Text consolidated by Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre) with amending laws of: 24 October 2019 [shall come into force on 20 November 2019]; 14 December 2023 [shall come into force on 12 January 2024]. If a whole or part of a section has been amended, the date of the amending law appears in square brackets at the end of the section. If a whole section, paragraph or clause has been deleted, the date of the deletion appears in square brackets beside the deleted section, paragraph or clause.

The Saeima ¹ has adopted and
the President has proclaimed the following law:

Statistics Law

Chapter I
General Provisions

Section 1. Terms Used in the Law

The following terms are used in this Law:

1) administrative data sources - registers, databases, information systems and other sources of information;

2) data - data on a natural person, data on a legal person governed by private law or an association of such persons, and also data on a State authority;

3) classification - a systemized allocation of objects based on established characteristics where a code is assigned to each object or group of objects;

4) official statistics - statistics which corresponds to the objectives and criteria laid down in this Law and is included in the Official Statistics Programme;

5) production of official statistics - a set of techniques and activities which ensure the planning, development, data collection, processing, analysis, and dissemination of official statistics;

6) respondent - a private individual or a State authority which is requested to provide data on a specific statistical unit;

7) standard in the field of statistics - a document (a legal act, manual, best practice, guidelines or other document) and information technology tool that define requirements for the production of official statistics;

8) statistics - information which characterises a set of statistical units or a process;

9) statistical institution - a State authority which provides official statistics;

10) statistical unit - the basic observation unit (for example, a natural person, legal person, household, State authority) to which the data refer;

11) State authority - an institution of direct administration subordinated to the Cabinet, an administrative institution which is not subordinated to the Cabinet, a derived public entity and an authority thereof, judicial power authority, and also a private individual to whom the tasks of State administration are delegated.

Section 2. Purpose of the Law

The purpose of this Law is to provide statistics on economic, demographic and social phenomena, and processes taking place in the public, and also the environment.

Section 3. Exception of the Application of the Law

The Law shall not apply to the statistics provided by Latvijas Banka in accordance with the Law on Latvijas Banka.

[14 December 2023]

Chapter II
System for the Production of Official Statistics

Section 4. Institutions Belonging to the System for the Production of Official Statistics

(1) The system for the production of official statistics shall be developed by statistical institutions and the Statistical Council.

(2) The managing institution of the system for the production of official statistics shall be the Central Statistical Bureau (hereinafter - the Bureau). The Bureau is an institution of direct administration under the supervision of the Ministry of Economics.

(3) The Bureau shall implement functional subordination over other statistical institutions in the field of the production of official statistics by providing methodological guidelines, supervising the conformity of the production of official statistics with the legal acts, and also issuing orders that are required to produce official statistics.

(4) An administrative act issued by a statistical institution in the field of the production of official statistics may be appealed to the Bureau. The decision of the Bureau may be appealed before a court. If the initial administrative act in the field of the production of official statistics has been issued by the Bureau, it may be appealed to the head of the Bureau. The decision of the head of the Bureau may be appealed before a court.

Section 5. Objectives for the Production of Official Statistics and Criteria of Official Statistics

(1) Official statistics shall be provided to fulfil any of the following objectives:

1) the drafting, implementation, monitoring or evaluation of legal acts or development planning documents, or the drafting of development scenarios or forecasts;

2) the performance of the functions of State authorities laid down in the laws and regulations, with the exception of the performance of the functions for the control, supervision and prosecution of private individuals;

3) the provision of comprehensive information to the public.

(2) Statistics shall be included in the Official Statistics Programme based on the following criteria:

1) production of statistics is based on the law,legal act of the Cabinet, directly applicable legislation of the European Union or international agreement binding on Latvia;

2) production of statistics conforms to the standards in the field of statistics.

Section 6. Planning of the Production of Official Statistics and the Official Statistics Programme

(1) A State authority shall plan the production of official statistics for a three-year period (hereinafter - the planning period) by taking into account the ongoing or planned activities for attaining the objectives laid down in Section 5, Paragraph one of this Law, the needs of the users of statistics and the usefulness of the production of statistics.

