual data on the surplus/deficit and debt of the "General Government" sector - Notification tables and Questionnaire to them;

2. develop statistical data in the field of financial national accounts according to EU Council Regulation No. 479/2009 on the implementation of the Protocol on the Excessive Deficit Procedure and EU Council Regulation No. 679/2010 amending EU Council Regulation No. 479 /2009 regarding the quality of statistical data in the context of the excessive deficit procedure;

3. develop quarterly and annual financial national accounts for stocks and transactions, for revaluations and other changes in assets and liabilities by financial instruments and institutional sectors on a non-consolidated and consolidated basis;

4. develop data on taxes and social security - assets and flows based on time-shifted and cash method (assets and liabilities);

5. develop fiscal data for the ‘Central Government’ and "Social Security Funds" subsectors;

6. develop non-financial indicators and basic macroeconomic indicators for the “General Government” sector at the national level;

7. perform a review of the institutional classification of statistical units, included in the ‘General Government’ sector;

8. take responsibility for the operational planning and statistical research reporting in the specified areas in accordance with the implementation of the National Statistical Program, the Annual Plan for the NSI, the Eurostat Data Provision Program and the commitments of Bulgaria under signed international treaties;

9. implement international exchange of statistical information with Eurostat in the field of financial statistics - statistical reports and questionnaires, and respond for the application of the methodology in the field of financial statistics in accordance with the principles of the European System of Accounts;

10. coordinate the activity for ensuring the control and quality of data on financial statistics, participate in target groups and expert missions of national and international bodies and organizations in the field of financial statistics, participate in an interdepartmental working group together with the Bulgarian National Bank and the Ministry of Finance for development, production and distribution of state financial statistics and financial national accounts and prepare opinions in the field of financial statistics;

11. if necessary, request additional information from other structural units of NSI for the provision of sufficient and reliable information for the purposes of financial national accounts and financial statistics;

 (4) The ‘Supply Use Tables (SUT) and Institutional National Accounts’ Department (CPHP&PPP) shall perform the following activities:

1. develop and balance Supply Use Tables by components and according to dimensionality requirements in accordance with the European System of Accounts;

2. develop annual non-financial national accounts by institutional sectors in accordance with the European system of accounts;

3. develop quarterly non-financial national accounts for the institutional sectors ‘General Government’, ‘Rest of the World’ and ‘Total Economy’ in accordance with the European System of Accounts;

4. develop an assessment for the weighted average rate of VAT for the purposes of the own resources of the EU in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EEC, Euratom) 1553/89 and the Guide for the administration of the own resources of the EU general budget in the Republic of Bulgaria;

5. develop annual data on the expenses of the institutional sector "Public Administration" by functions of the Classification of the Functions of Public Administration (COFOG);

6. take responsibility for the operational planning and reporting of statistical research in the specified areas in accordance with the implementation of the National Statistical Program, the Annual Plan for the NSI, the Eurostat Data Provision Program and the commitments of Bulgaria under signed international treaties;

7. implement international exchange of statistical information in the field of sectoral non-financial national accounts, Supply Use tables and the weighted average VAT rate for the purposes of EU VAT own resources, respond for the application of the methodology in the specified area in accordance with the principles of the European system of accounts, coordinate activities for ensuring data control and quality, participate in target groups and expert missions of international bodies and organizations in the field of national accounts;

8. if necessary, request additional information from the other structural units of the NSI and the statistical bodies in order to provide sufficient and reliable information for the purposes of the national accounts;

(5) The ‘Consumer Prices, Housing Prices and PPP’ Department (CPHP&PPP) shall perform the following activities:

1. implement the activity of construction, production and distribution of the national Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Harmonized Consumer Price Index (HICP) and the Price Index of the ‘Small Basket’ (PISB);

2. implement the activity on construction, production and dissemination of Housing price indices (HPI) and Owner-Occupied Housing Indices (OOHI) as well as housing sales indicators (HSI);

