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• Optiva Team • 8 min read
due diligence procurement compliance guide

The B2B Due Diligence Guide for Finnish Suppliers

Procurement teams in Finland face a unique challenge: before engaging a new supplier, several overlapping legal obligations require verification across at least five different public registries. Miss one, and you could be held jointly liable for unpaid taxes or breached employment obligations.

This guide walks you through every check — and explains how Optiva brings them together in a single lookup.

Why Finnish supplier verification matters

Under Finnish law, a purchasing company can be held liable for certain obligations of its contractors and subcontractors. The key legislation is:

  • Act on the Contractor’s Obligations and Liability (Tilaajavastuulaki) — covers most commercial B2B relationships
  • Occupational Safety Act — extends obligations to any contractor working on your premises

Failing to verify can result in fines of up to €16,000 or even joint liability for unpaid taxes and pension contributions.

The 6 checks every Finnish procurement team must run

1. Trade Register (Kaupparekisteri / PRH)

Verify that the company actually exists and has valid legal standing. Check:

  • Y-tunnus (Business ID) format validity
  • Current company form (Oy, Ay, Ky, etc.)
  • Date of registration and any dissolution proceedings
  • Registered address and authorized signatories

2. VAT Register (ALV-rekisteri)

Confirm the company is registered for VAT through the Prepayment Register (Ennakkoperintärekisteri). If they’re not, you should withhold tax.

3. Advance Tax Withholding (Ennakkoperintärekisteri)

Check that the supplier handles their own tax obligations. If absent from this register, you must withhold 13% tax before payment.

4. Employer Register (Työnantajarekisteri)

If the supplier employs people, they must be in the Employer Register. This confirms they are filing payroll taxes correctly.

5. Pension Insurance (Eläkevakuutus / ETK)

Confirm that the contractor’s pension obligations are insured and up to date. Unpaid pension contributions can become your liability if you knowingly engaged a non-compliant contractor.

6. Collective Agreements (Noudatettavat työehtosopimukset)

Identify which collective agreements the supplier is obligated to follow. This is particularly important if their staff will work on your premises.

Bonus: Occupational Health & Accident Insurance

While not always legally mandatory to verify, checking that a supplier has occupational health arrangements (Työterveyshuolto) and valid accident insurance (Tapaturmavakuutus) protects you from surprises.

How Optiva simplifies this

Rather than visiting the PRH portal, Vero.fi, ETK, and each insurer’s lookup tool separately, Optiva aggregates all of these checks into a single search result. Type in a Y-tunnus or company name, and within 100ms you have a full compliance snapshot — complete with dates, insurer names, and downloadable PDF extracts.

Ready to cut your supplier verification time from 30 minutes to 30 seconds? Sign up for free.