(2) The Official Statistics Programme is a list of official statistics to be produced during the planning period. The Official Statistics Programme shall be approved by the Cabinet by issuing regulations which stipulate:

1) the name of the official statistics (survey or calculation) and indicators to be published;

2) the level of detail of each indicator to be published;

3) the statistical institution responsible for the production of official statistics;

4) the periodicity for the publishing of official statistics;

5) the data collection type and source;

6) the type, amount and purpose for use of the personal data to be obtained from a private individual and administrative data sources.

Section 7. Competence of the Statistical Institution in the Production of Official Statistics

(1) The statistical institution shall produce official statistics independently. Only the Bureau shall be entitled to give orders to a statistical institution with regard to the production of official statistics and assess lawfulness of the activities of a statistical institution in the field of the production of official statistics.

(2) A statistical institution shall:

1) within the limits of its competence and the allocated financial resources and by cooperating with users of the official statistics, plan the production of official statistics;

2) ensure the production of the official statistics specified in the Official Statistics Programme in a timely manner;

3) decide on the application of the most appropriate standard in the field of statistics, including determine the respondents;

4) provide official statistics in accordance with the standards in the field of statistics;

5) document and make public any changes to the standards in the field of statistics that affect the comparability of official statistics;

6) determine data validation and quality assessment methods;

7) disseminate official statistics, ensuring equal treatment of all users;

8) ensure statistical confidentiality in accordance with the procedures laid down in this Law;

9) within the field of its competence, publish on its website official statistics questionnaires in a form to be completed or ensure access to such questionnaires through its website;

10) take measures to increase cost-efficiency of the official statistics and to reduce administrative burden, including by giving preference to administrative data sources in the production of official statistics in accordance with Section 15 of this Law;

11) within the limits of its competence, ensure compliance with the requirements of Regulation (EC) No. 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics and repealing Regulation (EC, Euratom) No. 1101/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality to the Statistical Office of the European Communities, Council Regulation (EC) No. 322/97 on Community Statistics, and Council Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom establishing a Committee on the Statistical Programmes of the European Communities (hereinafter - Regulation No. 223/2009);

12) upon request of the Bureau, provide the Bureau with information on the production of official statistics within its field of competence, and also on the compliance with the requirements of Regulation No. 223/2209;

13) use statistical classifications established by national, European Union or international organisations for the production of official statistics;

14) fulfil other obligations laid down in this Law.

(3) A statistical institution has the right to:

1) provide private individuals with services related to the development of statistics, data collection, processing, analysis and dissemination in accordance with the price list of the paid services of the statistical institution;

2) upon request of a State authority, provide services related to the development of statistics, data collection, processing; analysis and dissemination that are not included in the Official Statistics Programme and the production of which involves the collection of data not obtained in the production of official statistics or requires additional data processing. The statistical institution shall provide such services, if the State authority compensates costs of heir provision in the amount specified by the Cabinet, unless it endangers proper performance of the functions of the statistical institution;

3) provide international organisations with services related to the development of statistics, data collection, processing, analysis and dissemination in accordance with the proposal expressed by the international organisation, unless it endangers proper performance of the functions of the statistical institution.

(4) The Cabinet shall issue regulations specifying the amount of costs of the provision of the services referred to in Paragraph three, Clause 2 of this Section.

(5) In order to carry out the statistics production or data processing tasks laid down in Paragraph three of this Section, Section 8, Paragraph two, Clause 1, Section 16 of this Law and other legal acts, a statistical institution has the right to process the data obtained in the production of official statistics and receive new data for processing in accordance with Sections 14 and 15 of this Law in compliance with the principle of statistical confidentiality applicable to the production of official statistics.

