Amendment notification concerning a branch of a foreign trader

The branch of a foreign trader is obliged to notify the Trade Register of any amendments and possible additions to the registered information immediately after the change.

We register the following details about a branch:

• the company name of the branch
• the address and contact details of the branch
  
• the persons authorised to sign the company name of the branch
• the company name, legal form and type of business (line of business) of the trader
• the persons authorised to represent the trader as a statutory body or as members of such body (for example, the Board of Directors of the company)
• the representative (Section 6(3) of the Act on the Right to Carry on a Trade)

Other details that we register:

• the financial statements
  
• the auxiliary company name and the business run under it
  
• the parallel company name
• the holders of procuration
• the business license

Please note that a branch can only be registered if its type of business (line of business) is narrower than that of the trader.

Other instructions:

• Auxiliary company names and the business run under it

Forms

• Form Y4 and and Appendix Form 14. Download Form Y4 at the Business Information System website, which is maintained by our office and the Tax Administration. Please note that the Appendix Form is only available in Finnish and in Swedish.
• The form is signed by the representative of the branch or the person entitled to sign for the branch, or by someone authorised by that person.
• If the form is signed by an agent, please enclose the original general power of attorney or a certified copy of a special power of attorney.

You can use the same form to notify the Tax Administration of changes, as the Trade Register and the Tax Administration have a joint notification procedure.

Enclosures

• Notification of a new representative: evidence of the appointment of a representative referred to in Section 6(3) of the Act on the Right to Carry on a Trade (Please note: Only a natural person may act as a representative).
• Notification of a new body / of a change of the details of a body: evidence of the persons authorised to represent the trader as the trader’s statutory body or as members of such body (for example, a copy of a register extract)
• Notification of persons authorised to sign the company name: evidence of the authorisation and of the manner in which the name is signed (for example, a copy of minutes)
• If you wish to report a person who neither has a Finnish personal identity code nor is stated on a register extract concerning the foreign organisation for entry into the Trade Register, please enclose a proof of his or her existence (for example, a certified copy of the passport). No proof is needed if this person's details already exist in the Trade Register.
• If you enclose a document in a foreign language, please enclose a Finnish or Swedish translation of the document.
  

Who decides on the representative and the persons authorised to sign the company name?

It depends on the laws of the foreign organisation's home country which organ has the power to decide on such matters. In most cases, it is the Board of Directors. The statutory body to represent the organisation often appears from the register extract issued in the organisation's home country.

Handling fee

• Free: changes of address or contact details of the branch, or filing of financial statements
  
• 95 euros: notification of auxiliary company name
• 85 euros: other changes, e.g. change of branch name or line of business, or changes of persons
• The handling fee must be paid in advance, see payment instructions.
  

Special cases

If the trader is registered outside the European Economic Area (EEA), we also record the trader's domicile, central administration or principal place of business and its capital, unless it appears from the trader's establishment document or other corresponding legal paper.

Further, we register details of the director and his or her statutory right to sign the name of the company for branches subject to the Act on Credit Institutions (2007/121) or the Act on the Right of a Foreign Investment Firm to Provide Investment Services in Finland (1996/580). If reported, a representative for such branch can also be entered into the register.

Please note that under Section 18(5) of the Trade Register Act, you must also notify the Trade Register of the following:

• an insolvency, composition or other procedure against the foreign trader who established the branch,
• placing the trader into liquidation,
• the appointment of liquidators, their personal details and authority,
• the termination of the liquidation and
• the dissolution and removal from the Trade Register of the trader.
  

Please note:

Check the information about your branch in the Trade Register before you file an amendment notification. So you see at once what changes and additions you have to make. You can check the information in our Virre Information Service.