3. develop and improve the methodology and tools of statistical surveys of consumer prices and market prices of dwellings and the methodology for calculating the indices of their change, ensuring their harmonization with the requirements of Eurostat;

4. develop and improve the methodology and tools of statistical surveys of the prices of new and existing dwellings; services related to the acquisition and ownership of housing; and the insurances related to the home and the methodology for calculating the indices of their change, ensuring their harmonization with the requirements of Eurostat;

5. calculate Purchasing Power Parities (PPP) by analyzing the sources and methods applicable to the calculation of PPP; collect and provide Eurostat with basic statistical information for the calculation of PPP;

6. organize and conduct statistical surveys of consumer prices, carry out processing, production and dissemination of the statistical information on consumer price indices and inflation;

7. organize and conduct statistical surveys on housing prices, perform processing, production and publication of statistics on housing price indices;

8. be liable for the operational planning and reporting of statistical research in the specified areas in accordance with the implementation of the National Statistical Program, the Annual Plan for the activities of the NSI, the Eurostat Data Provision Program and Bulgaria's commitments under signed international treaties;

9. elaborate analytical materials in the field of statistics on consumer prices and statistics on housing prices;

10. prepare informational materials related to the preparation of statistical publications, the NSI’s site, the information service for general public, state authorities, as well as in accordance with international contracts for provision of information;

11. participate in elaboration, maintenance and updating the statistical classifications used in the field of consumer prices and housing prices statistics;

12. participate in the work of working groups, national and international meetings and seminars in the field of consumer prices and housing prices statistics;

13. implement methodological leadership and co-ordination of the work on preparation of national statistical data for international comparisons of PPPs, relative price levels and macroeconomic indicators in accordance with the European Comparisons Program (ECP);

14. organize the preparation and conducting of specialized price surveys within the framework of the partnership with European countries, RSOs and external experts;

15. jointly with Eurostat organize and co-ordinate the preparation of national statistical information necessary for calculation of correction coefficients in accordance with the Regulation on the payment of European officials in the various countries;

16. participate in the work on the preparation of programs, and strategies in the process of harmonization with international statistical standards as a regular member of the Eurostat working groups ‘Purchasing Power Parities’ and ‘Article 64 of the Regulation on the Remuneration of European Officials’;

(6) The ‘Environmental and Energy accounts’ Department (EEA) shall perform the following activities:

1. organize, coordinate, supervise and participate in the development and implementation of the policy of NSI in the field of environment and energy statistics;

2. develop new and improve the existing methods, methodologies, instruments and technologies for conducting statistical surveys in the field of environmental statistics and accounts and energy statistics;

3. conduct statistical surveys included in the NSP in the following areas: sources of emissions, movement of the tangible fixed assets with ecological use, expenditure on protection of the environment, producers of environmental goods and services, environmental taxes and fees, environment subsidies, water use and water supply, sewage network, wastewater treatment plants, packaging waste, household, production and agricultural waste, underground reserves, control and pollution prevention of sea waters and the Danube river. Provide administrative information on: protected areas, noise levels and sanctions and fees;

4. conduct statistical surveys and provide information on: production, import, export and deliveries of energy products; prices of electricity and natural gas supplied for industry and households; combined heat and power units; overall energy balance sheet of the country; balance of physical energy flows;

5. prepare information for sustainable development indicators as a part of EU Sustainable Development Strategy and for Europe 2020 Strategy in the field of environment and energy;

6. elaborate and update technical specifications for information processing from the statistical surveys in the mentioned areas;

7. develop and maintain specialized nomenclatures and register of reporting units for statistical surveys on environment and energy;

8. be liable for the operational planning and reporting of statistical research in the specified areas in accordance with the implementation of the National Statistical Program, the Annual Plan for the NSI, the Eurostat Data Provision Program and Bulgaria's commitments under signed international treaties;

9. participate in the coordination and updating of the regulatory framework in the specified areas in accordance with the requirements of national and international standards;