[14 December 2023]

Section 8. Competence of the Bureau

(1) The Bureau shall:

1) coordinate the development processes of the system for the production of official statistics;

2) draw up the Official Statistics Programme, including the reviewing and deciding on whether the statistics of a State authority which the respective institution intends to include in the Official Statistics Programme conforms to the objectives and criteria of official statistics;

3) prepare the census programme;

4) prepare a catalogue of statistical classifications and forms of official statistics;

5) ensure statistical observation of the price of consumer goods and services;

6) participate in the initial and further development of the administrative data source records under the supervision of State authorities and decision-making on the termination of their use, promoting the continued use of administrative data source records for the objectives of the production of official statistics, and coordinate the standardisation of such administrative data source records under the supervision of State authorities which have a significant role in preparing data to be used for the production of official statistics;

7) ensure coordination of the development, preparation and dissemination of European statistics at the national level in accordance with Regulation No. 223/2009, and act as the point of contact in Latvia for the European Commission on matters of European statistics.

(2) The Bureau shall have the following rights:

1) to enter into grant agreements and procurement contracts with the European Commission;

2) to compensate a State authority the costs related to the preparation of data from administrative data sources and preparation of other data in accordance with the data structure determined by the Bureau;

3) to exercise other rights granted by this Law.

Section 9. Statistical Council

(1) The Statistical Council is an advisory body the purpose of which is to promote the development of the system for the production of official statistics, provide recommendations to statistical institutions on the system for the production of official statistics, facilitate cooperation between statistical institutions, respondents and users of official statistics, and provide opinion on the draft version of the Official Statistics Programme.

(2) The by-laws and composition of the Statistical Council shall be approved by the Minister for Economics. The term of office of the members of the Statistical Council shall be four years. Members of the Statistical Council may be repeatedly approved for work in the Council.

(3) Members of the Statistical Council shall not receive any remuneration for their work at the Statistical Council.

Chapter III
Organisation of Production of Official Statistics

Section 10. Procedures for Preparing the Official Statistics Programme

(1) A State authority shall, in accordance with Section 5 and Section 6, Paragraph one of this Law, evaluate the statistics which it intends to include in the Official Statistics Programme and notify the evaluation results to the Bureau by 1 June of the current year.

(2) In accordance with Paragraph one of this Section, a State authority shall submit to the Bureau an evaluation containing at least the following information:

1) the name of the statistics (survey or calculation) and indicators to be published;

2) the level of detail of each indicator to be published;

3) the need for the production of statistics and detailed substantiation thereof in accordance with Section 5, Paragraph one and Section 6, Paragraph one of this Law;

4) the evaluation of the statistical criteria in accordance with Section 5, Paragraph two of this Law;

5) the data collection type and source;

6) the periodicity for publishing the statistics;

7) the types, scope and purpose of use of the personal data to be processed.

(3) A State authority shall, upon request of the Bureau, update the submitted evaluation.

(4) The Bureau shall prepare the draft Official Statistics Programme in accordance with Section 8, Paragraph one, Clause 2 of this Law. Prior to proclaiming the draft Official Statistics Programme in a meeting of State secretaries it shall be reviewed by the Statistical Council.

(5) If a State authority intends to include new official statistics in the Official Statistics Programme during the planning period, amendments to the Official Statistics Programme shall be prepared by the Bureau in accordance with the provisions of Paragraphs two, three, and four of this Section.

Section 11. Forms of Official Statistics

The Cabinet shall approve the sample forms of official statistics developed by statistical institutions and lay down the procedures for the submission and completion of forms.

Section 12. Catalogue of Forms of Official Statistics

(1) The forms of official statistics to be used for the production of official statistics shall be included in the catalogue of forms of official statistics (hereinafter - the catalogue of forms).

(2) The Bureau shall determine the information to be included in the catalogue of forms, publish the catalogue of forms on the website thereof, and update it once a year.

Section 13. Data Sources and Data Collection Types

(1) For the production of official statistics, a statistical institution shall obtain data on statistical units from the following sources:

1) directly from respondents;

2) directly observing statistical units;

3) indirectly from administrative data sources.

