5. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMY

Data on the organizational structure of the national economy are compiled from information kept in the Business Register (BR). The Business Register is made and administered by the Czech Statistical Office. Its contents are precisely defined by Act 89/1995 Coll., as amended and comprise attributes of businesses, broken down into individual items of record, significant for statistical monitoring of businesses.

The BR keeps records of all legal persons, regardless of their activity, and of all natural persons that are in business or carry out other gainful activity requiring a permit, certificate, registration
or incorporation, as laid down by special regulations.

The natural persons include private entrepreneurs in business in compliance with the Act
No. 445/1991 Col., on Trades Licensing, self-employed farmers, and natural persons carrying out business activities governed by regulations other than the Trades Licensing Act.

The legal persons include associations of natural or legal persons, the most frequent cases being those established in compliance with the Commercial Code: business companies and partnerships, limited partnerships, and joint-stock companies. Included further are civic associations, political parties and political movements, trade and unions interest associations, church and women’s associations, chambers (of notaries, architects, pharmacists, etc.). Purpose associations of property, which are various foundations (funds) established for purposes of benefit to the public, make another group. Territorial self-governing units (local governments) are units established under the law regulating the self-government of the municipality as well as other self-governing units of a higher or lower self-governing level. Other units as laid down by the law include all other legal persons: banks including saving ones, semi-budgetary, state-owned and cooperative enterprises and a number of other units established by the law directly (radio, TV, etc.).

The BR is updated by data from the Company Register, trades licensing offices and statistical sources.

The BR is primarily used by the State Statistical Service to determine the range of reporting units for individual statistical surveys.

Broken down bylegal form, it mainly contains:

o   Natural persons, whether or not incorporated, in business in compliance with Act No. 445/1991 Coll., on Trades Licensing, as amended;

o   Self-employed farmers, whether or not incorporated;

o   Natural persons, whether or not incorporated, carrying out business activities governed by regulations other than the Trades Licensing Act;

o   Business companies and partnerships (general commercial partnerships, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, stock limited partnerships, joint-stock companies etc.);

o   Cooperatives (cooperatives proper and cooperative enterprises);

o   Associations of natural persons and associations of legal persons, including their organizational components, (civic associations, political parties and movements, churches, chambers, etc.).