10. organize and conduct events to improve the quality and reliability of the collected and provided information;

11. prepare analytical materials, maintain dynamic lines and provides data necessary for general statistical publications, international questionnaires and regulations, as well as for information service to users;

12. participate in the work of Eurostat and other international organizations in the form of working groups, task groups, seminars and others;

13. provide methodological assistance and assistance to the respondents, to the experts from the RSO and to the users of statistical information;

14. ensure the protection of the confidentiality of the primary data that is collected in the course of the conducted statistical studies, carry out coordination in the collection of administrative information on the phenomena related to the environment and energy, outside of the regular statistical studies;

(7) The ‘Accounts and prices in Agriculture and Forestry’ Department (APAF) shall perform the following activities:

1. elaborate, update and improve statistical tools for the surveys in the field of agro-monetary statistics in compliance with the requirements of the existing EU legislation;

2. be liable for the organization and implementation of the surveys in the field of agro-monetary and forestry statistics according to the National Statistical Programme;

3. be liable for the operational planning and reporting of statistical research in the specified areas in accordance with the implementation of the National Statistical Program, the Annual Plan for the NSI, the Eurostat Data Provision Program and Bulgaria's commitments under signed international treaties;

4. elaborate materials for publication on the NSI’s site and statistical publications of the NSI according to the Release calendar and Editing Plan;

5. keep time series on the satellite accounts for agriculture and forestry, agricultural prices and price indices;

6. jointly with other competent units within the NSI participate in elaboration, maintenance and updating of the system of national classifications and registers;

7. coordinate the activities between the competent units within the NSI on the data transmission to Eurostat for Rural Development Statistics for the purposes of building-up and development of EU database;

8. be liable for the implementation of European legislation in production of statistical information in the field of Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Statistics, jointly with the other Bodies of Statistics in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Executive Forestry Agency and Executive Fishery and Aquaculture Agency;

9. represent Bulgaria and NSS in working groups of Eurostat, Standing Committee of Agricultural Statistics to Eurostat and other international forums in the field of agricultural statistics;

Art. 31. (1) The ‘Multi-Domain Statistics, Methodology and Registers’ Directorate (MSMR) shall consist of five departments:

1. ‘Regional Statistics and Geographical Information’ Department;

2. ‘Indicators and Monitoring of Strategic Documents and Initiatives’ Department;

3. ‘Relations with Users and e-Services’ Department

4. ‘Publications, Library and Digital Products’ Department.

5. ‘Planning, Coordination and Quality of Statistical Surveys’ Department.

(2) The ‘Regional Statistics and Geographical Information’ Department (RSMI) shall perform the following activities:

1. ensure the implementation of the relevant part of the NSP by organizing and conducting statistical studies in the following thematic areas:

a) regional statistics - characteristics of regions, districts and municipalities; disasters, accidents, incidents and crises that have occurred;

b) territorial studies - administrative-territorial division; balance of territory; population density;

2. be responsible for the operational planning and reporting of statistical research and activities included in the NSP, for the thematic areas specified in item 1;

3. prepare and distributes information products in the specified areas, as well as those produced by linking statistical and spatial data;

4. prepare analyses, analytical reports, methodological developments, proposals and opinions in the specified thematic areas;

5. maintain and improve sets of spatial data necessary for the production of integrated statistical information and the provision of specialized information services dealing with spatial data;

6. carry out the international exchange of information with Eurostat and the statistical departments of international organizations in the field of regional statistics, crisis events and spatial data;

7. participate in maintaining the Classification of Territorial Units for Statistics in Bulgaria (NUTS) and the nomenclatures with regional typologies for Bulgaria, according to European legislation;

8. coordinate the activities in NSI related to the fulfilment of commitments under the Law For Access To Spatial Data and Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of March 14, 2007, on the creation of an infrastructure for spatial information in the European Community (INSPIRE );

9. participate in departmental and inter-departmental working groups, projects and initiatives related to providing information and opinions on the following topics: spatial data, linking statistical and geographic information, disaster risk management and other competence topics.

