Decree Law 62/96M
14th October
In order to enhance the response of provision of statistical information beneficial to the local economic and social development, it is necessary to press for reform of the operation foundation of the Statistical Information System of Macao (SIEM) after nearly twelve years of establishment.
In addition, in order to observe the basic principles of official statistics recommended internationally, this Decree is to set out appropriate sanctions which shall embody the principle of technical and purpose coordination, and safeguard the confidentiality
and secrecy of statistics. As for the organization of SIEM, the responsibilities and representativeness of the Consultative Committee of Statistics shall be broadened so as to make the operation regulations of the Committee more easily understandable and to simplify the qualifying formalities and procedures for the organizations with authority to perform statistics.
As such, after seeking advice from the Consultative Committee, the Governor, in accordance with Item one of Article 13 under the Organization Statute of Macao, proclaims the following legally binding articles in Macao:
Chapter 1
General Rules
Article 1
(Statistical Information System of Macao)
The Statistical Information System of Macao (also known as SIEM) shall ensure to obtain the statistical information conducive to the social and economic development of Macao.
Chapter 2
Composition and Principles of SIEM
Article 2
(Organization)
1.The organizations within SIEM shall be:
a.Consultative Committee of Statistics (also known as CCE);
b.Organizations of statistics compilation;
c.Organizations with authority.
1.Organizations of statistics compilation shall be:
a.Statistics and Census Services (also known as DSEC);
b.Macao Monetary Authority (also known as AMCM).
1.DSEC, being the major organization of statistics compilation under SIEM, shall be the entity coordinating all the statistical activities in Macao.
Article 3
(Principles)
SIEM observes the following principles:
a.Technical autonomy;
b.Technical and purpose coordination;
c.Statistical supervision;
d.Statistical confidentiality;
e.Statistical authority;
f.Decentralization.
Article 4
(Technical Autonomy)
1.The technical autonomy is exemplified by the authority granted to the organizations of statistics compilation and organizations with authority under SIEM as follows:
a.With total independence to establish any scientific methods, concepts, definitions and terminology, as well as to establish any statistical methods more suitable for statistics compilation;
b.Without hindering compliance of the principle of statistical confidentiality referred to in Article 7 and 8, to provide and publish the statistical information compiled to all users (public or private entities or individuals).
1.The organizations of statistics compilation and the organizations with authority under SIEM shall enjoy technical autonomy when performing their functions.
Article 5
(Technical and Purpose Coordination)
1.Public entities and organizations with functions of public interests shall obtain prior permission from DSEC when issuing questionnaires or other forms of instruments for recording primary information. The qualitative and quantitative statistics obtained from such questionnaires or instruments shall be published in any form thereafter. DSEC shall register the questionnaires or instruments before granting permission.
2.The regulations and procedures for registration of the questionnaires or instruments for recording primary information shall be approved via dispatch by the Governor after consulting the opinion of CCE, and announced in Official Boletim within 120 days from the day this Decree Law becomes effective.
Article 6
(Statistical Supervision)
Only the official statistical information, qualitative and quantitative, pertaining to the functions of the public entities or organizations with functions of public interests, referred to in Item 1 of the above Article, shall be released by these entities or organizations with prior permission from DSEC.
Article 7
(Statistical Confidentiality)
1.The purpose of statistical confidentiality is to safeguard citizens’ privacy, preserve the competition among participants of economic activities, and secure the trust of information providers in the system of statistics.
2.All statistical information of private individuals gathered by the organizations of statistics compilation is confidential in nature and:
a.The identification of the information provider must not be specifically mentioned in any publication nor supplied to any person or entity. In addition, any evidence in connection with the information must not be released;
b.All employees of the organizations of statistics compilation under SIEM, regardless of the form of connection with the organizations, must keep the information obtained on duty confidential.
c.Must not be the object of ordered or approved examination by any court, organizations or authorities.
1.The regulations of statistical confidentiality shall be approved via dispatch by the Governor after consulting the opinion of CCE, and announced in Official Boletim within 120 days from the day this Decree Law becomes effective.
Article 8
(Exceptions)
1.The above Article is not applicable under the following circumstances:
a.Disclosure is mandated by law;
b.The written permission clearly indicating disclosure of information has been obtained from the person or entity concerned;
c.The information concerning the natural person or legal person involved in the litigation of statistical violation.
1.Unless otherwise stipulated by law, all the information relating to the Public Administration is not bound by statistical confidentiality.
Article 9
(Statistical Authority)
1.In order to perform their duties, the organizations of statistics compilation shall request all authorities, organizations or institutions, and all natural persons in Macao or all legal persons with activities in Macao to provide necessary information within a specified period.
2.The above does not apply when the information relates to the political and religious belief within the protection of the privacy act, and when the information pertains to the behaviors which the law stipulates otherwise.
Article 10
(Decentralization)
The functions of the organizations of statistics compilation are to record, analyze, compute, organize and disseminate statistical information and shall delegate any of these functions to other public entities via order.
Chapter 3
Organization of SIEM
Section 1
Consultative Committee of Statistics
Article 11
(Nature)
CCE is the organization which provides consultation and assistance for the organizations of statistics compilation in guiding and coordinating SIEM.