(2) A statistical institution shall use administrative data sources for the production of official statistics, except in the following cases:

1) the definition of statistical unit used in the administrative data sources does not correspond to the definition of statistical unit used by the statistical institution;

2) the indicators of administrative data sources do not correspond to the definition of an indicator of data sources used by the statistical institution;

3) the administrative data sources classify data using classifications that are not compatible with the standard classifications or classifications laid down in the legal acts;

4) the data from administrative data sources cannot be obtained within the processing and publishing periods specified for the production of official statistics;

5) the administrative data sources are inaccurate, faulty, or they do not contain the data necessary for the production of official statistics;

6) in the cases laid down in the laws and regulations, a State authority, a legal person governed by private law or an association of such persons are not entitled to provide data to the statistical institution.

(3) If a statistical institution does not use administrative data sources in cases laid down in Paragraph two of this Section, it shall request data from respondents in accordance with Section 14, Paragraph one of this Law.

Section 14. Data Collection from a Respondent

(1) A statistical institution has the right to request a respondent to prepare and provide data on a statistical unit, and also restricted access information for the purpose of producing official statistics. The respondent shall, within the time limit, in the form and to the extent specified by the statistical institution, provide true data thereto. Upon a request of the statistical institution, the respondent shall provide written or oral explanations for the provided data.

(2) Upon a request of the Bureau in the event laid down in Section 8, Paragraph one, Clause 5 of this Law, a private individual has the obligation to allow to observe the actual prices and provide truthful and complete basic information on prices and tariffs. Within the meaning of this Paragraph, the term "basic information" includes all the prices and weights of goods and services which are reflecting the consumption level, time and structure of these goods or services according to the price characteristics and which are needed for the calculation of price statistics.

(3) A statistical institution shall notify of the obligation to provide data in accordance with Paragraph one of this Section at least 20 days before the data provision deadline, except when the data are requested for household surveys, in sample surveys of natural persons, and also in case of census.

(4) A respondent has the right to receive the following information from a statistical institution:

1) the legal basis of the data request;

2) the provision of statistical confidentiality;

3) if the official statistics survey is to be carried out in the form of an interview, the obligations and rights of the person conducting the interview.

(5) A statistical institution may provide compensation for the provision of data to respondents in surveys of natural persons and household surveys to increase the response rate.

(6) A statistical institution shall carry out household surveys in the form of a telephone interview or using another remote method. If contact information for remote communication is not available or the respondent cannot be reached remotely, the survey shall be carried out in person.

[14 December 2023]

Section 15. Data Collection from Administrative Data Sources and Cooperation with State Authorities in Charge of Administrative Data Sources

(1) A State authority and a legal person governed by private law shall, upon a substantiated request of a statistical institution, disclose thereto information on the data it processes in its administrative data sources so that the statistical institution to evaluate the possibilities for using the respective data in the production of official statistics.

(2) A legal person governed by private law, an association of such persons or a State authority has the obligation to, upon a substantiated request of a statistical institution, provide thereto data from its administrative data sources needed for the production of official statistics, including restricted access information. Data from administrative data sources of a State authority shall be provided free of charge.

(3) A statistical institution shall provide the following information in a request for data from administrative data sources:

1) the legal basis of the data request;

2) the extent of data to be provided;

3) the format in which the data shall be issued;

4) information on ensuring statistical confidentiality.

(4) A State authority shall, while maintaining, planning, implementing and improving the structure and content of administrative data sources, create these data sources so that the data would meet the needs of the production of official statistics and they could be provided to statistical institutions for the production of official statistics. Conformity of the data to the needs of the production of official statistics shall be assessed in accordance with types of data non-conformity laid down in Section 13, Paragraph two of this Law.

(5) In order to carry out the communication necessary for the production of official statistics, the Bureau has the right to request from State authorities the information at their disposal on the telephone numbers and e-mail addresses provided by private individuals in accordance with the sample list prepared by the Bureau which specifies the scope of data processing.

[14 December 2023]

Section 16. Research for Development of New Statistics and Standards in the Field of Statistics

(1) A statistical institution has the right to conduct research to develop new standards in the field of statistics or statistics not included in the Official Statistics Programme and to decide on the inclusion of such statistics in this Programme.

