On 3 September 2020, the balance of payments data will be published. Along with the regular data revision, the following additional data revisions will be made:
1. To apply more precisely the requirements of the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010) for the production of statistics and to ensure data consistency among different statistics , the principle of accounting of the projects co-financed by the European Union policy instruments and other foreign financial assistance (EU funds) has been changed from the cash flow principle to the accrual principle.
According to the cash flow principle, EU funds are reflected in the period when foreign financial assistance is received, i.e. in the period when funding from the EU budget is transferred to the revenue side of the Latvian central government budget.
In accordance with the accrual principle, EU funds are reflected in the period when expenditure from the Latvian central government budget is effected.
In the event that the budget revenue and expenditure are recorded in different periods, the difference is reflected in the financial account as government claims on or liabilities to the European Commission. For instance, if the Latvian government disburses funds from the budget totalling 300 million euro and, at the same time, the budget revenue constitutes 100 million euro, the financial account item "Other assets, General government" increases by 200 million euro.
2. An additional source of information on used cars imported by individuals has been introduced to account for these cars in imports of goods.
3. An additional source of information has been introduced to reflect investment in real estate in the data concerning direct investment abroad.