Article 12
(Composition)
1.CCE, chaired by the Director of DSEC, consists of the following members:
a. One representative from DSEC;
b. One representative from AMCM;
c. Representatives from each of the organizations with authority to perform statistics;
d. A maximum of seven representatives from the functional areas of the local Administration designated by the Governor via dispatch;
e. A maximum of seven representatives from the associations recommended by the Chairman of CCE and designated by the Governor via dispatch. These associations must be highly regarded and important in the local territory,
1. Based on the recommendation of the Director of DSEC and approval of the Governor via dispatch, the number of members of CCE may be increased to include representatives from private organizations or entities.
2. At the first plenary session after this Decree Law becomes effective, the Chairman shall, among all the members of CCE, nominate and appoint a Deputy Chairman who shall deputize the Chairman in case of his/her absence or inability to administer the office.
3. The service periods of the members or deputies of CCE shall be two years and may be renewed for the same length of period upon expiry.
Article 13
(Capacity)
The capacity of CCE is defined as follows:
a. To review and discuss the main course of action for production of statistical information;
b. To comment on the plans and procedures laid down by the organizations of statistics compilation;
c.To follow up the activities of SIEM, comment on the draft of the legislation or regulations related to the activities, propose measures beneficial to the improvement of SIEM, and comment on the matters referred by the organizations of statistics compilation;
d.To suggest or recommend regulations and guidelines for avoiding duplication of statistics in terms of registration, computation and publication, and encourage the use of data from administrative activities for preparation of statistics;
e.To encourage the use of terminology of statistics, common definitions and concepts by organizations of statistics compilation, public and private entities, and make recommendations such that the terminology, definitions and concepts are up to international standard;
f.To monitor the compliance with statistical confidentiality;
g.To propose delegation of authority from organizations of statistics compilation to other public entities, or termination of delegation of authority;
h.To approve internal regulations.
Article 14
(Operation)
1.CCE is operated in the form of plenary sessions and specialty subcommittees.
2.The ordinary plenary sessions are held twice every year but the special plenary session may be initiated by the Chairman or proposed by any three of the members if required;
3.Resolutions of CCE shall be passed by majority of votes and the Chairman’s vote is conclusive.
4.If the topic of discussion so requires, the Chairman may initiate, or as per the request of any members, invite any persons with publicly recognized qualifications in the field of discussion to participate. Nonetheless, such persons have no voting right.
5.The convocation letter shall include an agenda and enclose necessary documents and explanatory notes for review and discussion.
6.The Chairman of CCE may delegate the authority to summon and chair meetings to the Deputy Chairman.
7.Minutes shall be taken for each meeting and approved by members of the committee.
Article 15
(Subcommittee)
1.CCE shall within its authority set up subcommittees especially for economic statistics, demographic and social statistics, labor and employment statistics, infrastructure statistics and methodology.
2.CCE has the authority to confirm the composition, the chairman, the form of operation and the mandate of each subcommittee.
3.Within the subcommittee, a working group may be formed, standing or permanent, and consist of professionals or persons with publicly recognized qualifications in the field of discussion.
Article 16
(Secretariat)
1.The duties of the secretariat of CCE shall be ensured by the personnel of DSEC designated by its Director.
2.The responsibilities of the secretariat are as follows:
a.To issue convocation letters and related documents;
b.To take minutes for meetings of CCE and obtain the signatures of all members attended after the minutes have been approved;
c.To ensure the clerical duties of CCE;
d.To provide technical and logistical support for the efficient operation of CCE.
1.The technical administrative support provided for CCE and related subcommittees is coordinated by a secretary, who shall be nominated by the Chairman of CCE and appointed by the Governor via dispatch.
Section 2
Organizations of Statistics Compilation
Article 17
Capacity of Organizations of Statistics Compilation)
The organizations of statistics compilation have the capacity to produce statistics beneficial to the local social and economic development.
Article 18
(Authority)
1.DSEC has the authority to register, compute, organize and disseminate statistical information of demography, economy, society and environment.
2.AMCM has the authority to register, compute, organize and disseminate statistical information of finance, money, foreign exchange and insurance.
Section 3
Organizations with Authority to Perform Statistics
Article 19
(Organizations with Authority to Perform Statistics)
The organizations with authority to perform statistics shall only exercise the functions assigned by the organizations of statistics compilation.
Article 20
(Incompatibility)
The following entities shall not be designated as organizations with authority to perform statistics:
a.Entities, especially the public entities involved in taxation, which must use the individual information obtained for non-statistical purposes due to the nature of their responsibilities and authority;
b.Private entities excluding the enterprises with concession of public services.
Article 21
(Conferment of Qualifications to Organizations with Authority to Perform Statistics)
1.The qualifications of the organizations with authority to perform statistics shall be conferred by the following parties:
a.DSEC; however, AMCM must be consulted if its delegation of authority in statistics compilation is involved;
b.CCE;
c.Public entities or organizations with functions of public interests. Nonetheless, applications must be submitted to the Director of DSEC.
1.The qualifications of the organizations with authority to perform statistics shall be conferred via order.