(3) The ‘Indicators and Monitoring of Strategic Documents and Initiatives’ Department (IMSDI) shall perform the following activities:

1. coordinate the activities on data collection, validation and reporting, from statistical studies and from administrative sources, in national and international studies for reporting the country's progress in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 of the United Nations;

2. provide and disseminate information on basic economic and financial indicators for the country;

3. integrate data from comprehensive and sample studies and administrative sources necessary for national plans, programs and strategies, as well as for ensuring their connection with international documents;

4. develop new and improve existing methodologies for the systems of key statistical indicators and monitors the implementation of European, national and regional strategies;

5. be liable for maintaining, updating and developing the Information System for monitoring national, European and international strategies and programs (IS MONITORSTAT);

6. provide methodological assistance to the users of IS MONITORSTAT;

7. exchange statistical information with Eurostat and the statistical departments of international organizations;

8. cooperate with other structural units in and outside NSI to provide the necessary information in forming sets of indicators for European, national and regional policies;

9. participate in:

a) target groups of Eurostat and EC;

b) projects with international bodies and organizations to provide the data for key indicators for the development and monitoring of the implementation of European, national and regional strategies;

c) seminars and conferences on topics related to the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 of the United Nations.

(4) The ‘Relations with Users and e-Services’ Department (RUES) shall perform the following activities:

1. provide statistical information products and services to users from the country and abroad;

2. prepare new and update the existing agreements for information exchange with ministries, state agencies, academic institutions and other authorities;

3. provide statistics on questionnaires of international organizations;

4. carry out supporting activity for the users of statistical information as part of the activities of the network of centres in the Member States (ESDS Network);

5. maintain and service the reception room for users at NSI’s HO;

6. study the public needs of statistical information;

7. provide methodological support and assistance to the units in dissemination of information in RSOs;

8. support all Internet, Intranet sites and pages of NSI related to activity of the NSI;

9. be liable for maintenance and management of the system ‘Infostat’;

10. support the integration of Information systems of the NSI with the Information systems of public administration concerning the development of Information Society and “E-Government”;

11. develop and support online services for users and respondents.

(5) The ‘Publications, Library and Digital Products’ Department (PLDP) shall perform the following activities:

1. be liable for compilation, editing and adherence to the unified graphic design NSI in layout of the general statistical publications;

2. be liable for editing and layout of specialized statistical publications;

3. elaborate information materials, brochures, leaflets and other for products and services provided by the NSI;

4. coordinate and supervise the activity on prepress and print preparation of printed and electronic publications of the NSI and statistical tools;

5. be liable for the wording of press releases with the results of statistical surveys in Bulgarian and English versions and coordinate their publication on the NSI’s website jointly with RUES Department;

6. develop annual Editing plan and Catalogue of statistical publications;

7. study and analyze user demand in the field of printed and electronic publications of the NSI and make suggestions for amendments in the Editing plan as well as for updating the library fund;

8. organize and coordinate the activities on subscription and dissemination of statistical publications within the NSI system, into the country and abroad;

9. administer Internet portal of digital library and carry out activities related to the development of the integrated Information-retrieval library system;

10. implement national and international book exchange;

11. service users from the country and abroad in the reading room of the NSI’s library;

12. keep archive, in which the library fund of Bulgarian and international statistical publications shall be stored.

