Estonia may remove companies that failed to submit annual reports from the register
According to ERR News, companies in Estonia that have not submitted annual reports may be removed from the Commercial Register. As of Tuesday, nearly 67,000 companies had not submitted reports — 24% of those required to do so.
The deadline for submitting annual reports expired on June 30. Large and small companies, foundations, and non-profit organizations must report annually. Companies that have not conducted business activities must also submit a report.
Fines and removal from the register
The Commercial Register is administered by the registration department of Tartu County Court. According to court spokesperson Siim Saavik, large organizations may delay submitting reports because of auditing difficulties, while small companies sometimes forget about this obligation or wait for a warning.
A law that came into force at the beginning of 2023 expanded the registrar's powers regarding those overdue in submitting documents. In particular, violators may be fined repeatedly, with fines reaching up to €3,200.
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The law also allows legal entities to be removed from the register three months after the reporting deadline ends. This period expires on October 1.
Who may be affected
Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta stressed that October 1 will not mean the automatic removal of all companies that have not submitted reports. Tartu County Court confirmed that companies whose reporting is overdue by only a few months are not at immediate risk of removal.
Instead, this may threaten legal entities with older overdue reports that had previously received warnings of removal. According to Pakosta, a company cannot be removed from the register if it has outstanding debts to individuals or the Tax and Customs Department, or is a party to ongoing court proceedings.
The absence of a published annual report may affect how potential partners assess a company's reliability, the minister noted.
