Summary of the new Trade Register Act
The new Trade Register Act enters into force on 1 June 2023.
Parts of the Act will not take effect until 2025 and 2026.
From 2026, all companies (except for associations, foundations and private traders) must submit start-up notifications, notifications of changes, notifications of termination of business, financial statements and other information to the Trade Register using the online service at ytj.fi.
New for private traders
Private traders are no longer required to register with the Trade Register, but can choose to do so if they wish.
You must register with the Trade Register when:
- you are using a company name for business activities
- you are registering financial statements under the Accounting Act
- you are a private trader permanently residing outside the European Economic Area
The changes in the new Trade Register Act will not affect the obligation for private traders to register with the Tax Administration.
Fee for late submission of financial statements is based on period of delay
If limited liability companies, co-operatives, European companies or European co-operatives do not submit their financial statements to the Trade Register within eight months of the end of a financial period, the Patent and Registration Office (PRH) will charge a fee.
The fee is 150 to 600 euros depending on the period of delay. For public limited liability companies and European companies, the fee is doubled. A double fee is charged if financial statements are not submitted for two or more consecutive financial periods.
At the beginning of 2025, the PRH will start charging a late fee, applying to financial periods ending in December 2024 or later.
Annual review of Trade Register details and fee for negligence
Limited liability companies and co-operatives must review their details in the Trade Register annually.
European companies, European co-operatives and foreign traders who have set up a branch in Finland are also required to review their details. The details are reviewed in the online service at ytj.fi.
If the details entered in the Trade Register are not reviewed, the PRH can charge a fee for negligence as of 2025. The fee is 300 euros. For public limited liability companies and European companies the fee is 600 euros.
The PRH can charge a fee for negligence if, for instance, an address is missing, the financial statements are incomplete, or the register details include errors (for instance, an illegal board of directors, the details lack a board of directors or the auditor is unauthorized).
If no details have been submitted or reviewed despite the PRH’s requests over a period of two years, no more than three fees can be charged for negligence. In such a case, the maximum fee for limited liability companies and co-operatives is 2,100 euros. The fee for public limited liability companies and European companies is 4,200 euros.
New guidelines for filing beneficial owner details
The Act on Money Laundering requires companies to report their beneficial owners, and most companies must file a notification of beneficial owners.
The new Trade Register Act enables the PRH to remove your company from the Trade Register if you have not filed a notification of beneficial owners. The PRH may start a deregistration procedure no earlier than six months after the entry into force of the Trade Register Act.
No new means to prevent company takeovers
The new Trade Register Act does not introduce any new means to prevent company takeovers. The PRH provides various services to protect your company from scams. Read more about how to protect yourself and your company from scams.
Social implications of the legal reform
The new Trade Register Act will make it easier to keep the register reliable and up-to-date.
In conjunction with the reform, the PRH will gradually revamp the online services at ytj.fi.