The new version of CNAE has two volumes, and the second one, with the subclasses of CNAE, is directed to the Public Administration. The standardization of the classifications of economic activities of Brazil is being developed since 1994 ...

The new version of CNAE has two volumes, and the second one, with the subclasses of CNAE, is directed to the Public Administration.  The standardization of the classifications of economic activities of Brazil is being developed since 1994, with the participation of 15 ministries and departments of the three governmental spheres.  An international seminary about the CNAE, organized by the Secretariat of Federal Revenue of Brazil with the support of IBGE and other public organizations, will take place in Curitiba, between November 5 and 7.

On Monday, November 5, IBGE publishes the two volumes of the version 2.0 of the National Classification of Economic Activities (CNAE): the first refers to the CNAE for use of the statistical system, with 21 sections, 87 divisions, 285 groups and 673 classes and the second volume, more detailed, refers to the subclasses of CNAE with 1,301 subclasses, for use in the registrations of the Public Administration.

The classification of economic activities is an essential instrument in the organization of the systems of information of the economic agents.  In Brazil, the CNAE tried to standardize the way that different organizations of the country classified the economic units according to their activities. In order to understand the importance of this work it is worth remembering that until 1994, different classifications were used by the IBGE and by public organizations such as the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Social Security, the Secretaries of Finance and the Secretariat of Federal Revenue of Brazil, among others. The same economic agent could be identified by different codes in the several registers of federal, state and municipal administration, making difficult the comparison of information and limiting its analytic potential.

In 1994, the first version of the CNAE was elaborated.  In the same year, the National Commission of Classification was formed - Concla, a department related to the Ministry of Planning, Budget and Administration which has the participation of other 14 ministries¹ .   IBGE occupies the presidency and the executive secretary of Concla.

The CNAE shall show the productive structure of Brazil making it comparable to the one of other countries

How to compare information, for example, of the several segments of the sector of services of Brazil with the information of these segments in Germany, China, Chile or United States?  To guarantee this comparability, the CNAE has as standard the International Standard Industrial Classification – ISIC² , developed by the Division of Statistics of the United Nations.  The first version of the ISIC was elaborated in 1948 and the last one (4.0), in 2007.

The reviews in the classifications occur constantly because new activities appear or gain importance in the economic panorama, and must be included in the system of classification. This was the case among others, of the activities related to information and communication, which gained a specific section in the new version of the CNAE.

Seminary will also discuss the current classifications of the European Union, Mercosul and Nafta

From Monday to Wednesday, November 5 to 7, a seminary organized by the Federal Revenue Department of Brazil, with the contribution of IBGE, will join in Curitiba, in the convention center Estação Embratel, representatives of the three spheres of the government, besides participants of other countries and the United Nations.  The meeting has the support of the Municipal Town Hall and of the State Revenue Department of Paraná.

The standardization of the classification of economic activities in the Country; the revision 2007 of the  CNAE; the use of artificial intelligence to automate the codification CNAE; the loyalty with the international comparability and the experiences of Nafta, European Union and Mercosul are among the topics of the event.

All spheres of government are cooperating with the project

For the updating of the register of companies, which is the base of the economic surveys, the IBGE counts with the Annual Relation of Social Information (RAIS), of the Ministry of Labor and Employment. Besides the registry data – legal identity, address and CNAE code – the RAIS informs the number of existing companies, employed persons and their remunerations.  However, all these data could not be used by the IBGE if RAIS did not use the CNAE.

The Secretariat of Federal Revenue of Brazil uses the information of IBGE in sectorial studies about the efficiency of collecting taxes.  Also the National Sanitary Vigilance Agency of (Anvisa) uses the CNAE in its registers.  The CNAE is also primordial for the urban zoning, which means, the definition by the town halls, of what economic activities can be located in commercial or industrial areas of the Brazilian municipalities.

The revision of the CNAE 2.0 brings several changes

The CNAE was updated based on the revision 4 of the international classification, the International Standard Industrial Classification – ISIC being identical to this classification regarding the great categories.  In the most disaggregated level, the revision of the CNAE tried to understand the present characteristics of the Brazilian productive structure.  In the revision 2007 the most relevant changes which occurred in the structure of the CNAE were:

In section C (manufacturing industries), occurred the separation of the activity manufacturing of pharmaceutical-chemical products from the pharmaceutical production and stood out the activity manufacturing of computer, electronic and optic equipment.

A specific section (section E) was created, regarding the activities water, sewage and administration of residues and decontamination.  

The detailing of section F (Construction) occurred, being previously only one division which changed to three: construction of buildings, constructions of infra-structure and specialized services of construction, respectively.

In services, the main change was the creation of a section to join the activities of information and  communication, including the production and distribution of products with content of information and description of the means of transmission and distribution, such as: activities of edition (division 58), cinematographic and phonographic (division 59), TV and radio (division 60),  telecommunications (division 61),  information technology (division 62) and other services of information (division 63).

The section Q (Health and social services) is now more detailed, with 3 divisions and 11 groups instead of only one, standing out activities related to elders and handicapped.  The section Q became specific of the human health, and the veterinary activities became part of a specific division (75).

Substantial part of the section O (Other activities of collective, social and personal services) was detailed in two new sections: arts, culture, sports and leisure (section R) and other service activities (section S). Therefore, the following activities obtained specific divisions: artistic, creative, spectacles, related to the cultural and environment patrimony; and exploitation of gambling and betting.

Notes

1 - Agriculture and Supply; Science and Technology; Agrarian Development; Foreign Trade and Industrial Development; Education; Sports and Tourism; Finance; Environment; Energy; Social Security; Foreign Relations; Health; Labor and Employment; Transportation.

2 -  In Spanish, Clasificación Internacional Industrial Uniforme – CIIU.