Your answers are valuable
The information collected in this questionnaire is used as input in the statistics Direct investment and Norwegian subsidiaries abroad. These statistics are published on our website and reported to international organisations including Eurostat, OECD and the IMF. Additionally, some of the information is used in the calculations of the Norwegian national accounts.
You have a responsibility to respond by the deadline
As these statistics are vital for society, it is mandatory to participate. If you fail to send the information before the deadline, the enterprise will receive a compulsory fine.
The submission deadline is specified in the Altinn inbox.
Statistics Norway compiles overviews of Norwegian companies’ activity abroad by looking at subsidiaries and other direct investment enterprises. We therefore need accounting information from directly owned subsidiaries and associated companies. Additionally, we need turnover, employee numbers, labour costs and gross investments for each foreign subsidiary, both directly and indirectly owned.
The information shall be reported electronically in an Excel workbook made up of multiple worksheets:
- The first worksheet (Start) gives information about the questionnaire and refers to further guidance.
- The second worksheet (Guidance) provides definitions that are relevant to the questionnaire and a figure showing what information needs to be specified for the different ownership types.
- The third worksheet (Example) gives an example of a properly completed report for one of the situations described in the figure from the Guidance worksheet.
- The fourth worksheet (Country and currency codes) contains country and currency code lists and can be helpful when filling in the information in the Company worksheet.
- The fifth worksheet (Industry codes) includes an industry code list and can be helpful when filling in the information in the Company worksheet.
The remaining worksheets contain the questionnaire that is to be completed; (Company 1), (Company 2) and so on.
It is possible to report for several Norwegian investors in a single Excel form, in which case a separate Excel worksheet must be completed for each investor (Company 1, Company 2 etc.). Information on foreign companies with a Norwegian investor is filled in line by line working downwards in the worksheet.
For more information, see the documents under "Reporting material".
Norwegian companies (Norwegian investors) with a direct investment of at least 20 per cent in a foreign company must report. Information needs to be given for each foreign company with this type of investment and for all subsidiaries in the same enterprise group (see figure in the ‘Guidance’ worksheet). The questionnaire applies to the financial year 2022. In cases where a company uses a different financial year, the questionnaire will apply to the last published accounts in 2023.
The questionnaire must be answered regardless of any activity in the company during the period to be reported.
Norwegian companies (Norwegian investors) must always report as long as they have a direct investment of at least 20 per cent in a foreign company.
The duty to provide information, and the right to collect information: Statistics Act, Section 10
The right to impose a compulsory fine: Statistics Act, Section 20
The right to enforce the collection of a fine and demand payment for costs: Tax Administration Act
The right to appeal an administrative decision: Public Administration Act, Chapter VI
The legislation is available at The Lovdata Foundations website.
Do you have any questions?
Guidance - how to submit the survey
Below you can find frequently asked questions regarding the survey. If you don't find the information you are looking for, you can contact us on chat, e-mail or by phone. You can find contact information at the bottom of this page.
Questions:
Submitted forms and receipts are located under ‘Archive’ in the enterprise’s Altinn inbox.
If you wish to make corrections to a form that has already been submitted, retrieve the form under ‘Archive’ and click on the button ‘Create a new copy’.
After submission, you will receive a receipt number (beginning with the letters AR). This receipt can be sent to any chosen e-mail address.
Statistics Norway collects information from a sample of enterprises. The sample is retrieved from the Register of Legal Entities, Statistics Norway’s register of all Norwegian-registered legal entities in both the private and public sector.
In addition, the sample is based on a number of criteria. Furthermore, the need to achieve a certain degree of coverage within a particular industry will also have a large impact on the composition of the sample.
Statistics Norway does not grant extensions for this survey. If you do not respond within the deadline, you will automatically receive a reminder giving you a final deadline. For extraordinary cases, contact Statistics Norway.
In order for the statistics to be as accurate as possible, the information provided needs to be correct and complete. In addition, all enterprises that are selected to participate must respond. All types of non-response reduce the accuracy and hence the quality of the statistics.
The information is obtained under the provisions of Act no. 54 of 16 June 1989 relating to official statistics and Statistics Norway (the Statistics Act) section 2-2 (1), and a letter of delegation from the Ministry of Finance of 13 February 1990.
If you believe that you are not subject to the duty to provide information or that you are not legally permitted to provide information, you may appeal the order within 3 weeks. The right to appeal does not apply to the question of whether the duty to provide information is reasonable or necessary.
Pursuant to section 2-4 of the Statistics Act, all information is treated as confidential. Statistics Norway will use the information to prepare official statistics, and for other purposes such as research and public planning. The information will be stored and, where relevant, destroyed in a responsible manner.
Yes. There is no need to fill out the whole form in a single session. The form will store the information that has already been input.
Yes. Statistics Norway will send ordinary reminders along with the administrative decision to impose a compulsory fine to enterprises that have not answered the survey within the initial deadline. If data is submitted by the second and final deadline, the compulsory fine will be withdrawn. If an enterprise fails to meet the second deadline, the matter will be forwarded to the Norwegian National Collection Agency for further processing.
Pursuant to section 3-2 of the Statistics Act, a compulsory fine may be imposed as a one-off fine or a running fine. The fine will increase if the enterprise fails to provide complete information for several consecutive periods. In cases where an enterprise repeatedly fails to provide complete information over an extended period of time, a fixed compulsory fine may be imposed.
The duty to provide information means that, in some central statistical areas, Statistics Norway has the right to impose a compulsory fine on enterprises that do not complete the survey within the specified deadline. This survey is one of the central statistical areas. No financial compensation is given for answering the survey.
For more information see:
• The duty to provide information, and the right to collect information: Statistics Act, Section 2-2
• The right to impose a compulsory fine: Statistics Act, Section 2-3
• The right to enforce the collection of a fine and demand payment for costs: Tax Administration Act
• The right to appeal an administrative decision: Public Administration Act, Chapter VI
The information is to be reported electronically via Altinn. Enterprises can access the survey form in their Altinn inbox.
Note that the person answering the form must have the role necessary to access the enterprise’s Altinn inbox. If you do not have the necessary role, contact senior management, who will assign this to you.
For more information, refer to the guidelines ‘How to answer surveys in Altinn on behalf of an enterprise’ in the column at the right.