Skattekontolag

Chapter 1: General provisions.

This section sets the scope of the law for procedures on reporting, paying, refunding, and collecting certain taxes, fees, and withheld amounts.

This section defines key terms used in the Act, including liability, credit, account transaction, target period, and the general due date.

The Tax Administration maintains a tax account system, records specified tax-account items, gives the taxpayer account information, and may issue more detailed rules for online access.

The tax account is reconciled monthly, no later than the eighth day after the general due date, and a tax account statement is given to the taxpayer.

The tax account statement must list specific account information, including transactions, balances, due unpaid liabilities, unused credits, refund amounts, basis information, certain other prescribed information, the tax account reference number, and the Tax Administration’s contact details.

Verotilijärjestelmään tallennettujen tietojen julkisuuteen, luovuttamiseen ja henkilötietojen muuhun käsittelyyn sovelletaan erikseen mainittuja lakeja.

Ilmoitusvelvollisen on allekirjoitettava kausiveroilmoitus, ja sähköinen kausiveroilmoitus on varmennettava hyväksyttävällä tavalla. Verohallinto voi antaa tarkempia määräyksiä sähköisestä menettelystä ja tunnistusmenetelmistä.

Arvonlisäveroa koskeva kausiveroilmoitus on annettava määräpäivään mennessä; kalenterivuoden verovelvollisen ilmoitus on annettava viimeistään seuraavan helmikuun 28. päivänä.

If a tax return is filed late, the Tax Administration must impose a late-filing fee on the reporting party, with an exception if a tax increase is imposed under the relevant tax law.

Late-filed tax returns can trigger a late-filing fee, with a minimum of 5 euros per tax type and a maximum of 15,000 euros per tax type.

Several tax-related obligations become due on specified dates, depending on the filing type and circumstances.

Maksut maksetaan rahalaitokseen tai valtiovarainministeriön asetuksella määrättyyn muuhun maksupaikkaan, ja Verohallinto voi antaa tarkempia määräyksiä ilmoitettavista tiedoista.

If a payment cannot be matched to a tax account or returned because identification details are incomplete, it is transferred to the State. If the needed information is later provided, it is allocated to the tax account or refunded to the payer if the payer has no tax account.

Tax credits may be kept on the tax account at the taxpayer’s request, and the Tax Administration will use them to pay later due obligations.

The provision says tax-account credits and liabilities are approved under the listed tax and budget laws, and entries must be recorded chronologically by day so the underlying basis can be verified.

This section sets the value date for different kinds of tax credits and refunds.

Credits are used to satisfy recorded obligations on the day the credit or obligation is entered on the tax account, and priority rules apply when several credits are available on the same day.

If a transaction could not be posted for the relevant day, it must be recorded without delay after the basis information is received; credits used during the delay are reallocated and tax account interest is corrected under section 35.

This section restricts how a credit may be used: it cannot be used for certain debts or for tax offset in the stated case.

Jos rahaa ei riitä kaikkiin velvoitteisiin, ne maksetaan ensin vanhentumispäivän ja sitten eräpäivän mukaan; samana päivänä erääntyvien maksujen keskinäinen järjestys on laissa lueteltu.

Verohallinto must record unpaid liabilities and who is responsible for them, and it must remove unpaid items from the tax account for collection measures. Liabilities under 10 euros are not removed.

Money paid to satisfy an obligation removed from the tax account is allocated under the tax collection set-off order, unless there is a justified request from the taxpayer to deviate. Payment to the enforcement authority and use of that payment for an enforced obligation follow the separate rules named in the provision.

Unpaid liabilities shown on the tax account statement or certain notices are directly enforceable and collected from the taxpayer and other persons liable for the tax.

This section sets time limits for when certain tax-return-based obligations expire, and expired obligations are removed from the tax account.

Some credits must be refunded to the taxpayer if they are unused, not kept in the tax account, and meet the EUR 20 minimum; improperly paid amounts are refunded only on request or by the Tax Administration on its own initiative, and amounts transferable to a foreign state are not refunded.

