10. 9. 96 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 229/3 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1749/96 of 9 September 1996 on initial implementing measures for Council Regulation (EC) No 2494/95 concerning harmonized indices of consumer prices THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2494/95 of 23 October 1995 concerning harmonized indices of consumer prices ('), and in particular Articles 4 and § (3) thereof, Whereas each Member State is required to produce a harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) starting with the index for January 1997; Whereas Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 2494/95 requires that the scope of the HICP shall be the goods and services available for purchase in the economic territory of the Member State for the purposes of directly satisfying consumer needs; Whereas the coverage of the existing consumer price indices produced by the Member States, practices followed for the inclusion of newly significant goods and services, procedures for adjusting prices for quality changes of the items priced, methods of combining prices to form price indices for elementary aggregates, or sampling methods and practices for obtaining prices differ between Member States to the extent that the re- sulting consumer price indices produced by the Member States fail to meet the comparability requirement neces- sary for the production of the HICP; Whereas the practice of using previous prices as substi- tutes for the current monthly prices differs from the use of prices collected to the extent that the resulting consumer price indices produced by the Member States fail to meet the comparability requirement necessary for the production of the HICP; Whereas it is necessary to include newly significant goods and services in both HICPs the weights of which are updated annually and those the weights of which are updated less frequently; Whereas implementing measures are necessary for en- suring comparability of HICPs in accordance with Article 5 (3) of Regulation (EC) No 2494/95; Wheres in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 2494/95, the Commission (Eurostat) is required to submit a report to the Council on the reliability of the HICP’s and their compliance with the comparability requirements; () OJ No L 257, 27. 10. 1995, p. 1. Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Statistical Programme Committee (SPC), established by Council Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom (3); Whereas the European Monetary Institute has been consulted in conformance with Article 5 (3) of Regulation (EC) No 2494/95 and has given a positive opinion, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: I. GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1 Aim The aim of this Regulation is to establish for the purpose of the production of a comparable harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) produced by each Member State: — the initial coverage of goods and services as well as comparable practices for updating the coverage to include newly significant consumer goods and services, — minimum standards for the procedures of quality adjustment, — minimum standards for the prices used, — the formula for compiling price indices for the elementary aggregates. The aim is also to ensure that the sampling of prices is such that the HICPs are sufficiently reliable for the purpose of international comparisons and to provide information from which to set minimum standards for sampling. Article 2 Definitions For the purpose of this Regulation: (@) ‘Initial coverage of goods and services of the HICP’ is defined as those four-digit categories and sub- categories specified in the classification COICOP/ HICP (classification of individual consumption by purpose adapted of the needs of HICPs) given in Annex I. () OJ No L 181, 28. 6. 1989, p. 47.