Article 4 National classifications of economic activities

Member States' statistics presented according to economic activities shall be produced using NACE Rev. 2 or a national classification derived therefrom.

The national classification may introduce additional headings and levels and a different coding may be used. Each of the levels, except for the highest, shall consist of either the same headings as the corresponding NACE Rev. 2 level or headings constituting an exact breakdown thereof.

Member States shall forward to the Commission, for its approval prior to their publication, the drafts defining or modifying their national classifications. The Commission shall check the conformity of these drafts with paragraph 2 within two months. The Commission shall transmit the approved national classification to the other Member States for information. The Member States' national classifications shall include a table of correspondence between the national classifications and NACE Rev. 2.

In the event of incompatibility between certain NACE Rev. 2 headings and the national economic structure, the Commission may authorise a Member State to use an aggregation of NACE Rev. 2 headings in a specific sector.

To obtain such an authorisation, the Member State concerned must provide the Commission with all the necessary information to consider its request. The Commission shall decide within three months.

However, notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, such an authorisation shall not entitle the Member State concerned to subdivide the aggregated headings in a way different from NACE Rev. 2.

The Commission shall, together with the Member State concerned, periodically review the authorisations granted under paragraph 4 to verify whether they remain justified.