Hyvitykset palautetaan verovelvolliselle tietyissä tilanteissa, ja Verohallinto voi joissain vähäisissä puutteissa palauttaa ne ennen velvoitteen määrän selvittämistä.

Refundable and unused tax-account credits are used to offset taxes and obligations as provided in the Tax Collection Act.

Refundable tax credits must be paid without undue delay, but seized amounts go to the enforcement authority and certain requested set-off amounts go to the requesting state authority.

Verotilin hyvitykset vanhenevat viiden vuoden kuluttua tietyistä viimeisistä tilitapahtumista; 20 euron tai sitä suuremmat hyvitykset palautetaan ennen vanhenemista, ja Verohallinto voi erityisestä syystä palauttaa vanhentuneen hyvityksen asiakkaan pyynnöstä.

Verohallinto may issue more detailed rules on the procedure for refunding credits.

The section sets the interest paid on credits, when it starts and ends, and how the rate is calculated.

Late-payment interest must be charged on certain unpaid tax-account obligations and related charges, at the reference rate for the preceding half-year plus 7 percentage points, but not on tax increases or late-payment interest itself.

An unpaid obligation removed from the tax account accrues late interest from the day after it is removed until payment; the same provision says late interest is not paid on tax increases or late-payment interest, and it is not deductible for income tax.

When a tax obligation or refundable VAT amount changes because of correction or appeal, interest and compensation interest must be adjusted accordingly.

When the Tax Administration corrects a tax account because of a posting delay or an error, the interest calculated on the tax account must be adjusted to match the new situation.

Verohallinto may issue more detailed rules on how interest is calculated.

Verohallinto must correct errors in the tax account promptly after noticing them, record the correction, and in some cases hear the taxpayer or issue a decision on request.

An error may be corrected within five years if it benefits the taxpayer, or within two years if it is to the taxpayer’s detriment. A late correction is still possible if the correction request reached the Tax Administration on time.

If an incorrect tax-account credit was paid out or used and not corrected before the statement was served, the Tax Administration must recover it. The decision must be made within two calendar years, the taxpayer should be heard unless clearly unnecessary, and small amounts may be left unrecovered.

Oikaisuvaatimus Verohallinnolle on tehtävä kirjallisesti määräajassa.

Verovelvollinen, velvoitteesta vastuussa oleva ja Veronsaajien oikeudenvalvontayksikkö voivat hakea muutosta oikaisupäätökseen hallinto-oikeudelta. Valitukselle on eri määräajat: yleensä vähintään 60 päivää, joissakin asioissa 5 vuotta, ja Veronsaajien oikeudenvalvontayksikölle 30 päivää.

A payment obligation under this Act must be paid even if an appeal has been filed.

This section says that liability for the obligation is governed by the rules on tax liability in Chapter 8 of the Tax Collection Act.

The Tax Administration may waive or not collect late-payment charges if the delay was due to a reason beyond the taxpayer’s control, and it must refund amounts already collected in some cases.

The Ministry of Finance may issue an order so that late interest, delay interest, and late-payment fees are not charged for periods of delay caused by obstacles beyond the taxpayer’s control.

Verohallinto may, on application, relieve a taxpayer from late-payment charges partly or fully if payment would be unreasonable; the Ministry of Finance may take over an important principle matter; and a refund credited to a tax account may be used to pay unpaid obligations or for tax set-off.

The tax statement must be served electronically to the taxpayer, with postal service used if technical disruptions prevent electronic service.

Other documents issued under this Act must be served by ordinary service or by verifiable electronic service.

If a payment, notice, or refund deadline falls on a holiday, May Day, Saturday, or a day when the relevant bank payment systems are unavailable, it may be done on the next business day.

Late-payment charges and amounts used to satisfy obligations must be remitted to tax recipients, with the latter handled according to the Act on Tax Distributions.

This section sets the law’s entry into force and how it applies to certain taxes, interest, and refunds around that date.