(2) [14 December 2023]

(3) [14 December 2023]

(4) [14 December 2023]

(5) [14 December 2023]

[14 December 2023]

Section 17. Data Processing and Statistical Confidentiality

(1) Data obtained in accordance with Sections 14 and 15 of this Law shall be used by a statistical institution for the production of official statistics and the performance of other statutory tasks for the production of official statistics or data processing, except in the cases specified in Sections 25 and 26 of this Law.

(2) The data may be modified, supplemented or combined with other data available to a statistical institution, and also re-used for the performance of the statutory tasks for the production of official statistics or data processing.

(3) While using data, a statistical institution has the right to establish and maintain statistical registers for the production of official statistics.

(4) A statistical institution shall determine the data storage duration by taking into account the needs for the production of official statistics.

(5) Data of a natural person collected for the production of official statistics shall be anonymised immediately after collection, testing and linking thereof, except in the case where personal data are still required for the production of official statistics. The statistical institution shall ensure that the identifying data are stored safely and separately from other data.

(6) A statistical institution shall take all the necessary measures to prevent unauthorised access to data, their modification or dissemination, accidental or unauthorised destruction.

(7) Employees of a statistical institution are prohibited from disclosing data or any other restricted access information brought to their knowledge through the performance of their service or work duties. The provisions of this Paragraph shall also apply to persons who are temporarily involved in the production of official statistics or with whom employment or service relations have been terminated.

[14 December 2023]

Section 18. Rights of Private Individual and State Authority to Become Acquainted with Data

(1) A private individual and State authority have the right to turn to a statistical institution and become acquainted with the data collected on them and stored in the information system of the statistical institution, and also request the data to be updated.

(2) A statistical institution shall refuse to update data if the request of a private individual or State authority is unjustified due to factual or legal reasons.

Section 19. Dissemination of Official Statistics

(1) A statistical institution shall disseminate official statistics in a way that does not allow to, either directly or indirectly, identify a private individual or State authority, except in the cases laid down in Section 25 of this Law.

(2) A statistical institution shall publish the official statistics which have been produced thereby within the framework of the Official Statistics Programme in a publicly available form and by a predetermined deadline on the portal of official statistics. Until the moment of publication of official statistics, this statistics shall not be published.

(3) In order to meet the public needs for official statistics, a statistical institution has the right to disseminate this statistics in other ways.

Section 20. Portal of Official Statistics

(1) Official statistics, metadata and calendar of publishing of official statistics of all statistical institutions shall be published on the portal of official statistics the technical and organisational operation of which shall be ensured by the Bureau.

(2) The Cabinet shall determine the technical requirements for the portal of official statistics and also requirements for the publication and keeping of official statistics.

Section 21. Statistical Classifications

In order to ensure the comparability and exchange of official statistics in Latvia, in the European Economic Area and at international level, the Cabinet shall:

1) determine the national statistical classifications;

2) approve the list of statistical classifications and determine the procedures for the implementation, maintenance and publishing of the statistical classifications included in this list.

Chapter IV
Censuses

[14 December 2023]

Section 22. Censuses, Types of Censuses and General Provisions for Organising Censuses

[14 December 2023]

Section 23. Census Programme

[14 December 2023]

Section 24. Organising of a Census Regarding Specific Groups of People

[14 December 2023]

Chapter V
Provisions for Data Dissemination

Section 25. General Provisions for Data Availability

(1) A statistical institution has the right to transfer data to other statistical institutions for the production of official statistics. Data received in this way may be passed on to another statistical institution for the production of official statistics, including European statistics, with the permission of the statistical institution which provided the respective data.

(2) In accordance with Regulation No. 223/2009, a statistical institution may transfer data to the Statistical Office of the European Union, Statistical Institutions of other European Union Member States, the European Central Bank and employees of the European System of Central Banks.

(3) The data and official statistics that allow direct or indirect identification of a private individual may be disseminated on the condition that a written permission of the respective private individual has been received, specifying the type of data to be disseminated and the period of dissemination.

(4) The data that allow indirect identification of a private individual or State authority may be used for research purposes in accordance with the procedures laid down in this Chapter. Within the meaning of this Chapter, research is a work that provides case studies, analysis, drawing up of conceptual proposals or impact assessment.

