Finland pauses removing companies from the Trade Register and plans a route back for those removed
On 18 September 2024 the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) suspended removals from the Trade Register while the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment drafted legislation. The law would let companies removed since 2023 for failing to file financial statements or beneficial owner details apply to be reinstated. The amendment took effect on 1 January 2025.
The Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment announced on 18 September 2024 that the law on the Finnish Trade Register (kaupparekisteri) would be amended. Under the existing law, companies removed from the register for failing to provide statutory information could not be reinstated, even where the failure was unintentional.
What changed
- The PRH suspended the removal of companies from the Trade Register until further notice while the law was drafted.
- The planned law would let a company removed for negligence apply for re-entry. A company removed a second time for neglect would have no such right.
- It would cover companies removed since the start of 2023.
- Companies still had to file their missing financial statements and beneficial owner details.
Who is affected
Finnish limited liability companies and co-operatives that have missed filing financial statements or beneficial owner details, and those already removed since 2023.
Later developments
The amendment to the Trade Register Act took effect on 1 January 2025. Companies removed or ordered into liquidation since 2023 can apply for re-entry or for the liquidation to end, within one year of the PRH's decision (for decisions before 2025, from 1 January 2025). They must first fix the filing failures, including the last three years' financial statements and up-to-date beneficial owner details. Late-filing fees for financial statements also arrived in 2025, so filing on time matters more than before.