 Forms
of Business in Finland
Enterprise
Finland - Establishing
a Business
The
Finnish Business Information
System (BIS)
National
Board of Patents and Registration
- Trade Register
Online
Forms, Notices and Applications
Opening
a Finnish Corporate Bank
Account
Additional
Links
Business
can be conducted as a private entrepreneur, as a
partnership or limited liability company formed of
one or more individuals or legal entities, or a co-operative.
A foreign entrepreneur may also establish a branch
in Finland. In certain circumstances, those not resident/domiciled
in the EEA need a permit from the National Board
of Patents and Registration.
Enterprises must submit a basic declaration
to the trade register using the start-up notification, with
which they may also apply for registration in the trade register,
employer register, prepayment register and/or VAT register.
(See BIS,
the Trade
Register, & forms below)
Return
to top
Enterprise
Finland - Establishing a Business
Direct links to Enterprise
Finland. Please note expanded
menus on linked pages.
Return
to top
The
Finnish Business Information System (BIS)
The Business
Information System (BIS) is jointly maintained by the
National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland and
the National Board of Taxes.
BIS enables businesses
to report their company information to both authorities
in one single notice. Businesses and corporations
no longer need to report the same information on separate forms to
both the Trade Register and the registers kept by the tax
administration.
The Business
Information System includes businesses and corporations
entered into the
- Trade Register
- Foundations Register
- VAT register
- Withholding Tax Register &/or
- Employer Register
All businesses and corporations to be entered
into the Business
Information System are given a Business Identity Code
(Business
ID).
Return
to top
National
Board of Patents and Registration - Trade Register
The
Trade Register is a public data bank on Finnish business
information. It is a Register that establishes rights,
with the function of serving and supervising business life.
By providing legal effects specified by law, the Trade
Register protects businesses and those who transact with
them.
The Register can deliver official information
on businesses all over Finland. Contracting parties can obtain
useful information from the Trade Register concerning, for
example, the existence of a certain company, its articles
of association, its representatives and submission of the
latest annual accounts for registration. Register entries
are accessible both to the public and to authorities. Visit
site
Return
to top
Online
Forms, Notices and Applications
By law, notices and applications to the
various registers must be completed in either Finnish or
Swedish. The forms are jointly created by the National Board
of Patents and Registration (NBPR) and the Tax Administration,
and through the Business Information System enterprises may
report their details on a single
form to the following Registers of those two authorities:
- The Trade Register
- The Foundation Register
- The Prepayment Register
- The Employer Register
- The VAT Register, and
- The Client Register kept by the Tax Administration
All BIS forms are
downloadable in Finnish and in Swedish.
Recently BIS has
prepared bilingual (English and Finnish) versions of
its most common forms to make completion easier. These
include various start-up notifications and notifications
on amendments or termination of business. Go
to BIS forms page
Return
to top
Opening a Finnish Corporate
Bank Account
Opening an account for your company is quite
simple apart from the interminable waits encountered due
to increasingly understaffed banks. Generally an account
can be opened at any branch when the following documents
concerning the company are presented:
1. Extract from the Trade Register (no
older than three months)
If the company has not yet been registered, the extract
from the Trade Register can be replaced by:
- a register certificate indicating
that a declaration of establishment has been submitted
to the registration authorities and
- documents of incorporation (for
example for a limited company, memorandum of association,
articles of association and the minutes of the constitutive
meeting of shareholders).
2. An extract from the minutes
of the company's decision-making body, which indicates
the names of those officials of the company authorised
to use the account and their authorizations, the decision
to open an account, possible lending and submitting of
collateral.
3. An account of incoming and outgoing
payments; their volume and the size of individual
payments.
4. An account of the company's
operations (more detailed than the official line
of business clause).
5. Other accounts (e.g.
information on companies having shareholdings in the company
etc.)
The required documents and information can be submitted
either in Finnish, Swedish or English.
Banks
See also Banking
Return
to top |