(5) The restrictions on data dissemination laid down in Paragraphs three and four of this Section shall not apply to the following data on natural persons performing economic activities, legal persons governed by private law or an association of such persons, and State authorities and their activities:

1) name, address and type of operation;

2) number of persons employed;

3) type of goods acquired, processed, produced, transported, stored, bought, or sold, the types of services provided, as well as the partner country for the export and import of goods;

4) emissions into the environment, environmental quality, environmental protection measures or use of natural resources;

5) publicly available information, if it is published without any modifications, or calculations based on publicly available information;

6) indirect identification of a statistical unit in statistics produced in accordance with this Law in relation to:

a) the number of employees in geospatial units broken down by occupations and types of operation;

b) the added value in geospatial units broken down by occupations and types of operation;

c) the value of products manufactured in geospatial units broken down by occupations and types of operation.

(6) Data dissemination exceptions laid down in Paragraphs three and four of this Section shall not apply also to the following data on a State authority and its activities:

1) data that do not reveal information about a private individual, other than a private individual who has been delegated to perform tasks of State administration;

2) data for which the status of restricted access information has not been laid down in other laws or regulations.

(7) A statistical institution may, upon request or on its own initiative, transfer data to the Bureau, and also to a person directing criminal proceedings or to the court for the examination of such cases which concern the procedures for the submission of the data needed for the production of statistics or violations of statistical confidentiality requirements.

[14 December 2023]

Section 26. Use of Indirectly Identifiable Data for Research and the Availability of Information

(1) A statistical institution shall provide access for research purposes to indirectly identifiable data which it can protect with appropriate data disclosure control methods that prevent the use of data for inappropriate purposes.

(2) A statistical institution shall publish the following information on the portal of official statistics:

1) information on indirectly identifiable data which are available for use in research;

2) information on the types of access to indirectly identifiable data;

3) information on the contracts concluded for the use of indirectly identifiable data;

4) information on the results of researches where indirectly identifiable data are used.

Section 27. Request for Indirectly Identifiable Data for the Research and the Clarification of the Request

(1) In order to obtain the right to use indirectly identifiable data in research, the data requester (private individual or State authority) shall submit an application to a statistical institution containing the following information:

1) the purpose for the use of indirectly identifiable data;

2) description of the research project to be carried out;

3) reason why indirectly identifiable data are needed for the research;

4) list of the required indirectly identifiable data and indicators;

5) specialists who will use indirectly identifiable data, description of their qualification and experience;

6) information on any research carried out previously;

7) information on the publication of research results;

8) information on the data protection and disclosure control methods;

9) preferred type of access.

(2) Upon a request of a statistical institution, the data requester has the obligation to clarify or supplement the information specified in the submission.

(3) A State authority is entitled not to provide the information specified in Paragraph one, Clauses 2 and 3 of this Section if the description of the research project provides for the disclosure of restricted access information and a respective note thereon has been included in the submission.

Section 28. Granting Access to Indirectly Identifiable Data

(1) In the absence of the conditions referred to in Paragraph five of this Section, a statistical institution shall grant access to indirectly identifiable data when concluding a contract for the use of indirectly identifiable data in research (hereinafter - the contract) which establishes the procedures for providing access to indirectly identifiable data. The contract may be entered into without a consent of a higher authority.

(2) A statistical institution shall include at least the following provisions in the contract:

1) the purpose of the use of indirectly identifiable data and the term of operation of the contract which corresponds to the deadline for the performance of the research;

2) technical form of the transfer of indirectly identifiable data and the rights and obligations of the parties with regard to the use of this type;

3) procedures for compensating the damages arising from the breach of the contract if the contract has been concluded with a private individual.

(3) A statistical institution has the right to unilaterally withdraw from the contract if the private individual or State authority violates the data processing provisions laid down in legal acts or the agreement.

(4) If the data requester needs additional indirectly identifiable data for the performance of the research specified in the contract, the data requester shall submit a repeated request to the statistical institution.

