How do legal amendments affect businesses?
The new Trade Register Act entered into force on 1 June 2023. Parts of the Act will not take effect until 2025 and 2026.
On this page:
2024: New legislative proposal
The Parliament is preparing a legislative amendment that would allow companies removed from the Finnish Trade Register since 2023 to apply for re-registration. Read more in our announcement (in Finnish): TEM tiedottaa: Kaupparekisterilain muutokset lausuntokierrokselle (Amendments to the Trade Register Act are under consultation).
2024: Limited liability companies as mutual limited liability companies
Limited liability companies should have been registered as mutual property companies by 31 May 2024, if their articles of association specify them as such. Read our instructions: Change your business details.2025: Fee for late submission of financial statements
The fee applies to financial periods ending in December 2024 or later. The Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) will impose a fee for late submission of financial statements if limited liability companies, co-operatives, European companies or European co-operatives do not submit their financial statements to the Finnish Trade Register within 8 months of the end of the financial period.
The fee depends on the duration of the delay:
- 150 euros when notification of the financial statements is late by no more than 2 months
- 300 euros when notification of the financial statements is late by 2–4 months
- 600 euros when notification of the financial statements is late by more than 4 months or the financial statements have not been submitted at all.
The fee is doubled if the company is a public limited company or European company.
The PRH imposes a double fee if financial statements are not submitted for two or more consecutive financial periods.
Read our instructions: Fee for financial statements filed late.
2025: Negligence fee
The PRH can impose a fee on companies that do not correct deficiencies or errors in their Trade Register details despite the PRH requesting corrections.
The PRH can impose a negligence fee in the following cases:
- Missing address
- Missing board of directors
- Missing beneficiary owner details
- Errors in register details (for instance, an illegal board of directors or unauthorised auditor)
- Disqualified responsible person or auditor
- Missing personal identity code in the Finnish Trade Register
The negligence fee is 300 euros. For public limited companies and European companies, the fee is 600 euros.
If a company does not correct its details after the first negligence, the PRH will send a new request. If the company does not correct its details after receiving the new request, the PRH will impose a new negligence fee equal to twice the first negligence fee.
2026: Online service becomes mandatory
From 2026, all companies (except private traders, associations, and foundations) 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.2026: Annual verification of registered details to the Finnish Trade Register
From 2026, limited liability companies and co-operatives must annually verify the details registered in the Finnish Trade Register. Companies must also review their contact details that are entered in the Business Identity Code Register at ytj.fi.
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 negligence fee as of 2027. The fee is 300 euros. For public limited companies and European companies, the fee is 600 euros.