Article 22
(Procedures)
1.The documents in connection with the conferment of qualifications to the organizations with authority to perform statistics shall include a justification report containing the following:
a.The purpose of the statistical activity, object of statistics, range of possible users and method of data collection;
b.The necessity of delegation and the technical advantages and disadvantages;
c.The financial and human resources required for the statistical activity, as well as a comparison with the resources which would be required, were the same activity carried out by the organizations of statistics compilation;
d.The timetable of the statistical activity;
e.The functions assigned;
f.The questionnaires and related computation tables of the application not submitted by DSEC;
1.DSEC shall comment on the applications. Evaluation of the application shall encompass the following dimensions:
a.The pros and cons of conferring the qualifications to the organizations with authority to perform statistics;
b.The estimated expenditure of the statistical activity and the comparison with the expenditure which would be required were the same activity carried out by DSEC;
c.The timing of the statistical activity in accordance with the coordination function assigned by the respective regulations of organization;
d.The scope of the authority assigned.
1.The reports specified in the above two items, along with the opinion of DSEC, shall be submitted to CCE for review and discussion. If required, CCE shall consult the opinion of AMCM.
Article 24
(Right of Appeal)
An appeal can be lodged to the Governor against the disapproval of information disclosure of DSEC’s Director, within fifteen days after receipt of the disapproval dispatch.
Section 4
Official Statistics
Article 25
(General Rules)
1.The statistical information produced by the organizations of statistics compilation is deemed official statistics.
2.The statistical indicators obtained by the organizations with authority to perform statistics are also deemed official statistics after DSEC’s approval.
Article 26
(Provision of Official Statistics)
1.The provision of official statistics is the authority of the organizations of statistics compilation.
2.The Governor may, after consulting the opinion of the authorized organizations of statistics compilation, issue a dispatch approving other organizations or entities to supply the official statistics pertaining to the nature of their own functions directly to any specialty organization.
Chapter 5
Punishment System
Article 27
(Statistical Violations)
The following are cases of statistical violations:
a.Refusal to provide data and information after the request via direct interview of the organizations of statistics compilation or the organizations with authority to perform statistics of SIEM;
b.Disregard of the information submission period specified in writing by the organizations of statistics compilation or the organizations with authority to perform statistics of SIEM;
c.Submission of false declaration or information;
d.Failure to complete any questionnaire or to produce the tabulation mandated by law;
e.Omission or deficiency in the series of information provided;
f.Publication of the statistical information prohibited by this Decree.
Article 28
(Fines)
1.The fines for violations mentioned in the above Article are as follows:
a.MOP500 to MOP2,500 for violations in a), b) and c) above;
b.MOP400 to MOP2,000 for violations in d) and e) above;
c.MOP200 to MOP1,000 for violations in f) above.
1.When failure to submit information within the period referred to in b) of the above Article is accompanied with acceptable justification and not causing any delay in the publication of statistical information, DSEC may grant exemption.
Article 29
(Recidivism)
1.It is deemed recidivism when anyone relapses into the same violation within six months from the date of punishment dispatch notification.
2.In case of recidivism, the penalty shall be double of the last fine.
Article 30
(Record of Violation)
1.The violations specified in Article 27 shall be documented.
2.When the violation is being documented, the offender shall be notified particularly for the purpose of Item 2 of Article 28.
Article 31
(Imposition and Payment of Fines)
Fines shall be imposed by the Director of DSEC and shall be paid at the Public Treasury within fifteen days from the date of
dispatch notification.
Article 32
(Petition)
Petition against the dispatch of fine imposition shall be submitted to the Governor.
Article 33
(Fulfillment of Obligation)
Settlement of fines shall not dispense with offender’s fulfillment of infringement obligation.
Article 34
(Coercive Collection of Fines)
In the case of failure of voluntary settlement of fines, the evidence of dispatch shall be sent to the tribunal of jurisdiction for coercive collection.
Article 35
(Joint Liability)
1.If the obligation of information provision is to be fulfilled by two or more persons, they shall jointly be accountable for the fine imposed.
2.If the legal person, obligated to provide information, belongs to an administrative body when the violation is performed, both parties shall jointly be liable.
3.If the violation takes place in the public services or entities with functions of public interests, the leader shall become personally and jointly liable.
Article 36
(Reservation of Criminal Proceedings)
Imposition of fines specified in Article 28 shall be independent from other criminal proceedings if any.
Article 37
(Ownership of Fines)
The fines imposed constitute to the receipt of Public Treasury.
Chapter 6
Final Regulations
Article 38
(Expenses)
1.The financial resources required for the operation of CCE shall be borne by the available reserve of DSEC’s budget and grants from the Financial Services for the purpose.
2.The members and attendees of CCE and related subcommittees shall be entitled to the attendance allowance as stipulated by law.
Article 39
(Revocation)
Article 1 to Article 28 of Decree Law 74/87/M dated 31st December shall be revoked.
Article 40
(Effectuation)
This Decree shall become effective on the first day of the following month after proclamation.
Approved on 8th October, 1996
I hereby order proclamation of this Decree.
Vasco Rocha Vieira, Governor