(5) A statistical institution shall not grant access to indirectly identifiable data in the presence of any of the following conditions:

1) use of indirectly identifiable data is not related to the research;

2) indirectly identifiable data are not necessary for the performance of the research;

3) the requested indirectly identifiable data do not ensure the performance of the research;

4) data requester does not ensure adequate indirectly identifiable data protection and disclosure control;

5) results of the research will not be available to the general public;

6) the previous results of the research which were obtained on the basis of other indirectly identifiable data received were not made public;

7) within the framework of the previously concluded contract, the private individual or State authority with which the contract has been concluded, or the person who processed such data on behalf of the private individual or State authority has violated the data processing provisions laid down in legal acts or the contract.

(6) Paragraph five, Clauses 5 and 6 of this Section shall not be applied to State authorities requesting indirectly identifiable data if the research results are used as internal use information of the State authority and the State authority has determined the status of restricted access information thereto.

(7) A statistical institution shall not refuse access to indirectly identifiable data in accordance with Paragraph five, Clauses 2 and 3 of this Section if a State authority has failed to provide or has only partially provided information in accordance with Section 27, Paragraph one, Clauses 2 and 3 of this Law based on the conditions specified in Section 27, Paragraph three of this Law.

(8) A statistical institution has the right to take the decision to refuse access to indirectly identifiable data for a period of up to three years to a private individual or a State authority which has violated the data processing provisions laid down in the legal acts or the contract.

Section 29. Use of Indirectly Identifiable Data

The data requester who has been granted access to indirectly identifiable data shall have the following obligations:

1) to ensure the control of research results for any indirectly identifying information on a private individual or a State authority;

2) after expiry of the contract, to destroy the received indirectly identifiable data and any other data that allow the identification of a private individual or State authority;

3) to ensure that the data requesterʼs (a legal person) employee or authorised person who shall process the indirectly identifiable data transferred in accordance with the contract for the transfer of indirectly identifiable data, signs a certification on the compliance with the provisions of legal acts and the contract;

4) provide information on the publication of research results.

Section 30. Protection of Data Provided for Research

Persons who have received indirectly identifiable data in accordance with Section 28 of this Law are prohibited from disclosing such data to third parties or using them for a purpose other than that for which the data were initially requested and provided.

Chapter VI
Administrative Offences in the Field of Statistics and Competence in Administrative Offence Proceedings

[24 October 2019 / This Chapter shall come into force on 1 July 2020. See Paragraph 5 of Transitional Provisions]

Section 31. Failure to Submit the Data Necessary for the Production of Official Statistics or the Disclosure of Data Received for Research Purposes

(1) For the failure to submit the data necessary for the production of official statistics if the obligation to submit the data is stipulated by an external legal act, or for the failure to allow the observance of the actual prices, or for the failure to provide truthful and complete basic information on prices and tariffs in accordance with the procedures laid down in legal acts, a warning or a fine from two to seventy units of fine shall be imposed on a natural person, but a fine from six to one hundred and forty units of fine - on a legal person.

(2) For the disclosure of indirectly identifiable data received for research purposes to third persons or for the use thereof for a purpose other than that for which the data were initially requested and provided, a warning or a fine from two to seventy units of fine shall be imposed on a natural person but a fine from six to one hundred and forty units of fine - on a legal person.

[24 October 2019 / Section shall come into force on 1 July 2020. See Paragraph 5 of Transitional Provisions]

Section 32. Competence in the Administrative Offence Proceedings

Administrative offence proceedings for the offences referred to in Section 31 of this Law shall be conducted by the Central Statistical Bureau.

[24 October 2019 / Section shall come into force on 1 July 2020. See Paragraph 5 of Transitional Provisions]

Transitional Provisions

1. With the coming into force of this Law, the following are repealed:

1) Official Statistics Law (Latvijas Republikas Saeimas un Ministru Kabineta Ziņotājs, 1997, No. 24; 1999, No. 5; 2004, No. 8 and No. 21; 2006, No. 8; 2008, No. 1; 2009, No. 6);

2) Law on Population Census (Latvijas Republikas Saeimas un Ministru Kabineta Ziņotājs, 2000, No. 2; 2009, No. 20).

