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Privacy statement for the Finnish Business Information System (BIS at ytj.fi)

Controllers

Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH)
Mailing address: Finnish Patent and Registration Office, FI-00091 PRH, Finland
Street address: Sörnäisten rantatie 13 C, Helsinki, Finland
Tel. +358 29 509 5000

Finnish Tax Administration
Mailing address: P.O. Box 325, FI-00052 VERO, Finland
Street address: Vääksyntie 4 A, Helsinki, Finland

Representative of controllers

Mr Lalli Knuutila
Head of Registration
lalli.knuutila(at)prh.fi
Tel. +358 29 509 5018
Finnish Patent and Registration Office, FI-00091 PRH, Finland

Data protection officers

tietosuojavastaava(at)prh.fi
Tel. 050 413 6500
Finnish Patent and Registration Office, FI-00091 PRH, Finland

Ms Noora Kontro
Tel. +358 29 512 000 (exchange)
firstname.lastname(at)vero.fi
Finnish Tax Administration, P.O. Box 325, 00052 VERO, Finland

The processing is necessary to comply with the controller’s legal obligation. Maintaining registers is a procedure based on the Finnish Business Information Act (Yritys- ja yhteisötietolaki 244/2001).

The purpose of processing personal data is:

  • to grant Finnish Business Identity Codes
  • to issue international Legal Entity Identifiers (LEI codes)
  • to collect identification details and basic details of companies and organisations for the Finnish Business Information System, the basic registers of the Finnish Tax Administration, and the Finnish Trade Register and the Finnish Register of Foundations of the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH); and
  • to disclose data.

The PRH is responsible for the technical maintenance and development of the Finnish Business Information System. The controllers, i.e. the PRH and the Finnish Tax Administration, make entries in the system.

Personal data and categories of data subjects in the register

The following identification details and basic details are entered into the Finnish Business Information System (the company search at ytj.fi):

  • Finnish Business Identity Code (Business ID)
  • company name (trade name), parallel company names, auxiliary company names
  • person name, personal identity code, date of birth and the related internal code of the system (if the person does not have a Finnish personal identity code),
  • place of registered office (home municipality), or municipality where the company is managed
  • mailing address or street address, or any other contact details if submitted by the party liable to register
  • main line of business
  • language (Finnish or Swedish)
  • company form
  • whether the entity has been entered into the following registers:
    • Finnish Trade Register
    • Finnish Register of Foundations
    • Finnish VAT Register (including the reason for registration)
    • Finnish Employer Register
    • Finnish Prepayment Register
    • whether the entity has been registered as an entity liable to insurance premium tax or to other tax
    • information on interruption or closing down of business
    • information on legal operating capacity (bankruptcy, liquidation or restructuring)
    • Finnish Register of Religious Communities
    • Finnish Register of Associations

  • international Legal Entity Identifier (LEI).

The following details are entered in the LEI files in the Finnish Business Information System:

  • parent entity details for LEI codes, and related exception details
  • address details of the LEI owner’s parent entity, if the parent entity has not been entered into the Finnish Business Information System.

The authority that makes an entry or in whose base register the information has been recorded is responsible for the correctness of entries made in the Finnish Business Information System.

Sources of information

The identification details and basic details are obtained from the data subjects themselves.

The PRH is the source of data on entries made in the Finnish Trade Register and the Finnish Register of Foundations. The Finnish Tax Administration is the source of data on entries made in the registers of the Finnish Tax Administration. The PRH is the source of data regarding the legal operating capacity of companies.

The PRH, the Finnish Tax Administration, and the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) are the sources of data for international Legal Entity Identifiers (LEI codes).

Disclosure of personal data to third parties

Anyone is entitled to obtain information, extracts and certificates on the entries made in the Finnish Business Information System, as defined in section 16 of the Finnish Business Information Act.

Anyone is entitled to obtain parent entity details for LEI codes, and related exception details, as defined in agreements concluded with the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation and with entities applying for an LEI. The data can also be disclosed in electronic format.

However, the following data are not disclosed:

  • personal identity codes
  • names of persons if they use a company name
  • addresses other than those intended for general use
  • in the case of non-business operations and the persons involved: identification details, main line of business, legal operating capacity, or language.

The website www.ytj.fi provides access to the data (the information service of the Finnish Business Information System).

Go to the company search at ytj.fi. Open link in a new tab

Deliveries of selected data are available as a service subject to a charge. Read more about the information services.

Transfer of personal data to countries outside the EU or the EEA or to international organisations

LEI codes, parent entity details and exception details can be transferred to countries outside the EU or the EEA to the extent permitted by other applicable legislation and by the agreements concluded with the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) and with entities applying for an LEI.

With its place of registered office in Switzerland, the GLEIF is a foundation that governs the issuing of LEI codes. The European Commission has stated that the level of data protection in Switzerland is adequate. The details of LEI codes issued by the PRH are available on the GLEIF website.

Go to the GLEIF website at gleif.org.Open link in a new tab

For other cases, no data is transferred to countries outside the EEA or to international organisations.

Storage periods of personal data

The storage periods of the registered personal data are based on a filing plan which allows the data to be stored permanently.

The contact details of companies, organisations and other parties liable to register, which are deemed to have terminated their activities entirely, are removed from the company search at ytj.fi (the information service of the Finnish Business Information System) one year after the termination.

However, the contact details are not removed from the database.

Profiling and automated decision-making

The registered data are not used for profiling, and no automated decision-making is performed on the data.

Division of duties between the controllers

The PRH and the Finnish Tax Administration ensure that the data subject’s rights under the Data Protection Regulation are exercised with respect to their base registers.

If necessary, a request concerning the data subject’s rights will be directed to the right authority. This is the case, for example, when a matter belonging to the Finnish Tax Administration and concerning the data subject’s rights has been sent to the PRH.

Access to personal data

The data subject has the right to check what personal data about them have been entered into the register, or to find out that there are no such register entries. The data subject can ask the controller for access to their personal data.

To check your own details, log in to the online service at suomi.fi, which is jointly provided by Finnish authorities. There you can see your role details that are in effect in the Trade Register.

Go to the online service at suomi.fi.Open link in a new tab

If you require other details, file a request directly with the controller.

Right to rectification of data

The data subject has the right to demand that the controller rectify without undue delay any inaccurate or incorrect personal data concerning them. The data subject also has the right to have any insufficient data supplemented.

Right to restriction of processing

The data subject has the right to demand that the controller restrict the processing of data, if the data subject contests the accuracy of the personal data. The idea is to restrict the processing for a period during which the controller can verify the accuracy of the personal data.

Right to deletion of data

The right to deletion, i.e. the ‘right to be forgotten’, does not apply to the Finnish Business Information System, which is regulated by law.

Right to lodge complaint with supervisory authority

The data subject has the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority (the Data Protection Ombudsman).