How do notes handle a section heading?

A section note handles a section heading by stating the broad scope of the section in prose, including the main kinds of activity covered, and stating the main exclusions that bound the section. A section note does not list every activity in the section, and it does not divide the section into classes. It states the field, so that the division notes inside it can be read inside a stated scope, and so that activities near the section boundary can be placed by reading the section note together with the neighbouring section note.

What does the note for Section A state?

The note for Section A, for agriculture, forestry and fishing, states, as Eurostat publishes it in Part 3 of the manual, that the section includes the exploitation of vegetal and animal natural resources, comprising the activities of growing of crops, raising and breeding of animals, harvesting of timber and other plants, and the production of animal products from a farm or natural habitats. The note adds that the section also includes organic agriculture, aquaculture, the growing of genetically modified crops, and the raising of genetically modified animals. The note then states an exclusion: the section excludes undifferentiated subsistence goods producing activities of households, which are classified in class 98.10. The description, the additional inclusions, and the exclusion together state the broad scope of the section and its main boundary.

The example shows the three parts of a section note in miniature. The description states the field in general terms, exploitation of natural resources, with the component activities listed. The additional inclusions state activities that a reader might not expect to find in the section, such as organic agriculture and genetically modified crops, and confirm that they are included. The exclusion states an activity that a reader might expect to find in the section, undifferentiated subsistence production by households, and points to the class where it is classified, in a different section. A reader who reads only the heading, agriculture, forestry and fishing, will miss both the additional inclusions and the exclusion, and will misread the scope of the section.

Element in the note for Section A	What Eurostat states
Description	Exploitation of vegetal and animal natural resources, growing crops, raising and breeding animals, harvesting timber and other plants, production of animal products from a farm or natural habitats
Also included	Organic agriculture, aquaculture, growing of genetically modified crops, raising of genetically modified animals
Excluded	Undifferentiated subsistence goods producing activities of households, classified in class 98.10

How is a section note different from a division or class note?

A section note is different in granularity, not in form. It uses the same annotation forms, description, includes, includes also, and excludes, but it states them at the level of the whole section, without the detailed lists that appear at class level. A division note narrows the section scope to a field, and a class note divides the field into detailed activities. The section note must therefore be read as a frame, not as a complete definition of any single activity inside the section. An activity that falls inside the section description may still fall outside a particular division or class inside the section, and the division and class notes state those narrower boundaries. An activity that falls outside the section description cannot fall inside a division or class in that section, even if a class heading inside the section shares words with the activity, because the class sits inside the section scope.

The section note also sets the boundary with neighbouring sections. An activity that is excluded from one section note, with a cross reference to a class in another section, is an activity whose section placement is decided by the section notes, not by a class note alone. The class note for the pointed to class will confirm the inclusion, but the section exclusion is the statement that the activity does not belong in the first section at all. A reader who compares two classes in different sections must therefore read both section notes, as well as the class notes, to confirm that the comparison is between sections, and not only between classes that happen to share words.

What implementation details appear at section level?

The general note mentioned in the manual contents, as part of the publication, also belongs at the level of the whole classification, above section level. The manual states that the publication contains the general note, include, includes also, and parts of the explanatory notes, as part of the introductory material. That general material states the annotation forms used throughout the notes, and it must be read before the section notes, so that the forms in the section notes are understood. This guide does not reproduce the general note in full, because the passages cited do not give its text, and a reproduction without verification would add unverified detail. The point that can be stated is the place of the general note: it introduces the forms, and the section notes use those forms.

What does a section note not decide?

A section note does not decide the class for an activity, and it does not decide an entry for a business. It states the broad scope inside which the class must be found, and it states the main boundary with other sections. The class is found by reading the division, group and class notes inside the section, in order, and the entry is confirmed by the institute or register that holds the record. A reader who cites a section note as if it settled a class has cited a frame as if it were a definition, and has skipped the narrower notes that divide the frame. The section note is the first step in reading a category. It is not the last step.

Read the section note for the frame, read the division and class notes inside it for the detail, and confirm any entry with the national statistical institute or the business register that holds the record.