Closed-Down Limited Liability Companies to be Struck off the Trade Register

The National Board of Patents and Registration is starting to strike off closed-down limited liability companies from the Trade Register, on the basis of failure to submit annual accounts documents (Companies Act, Section 13(4)(4)). The limited liability companies to be struck off are those with a share capital of below EUR 8,000. There are about 40,500 such companies. They will be struck off in the course of 2004 and 2005.

The first striking-off procedure was begun at the end of August 2004 and concerns 25,000 limited liability companies

• whose share capital is below EUR 8,000
• which according to the Tax Authorities have closed down their business.

Flow of the procedure

To the companies included in the first striking-off procedure we sent a letter containing an invitation to submit for registration the annual accounts documents in accordance with Chapter 11, Section 14, of the Companies Act for the most recently ended accounting period that has ended over one year ago. The notice of the annual accounts documents must be submitted no later than on 20 September 2004 (instructions for submitting annual accounts available here).

If no notice on annual accounts is received, a new invitation is sent to the companies at the end of September and an entry of this invitation is made in the Trade Register, and the invitation is sent to the Official Gazette for publication. At the same time shareholders and debtors are invited to make comments concerning the matter. The last possible date for submitting the notice is indicated in the invitation. This due date will be around the middle of December this year.

As regards companies from which we have not received any notice regarding their annual accounts and in respect of which there are no preconditions for putting them into liquidation, we aim at striking them off the Register towards the end of December 2004.

For further information, if necessary, please contact by phone:

Kirsi Leotta (09) 6939 5240
Tiina Mensonen (09) 6939 5254
Sinikka Kunnassaari (09) 6939 5371
Ulpu Malinen (09) 6939 5629