(6) The ‘Planning and Quality of Statistical Surveys’ Department (PCQSI) shall perform the following activities:

1. preparation of short-term, medium-term and long-term plans and strategic documents in the field of statistics;

2. planning, organizing and carrying out the operational coordination of statistical activity in NSI;

3. interaction with other statistical bodies in the compilation, implementation and reporting of the NSP;

4. carrying out the coordination in organizing and conducting the meetings of the National Statistical Council;

5. maintains the Efficiency Management System in NSS according to the Code of European Statistical Practice and the European Framework for Ensuring Efficiency;

6. supports the Integrated Management System in NSI according to the ISO 9001 standard;

7. development and maintenance of National Statistical Classifications and Nomenclatures independently or jointly with other state institutions;

8. providing methodological assistance in the use of classifications in statistical and social practice;

9. maintenance of ‘Statistical Classifications’ Information System;

10. coordination of the NSI activities to fulfil the obligations under the Special Data Dissemination Standard Plus (SDDS Plus) of the IMF to the BNB.

11. organizing the maintenance and functioning of the National Register of Populated Places;

12. identifying the need for modernization of statistical research by using data from alternative sources;

13. study of good practices in the field of partnership with private data holders, as well as identify possible formats for their adaptation at the national level;

14. offering proposals for inclusion partnership agreements between NSI and private data holders;

15. coordination of activities in NSI to ensure access to private holder's data;

16. implementation of communication activities related to alternative sources of data for the production and distribution of official statistics;

17. creation and maintenance of registers.

Art. 32. (1) The ‘Information Systems and Infrastructure’ Directorate (ISI) shall consist of three Departments:

1. ‘Information Systems and Application Software’ Department;

2. ‘Database Management’ Department;

3. ‘Information and Communication Infrastructure’ Department.

(2) The ‘Information Systems and Application Software’ Department (ISAS) shall perform the following activities:

1. develop, implement, maintain and improve applied Information systems for the statistical surveys;

2. plan, coordinate and ensure successful delivery of services from external partners related to building-up and development of applied information systems, support their efficient management by developing terms of reference, recommendations and proposals;

3. provide interaction of information systems in the Head Office and RSOs;

4. implement technological processing of data from statistical surveys;

5. develop, implement and maintain analytical applications using the SPSS Statistics Server and other statistical softwares;

6. plan and prepare proposals for purchase of new environments for development and specialized statistical software;

7. provide activities for alignment the applied software of the NSI in accordance with worldwide standards and EU requirements;

8. organize jointly with "Human Resources" Department training and improvement of qualification of employees in departments of the NSI and RSOs in the field of processing of information datasets.

(3) The ‘Database Management’ Department (DM) shall perform the following activities:

1. install, maintain, monitor and control servers for database management, analytical databases, servers for applications and applied systems and products;

2. reserve information in order to its protection and ensure rapid recovery of information systems;

3. maintain and administer Interviewer Center, Support Center of the NSI and environment for exchange of data and metadata with state institutions, Eurostat and international organizations;

4. support the integration of Information systems of the NSI with the Information systems of public administration concerning the development of Information Society and “E-Government”;

5. support real-time replication of the entries in the Commercial Register and Register BULSTAT into NSI’s databases;

6. perform primary processing and analysis of data from administrative registers and information systems and provide the results to the statistical directorates and departments;

7. consult respondents on technical problems related to the usage of information systems for statistical data collection;

8. update digital signatures for electronic document exchange and e-banking.

(4) The ‘Information and Communication Infrastructure’ Department (ICI) shall perform the following activities:

1. plan and prepare proposals for timely update and purchase new equipment and system software;

2. perform installation and system administration of servers of information systems in the NSI;

3. administer and monitor the servers in the Information Center of the NSI;

4. administer, maintain and monitor the communication infrastructure in the NSI;

5. provide information security of information and communication infrastructure in the NSI;

6. install the necessary software and support personal computers and printers in the NSI;

7. install and maintain copying equipment of the NSI;

8. support telephone network.

Section VІ
Regional Statistical Offices

Art. 33. The Regional Statistical Offices (RSOs) shall be second-level spending units to the NSI President, which:

1. implement the state policy in the field of statistics at regional level where they are located;

2. carry out the collection and processing of statistical data for surveys provided in the NSP, from the respondents (statistical units) in the territory of the region where they are located;

3. collect, process and disseminate statistical information based on established methodologies and methods for conducting statistical surveys included in the NSP, and on requests of users;

4. supervise and coordinate the implementation of statistical surveys in the territory of the region where they are located;

5. maintain constant contacts with the NSI’s Head Office, which shall perform overall leadership on planning and conducting statistical surveys by specialized departments;

6. transmit and receive data to and from other structures of the NSI under the Rules for dissemination of statistical products and services.

Art. 34. (1) The RSOs shall be managed by Directors.

(2) The Directors of the RSOs shall:

1. organize overall activity of the RSOs and conducting statistical surveys according to the NSP;

2. develop and approve internal rules and schedules of positions registered in the RSOs;

3. appoint officials in Regional Statistical Offices;

4. be liable for operational planning and reporting of activities of the RSOs;

5. organize the dissemination of statistical information in the region;

6. control the quality production of statistical information;

7. be liable for carrying out a comprehensive control on the usage of information systems, protection and maintenance of assets and information in the relevant RSO;

8. submit to the President of the NSI monthly reports on activity and budget implementation of the RSO;

9. perform other tasks by orders of the President, Deputy Presidents and Secretary General of the NSI.

Chapter Five
ORGANIZATION OF WORK OF THE NSI

Section І
Organization of work

Art. 35. (1) In carrying out the functions and concrete tasks the administrative units at the NSI shall prepare projects, analyzes, programmes, concepts, positions, statements, reports, memos, information, minutes, drafts of: contracts, decisions on specific issues, internal acts, legal and administrative acts and other documents.

(2) The administrative units at the NSI shall interact on issues of mixed competence as the leading unit shall summarize the final statement.

(3) The interaction between the units at the NSI during implementation of activities related to two or more administrative units shall be ensured by observing the following order of work:

1. overall coordination:

a) by a resolution of the President or of the responsible Deputy President, respectively, of the Secretary General or of the Director of the RSO as on the documents the leading unit, the specific tasks to be implemented, indication of coordination with other units, the contractor and the deadline shall be stated mandatory;

b) the leading unit listed first in the resolution shall be the main contractor of the task to be implemented and chief coordinator with other units, which the task shall be coordinated with;

c) other units referred to in the resolution shall submit its statement on issues of joint competence to the leading unit;

d) the head of the administrative unit, prepared and coordinated the relevant document shall sign or initial it prior to its submission for signature by the President, the responsible Deputy President/ Secretary General, respectively Director of the RSO;

e) administrative units, which received documents with resolution on issues outside of their functions, shall send them to the competent administrative unit with a copy to the person who has put the resolution on the relevant document.

2. subordination:

a) heads of administrative units or employees, which are directly subordinated to the President shall report to him/her;

b) heads of administrative units shall report to the responsible Deputy President, respectively, to the Secretary General on issues within their competence as well as on implementation of their tasks assigned;

c) the Deputy Presidents and the Secretary General report to the President.

3. mutual awareness:

a) analytical reports, information, memos and other materials of general nature shall be submitted to the stakeholders;

b) administrative units received information and materials within the competence of other units shall communicate this to the stakeholders accordingly.

4. control of the implementation:

а) the total control over the implementation of the tasks assigned shall be carried out by the relevant responsible Deputy President, respectively, by the Secretary General, and by the Inspectorate under Art. 46 of the Administration Act in cases foreseen in the relevant internal rules;

b) the heads of administrative units in the NSI shall implement comprehensive control over the activity of the relevant unit as well as over the implementation of the tasks arising from their functional competence.

Art. 36. (1) Incoming and created as a result of the activity of the NSI documents shall be registered in the automated information system.

(2) Upon filing of documents in the system a check for presence of any materials referred to therein shall be made and formal correspondence shall be initiated.

(3) The outgoing documents from NSI shall be drawn up in as many copies as the recipients, and one copy which shall contain the names, position, department and signature of the official who prepared the document and the head of the administrative unit pointing out also the date.

(4) The organization, the procedure and the manner of movement of official correspondence shall be determined by Internal Rules for the circulation of electronic and paper documents in the National Statistical Institute, approved by the President’s order.

Art. 37. (1) The heads of the units in the NSI shall manage, organize, allocate, coordinate and control the work of employees of the unit. This shall be done in accordance with the activities and the job descriptions stated in these rules.

(2) The heads of units shall provide methodological and professional support to employees in the unit in the performance of their tasks. They shall participate directly in the preparation of analyzes, studies, statements and proposals of the unit.

(3) The heads of the units shall report the work of the unit to the immediate director.

(4) The Directors of Directorates at the Head Office and the Directors of RSOs shall report to the Secretary General on all administrative issues which shall require to organize general coordination of two or more units from different directorates. The coordination of specialized activities shall be carried out by the respective responsible Deputy President.

(5) The heads of administrative units shall be liable for the operation of the unit in accordance with the activities stated in these rules.

(6) In case of absence of the head of unit he/she shall be replaced by appointed by him/her employee.

Art. 38. (1) The tasks of civil servants and persons working under the Labour Code shall be awarded by a written resolution of the direct and/or controlling manager.

(2) Exceptionally, in urgent cases, the tasks of civil servants and of persons working under the Labour Code shall be awarded by the President and/or the relevant responsible Deputy President, respectively, by the Secretary General. In these cases the tasks of civil servants and of persons working under the Labour Code shall be awarded by a verbal order of the respective head.

(3) The civil servants and persons working under the Labour Code shall perform their tasks assigned and shall be accountable to their direct manager for the timely and qualitatively implementation according to their job descriptions.

Art. 39. The visiting hours of the President, Deputy Presidents, Secretary General and administrative units serving the citizens shall be disclosed in designated places at the premises of the NSI and on the NSI’s Internet site.

Art. 40. The access regime of the NSI shall be organized and controlled in accordance with the instruction approved by the President.

Section ІІ
Working time and holidays

Art. 41. (1) The working time at the NSI shall be 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, 5 days a week.

(2) The working day shall start at 9.00 am and shall end at 17.30 pm with lunch break of 30 minutes. The lunch could be used between 12.00 and 14.00 hours.

(3) The working time at the NSI can also be with variable limits, in accordance with the Art. 139, para 2f the Labour Code and the Art. 51, para 3 of the Law on Civil Servants.

(4) The attendance of employees with flexible working time shall be from 8.30 hours to 18.00 hours under the conditions of para 1 with compulsory attendance from 9.30 hours to 17.00 hours.

(5) The procedure for determining and reporting of working time shall be settled by order of the Secretary General.

Section ІІІ
Protection of statistical secrecy

Art. 42. (1) The NSI shall provide protection of individual data and prevent their misuse by undertaking the necessary organizational and technical measures and shall allow access to such data only of the persons who have signed a solemn declaration for protection of secrecy.

(2) The collection, the processing, the use and the storage of data representing statistical secrecy shall be carried out under an order determined with the rules approved by the President of the NSI.

(3) The individuals entrusted with the collecting, receiving, processing or storage of data representing statistical secrecy shall sign a solemn declaration for protection of secrecy in the performance of their duties and within a period of five years of their completion.

(4) The NSI and the Bodies of Statistics shall use individual data according to art. 25 of the Law on Statistics only for statistical purposes, unless if the entities subjects of such data have given his written consent to their use for any other specified purposes.

TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS 

§ 1. The Rules of Procedure of NSI were approved by Order RD-511/31.07.2023 of the president of NSI, amended and supplemented by Order No. RD-05-522/04.08.2023, amended and supplemented with Order No РД-05-575/30.08.2023, amended and supplemented with Order No. RD-05-620/19.09.2023, amended and supplemented with Order No. RD-05-885/22.12.2023.

§ 2. Within one month’s period from the entry into force of the Rules, the job descriptions should be updated for the positions with changed functions.