Revisions to the March 2003 GDP figures

The comprehensive revisions include not only a more accurate estimate of some indicators from 2001 and the first three quarters of 2002, but also methodological changes. In particular, the following methodological and material modifications were made:

1. for all the quarters of 2001, supplies of destructive equipment were moved from capital formation to government expenditure; this affected the structure of GDP but not its amount;
2. in line with EU requirements, a change was agreed with the Ministry of Finance to the method used to calculate indirect taxes - from a cash basis to an accrual basis (the tax is determined on the basis of a tax regulation for the given year);
3. in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance, the estimate of subsidies granted was revised;
4. payments by domestic insurance companies and payments under their foreign reinsurance relating to the August floods were removed from the GDP estimates.

The revisions to the 2001 figures did not significantly alter the growth rate of domestic demand or GDP. The changes chiefly affected the structure of domestic demand, since they were primarily of a methodological nature. There were more marked changes in 2001 in the growth rate of government consumption (faster growth) and gross fixed capital formation (slower growth). Net exports were also revised in such a way that their already negative results deteriorated further. For 2002, the revised estimate of GDP for the first three quarters changed the outlook for the development and structure of GDP. For fixed investments and household consumption the changes revised growth downwards. On the other hand, the inventories item saw the original figures scaled upwards. A correction in the balance of goods and services on the exports side caused a worsening in net exports. The revisions meant that the GDP growth rate for the first three quarters of 2002 fell by 0.4 percentage points compared to the original estimate.