The Development of Statistical Business Registers in Bhutan

Outline Structure of the SBR Information sources Technological environment Updating and maintenance processes Uses of statistical business registers Issues and challenges Ongoing initiatives and long-term plans

1. Structure of the SBR Coverage Number of records Main variables Period: 2000 to 2014 Geographic: National, Regional, and Dzongkhag Number of records Statistical Units: 35,316 Industry: By Major Industry (Primary, Secondary, and Services) Main variables Identification Data Contact Data Classification data Maintenance and Linkage Data Other information Industry and product classifications Industry: ISIC rev 4 Product: CPC 2.0 Trade: HS 2012/SITC

2. Information sources Sources of information Basic Data Source: Department of Revenue & Customs (DRC) Other data source: Department of Industry, Department of Cottage and Small Industry, and other Licensing agencies Linkage of different Information sources to create the records in SBR Tax payer Identification number License Number Establishment Control Number generated by the System Data sharing agreement among the stakeholders No formal agreement exist as of date to sharing the data Data are shared as and when there is written official request

3. Technological environment Hardware systems Intel (R) Xeon (R) CPU E3 – 1271 v3 (Processor) 3.60 GHZ 3.60 GHZ RAM 16 GB, HD 1TB Software systems Windows Server 2012 (OS) Database MySql Networked Web based system Externally networked Backup Systems The system has module that back-up whole database of SBR IT support Proto type system developed by Asian Development Bank Customized to country needs by local office IT staff with the support from ADB consultant Safeguards in place to protect the data Durability or lifespan of the systems???

4. Updating and maintenance processes Information to be updated annually The SBR system, it enables: adding of new business establishment retrieval and updating business establishment importing raw data (for batch uploading) Data Validation - Ensures that clean, correct and useful data will be contained in the SBR database. It specifically, Validates information at the data entry level Checks for the completeness & correctness of entries.

5. Uses of Statistical Business Registers Since the SBR is still in developing stage the information stored in the SBR is used as the bases for further improvement on the missing variables and SBR system Once the SBR system becomes fully functional, the information in the SBR will be used for; Quick National Accounts Estimates Survey Frame Business demography Summery tables/Reports Master list for economic census

6. Issue and challenges Non-coverage Coordination Lack of standard classification (Industry and Product) Capacity and resources Lack of Legal Framework (Legislation) The role of multilateral organizations in addressing these issues and challenges Provide TA in terms of expertise to; Strengthen the existing SBR system Develop standard classification Resource in terms of hardware and software

7. Ongoing initiatives and Long-term plans ADB proto type SBR system launched System improvement ongoing based on the users feedback Institutionalization of SBR to encourage data sharing and access Long-term plans Integration of SBR system with other statistical database and/or system Make SBR Live Generate quarterly report on “Business Demography” Incorporate Export Import data by Industry