2. Until 31 May 2017, the Cabinet shall issue the Cabinet regulations provided for in Sections 11 and 21 of this Law. Until the day of coming into force of the relevant Cabinet regulations, however, not later than until 31 May 2017, the following Cabinet regulations shall be applicable insofar as they are not in contradiction with this Law:

1) Cabinet Regulation No. 922 of 6 November 2006, Regulations Regarding Approval of National Statistics Reports and Questionnaire Forms;

2) Cabinet Regulation No. 11 of 15 January 2008, Regulations Regarding Classification of Industrial Production (PRODCOM);

3) Cabinet Regulation No. 246 of 8 April 2008, Regulations Regarding Classifier of Nationalities;

4) Cabinet Regulation No. 307 of 28 April 2008, Regulations Regarding Classifier of Addresses;

5) Cabinet Regulation No. 363 of 26 May 2008, Regulations Regarding the Unified Classification System for Economic Information and the Procedures for the Implementation and Use Thereof;

6) Cabinet Regulation No. 990 of 2 December 2008, Regulations Regarding Classification of Education in Latvia;

7) Cabinet Regulation No. 1075 of 22 December 2008, Regulations Regarding Environmental Protection National Statistics Report Forms;

8) Cabinet Regulation No. 10 of 6 January 2009, Regulations Regarding National Statistics Reports in the Field of Statistics;

9) Cabinet Regulation No. 98 of 3 February 2009, Regulations Regarding Classifier of Population Registration System in Latvia;

10) Cabinet Regulation No. 739 of 7 July 2009, Regulations Regarding Procedures for Publishing National Statistical Report Form Samples and Submission and Completion of a Report;

11) Cabinet Regulation No. 1074 of 22 September 2009, Regulations Regarding Collecting National Statistics in the Field of Culture;

12) Cabinet Regulation No. 1620 of 22 December 2009, Regulations Regarding Classification of Structures;

13) Cabinet Regulation No. 315 of 30 March 2010, Regulations Regarding Classifier of Administrative Territories and Territorial Units;

14) Cabinet Regulation No. 318 of 30 March 2010, Regulations Regarding Classification of Economic Sectors of Water;

15) Cabinet Regulation No. 338 of 6 April 2010, Regulations Regarding National Statistics Reports in the field of Social Services and Social Assistance;

16) Cabinet Regulation No. 461 of 18 May 2010, Regulations Regarding Classifier of Occupations, Main Tasks Conforming to Professions and Main Qualification Requirements and Procedures for Using and Updating Classifier of Occupations;

17) Cabinet Regulation No. 686 of 27 July 2010, Regulations Regarding Collection of National Statistical Data on Scheduled Commercial Passenger Bus Traffic;

18) Cabinet Regulation No. 1182 of 21 December 2010, Regulations Regarding National Statistical Report Form Samples in the Field of Procurements and Procedures for Submission and Completion of Reports;

19) Cabinet Regulation No. 763 of 4 October 2011, Regulations Regarding Orphan's Court Annual Report Form Sample and Procedures for Submission and Completion of a Report;

20) Cabinet Regulation No. 891 of 22 November 2011, Regulations Regarding National Statistics Reports on Local Government Support in Solving Housing Issues;

21) Cabinet Regulation No. 551 of 14 August 2012, Regulations Regarding Classifier of Water Bodies;

22) Cabinet Regulation No. 594 of 20 August 2013, Regulations Regarding National Statistics Report Form Samples in the Field of Education.

3. Section 20 of this Law shall come into force on 1 January 2018.

4. Cabinet Regulation on the National Programme of Statistical Information for 2016 issued on the basis of the Official Statistics Law shall be applicable by 31 December 2016 in so far as it is not in contradiction with this Law.

5. Chapter VI of this Law shall come into force concurrently with the Law on Administrative Liability.

[24 October 2019]

The Law shall come into force on 1 January 2016.

The Law has been adopted by the Saeima on 4 June 2015.

President A. Bērziņš

Rīga, 18 June 2015

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¹ The Parliament of the Republic of Latvia

Translation © 2025 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre)