Inactive businesses to be removed from the Trade Register

Under Section 24 of the Trade Register Act, the National Board of Patents and Registration (NBPR) will remove from the Trade Register inactive

• private traders
  
• general partnerships and
  
• limited partnerships
  
• housing co-operatives
  
• housing companies
  
• co-operatives
  
• branches of a foreign trader
  
• insurance associations

The removal under the Trade Register Act concerns those private traders, general partnerships and limited partnerships

• who are not included in the Prepayment Register, the VAT Register or the Employer Register kept by the Tax Administration and
  
• who have not submitted any notifications to the Trade Register in ten years.

Of all housing co-operatives, housing companies, co-operatives, branches of a foreign trader and insurance associations only certain are included in the removal procedure on the grounds that they have not submitted any notifications to the Trade Register in ten years and are presumed to have closed down their business.

The procedure concerns all in all some 10,000 businesses as well as housing co-operatives and housing companies.

Continued operation to be reported at the latest 14 October 2009

Businesses as well as housing co-operatives and housing companies included in the removal have been sent a letter in October 2009, asking whether they still carry on business. If the answer is yes, they are invited to report it not later than on 14 October 2009

Report your business to:

• National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland/ Supervision process, P.O. Box 1150, 00101 Helsinki, or
  
• fax number (09) 6939 5533

Public notice in October 2009

A public notice will be given on NBPR’s website to those businesses as well as housing

co-operatives and housing companies which do not report that they carry on business. The notices will be published in October 2009, inviting the businesses as well as housing co-operatives and housing companies in question to report their operations during the three-month period set out in the notice.

Removal in February 2010

If, despite the notice, a business or a housing co-operative or a housing company included in the removal process does not report its operations, it is removed from the register in February 2010.

For further details, if necessary, please call (09) 6939 5597/ Supervision process.