Finland Economy Profile - Doing Business 2020
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Doing Business 2020 Finland
Economy Profile
Finland
Page 1
Doing Business 2020 Finland
Economy Profile of Finland
Doing Business 2020 Indicators
(in order of appearance in the document)
Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company
Dealing with construction permits Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse and the quality control and safety
mechanisms in the construction permitting system
Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, and the reliability of the electricity supply and the
transparency of tariffs
Registering property Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property and the quality of the land administration system
Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems
Protecting minority investors Minority shareholders’ rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance
Paying taxes Payments, time, total tax and contribution rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as well as postfiling
processes
Trading across borders Time and cost to export the product of comparative advantage and import auto parts
Enforcing contracts Time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes
Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the legal framework for
insolvency
Employing workers Flexibility in employment regulation and redundancy cost
Page 2Doing Business 2020 Finland
About Doing Business
The Doing Business project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the subnational and
regional level.
The Doing Business project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulations applying to them through their life
cycle.
Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local firms. It provides quantitative indicators on regulation for
starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across
borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of employing workers. Although Doing Business does not present rankings
of economies on the employing workers indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it does
present the data for these indicators.
By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time, Doing Business encourages
economies to compete towards more efficient regulation; offers measurable benchmarks for reform; and serves as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector
researchers and others interested in the business climate of each economy.
In addition, Doing Business offers detailed subnational studies, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in different cities and regions within a nation.
These studies provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected
cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked.
The first Doing Business study, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s study covers 11 indicator sets and 190 economies. Most
indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013
(Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business also collected data
for the second largest business city. The data for these 11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. The project has benefited from
feedback from governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving the
regulatory environment for business around the world.
To learn more about Doing Business please visit doingbusiness.org
Page 3Doing Business 2020 Finland
Ease of Doing Business in DB RANK DB SCORE
Region OECD high income
Finland
Income Category High income
20
Population 5,518,050 80.2
City Covered Helsinki
Rankings on Doing Business topics - Finland
1
10
24
31 34 37
42 45
61
80
Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving
a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency
Business Construction Investors Borders
Permits
Topic Scores
93.5 75.9 89.0 79.0 60.0 62.0 90.9 92.4 66.4 92.7
Starting a Business (rank) 31 Getting Credit (rank) 80 Trading across Borders (rank) 37
Score of starting a business (0-100) 93.5 Score of getting credit (0-100) 60.0 Score of trading across borders (0-100) 92.4
Procedures (number) 3 Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 6 Time to export
Time (days) 13 Depth of credit information index (0-8) 6 Documentary compliance (hours) 2
Cost (number) 0.7 Credit registry coverage (% of adults) 0.0 Border compliance (hours) 36
Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 5.9 Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) 22.0 Cost to export
Documentary compliance (USD) 70
Dealing with Construction Permits (rank) 42 Protecting Minority Investors (rank) 61 Border compliance (USD) 213
Score of dealing with construction permits (0-100) 75.9 Score of protecting minority investors (0-100) 62.0 Time to export
Procedures (number) 17 Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 6.0 Documentary compliance (hours) 1
Time (days) 65 Extent of director liability index (0-10) 4.0 Border compliance (hours) 2
Cost (% of warehouse value) 0.7 Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 8.0 Cost to export
Building quality control index (0-15) 10.0 Extent of shareholder rights index (0-6) 5.0 Documentary compliance (USD) 0
Extent of ownership and control index (0-7) 2.0 Border compliance (USD) 0
Getting Electricity (rank) 24 Extent of corporate transparency index (0-7) 6.0
Score of getting electricity (0-100) 89.0 Enforcing Contracts (rank) 45
Procedures (number) 5 Paying Taxes (rank) 10 Score of enforcing contracts (0-100) 66.4
Time (days) 42 Score of paying taxes (0-100) 90.9 Time (days) 485
Cost (% of income per capita) 27.5 Payments (number per year) 8 Cost (% of claim value) 16.2
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 8 Time (hours per year) 90 Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 8.5
Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit) 36.6
Registering Property (rank) 34 Postfiling index (0-100) 93.1 Resolving Insolvency (rank) 1
Score of registering property (0-100) 79.0 Score of resolving insolvency (0-100) 92.7
Procedures (number) 3 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 88.0
Time (days) 61.5 Time (years) 0.9
Cost (% of property value) 4.0 Cost (% of estate) 3.5
Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 26.5 Outcome (0 as piecemeal sale and 1 as going 1
concern)
Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 14.5
Page 4Doing Business 2020 Finland
Starting a Business
This topic measures the number of procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital requirement for a small- to medium-sized limited liability company to start up and
formally operate in each economy’s largest business city.
To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has start-up capital equivalent to
10 times the income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10 and 50 people one month after the commencement of
operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. Starting a Business considers two types of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one
company is owned by 5 married women and the other by 5 married men. The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their
scores for starting a business. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally start and formally operate a company To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the
(number) procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is readily available and that the
entrepreneur will pay no bribes.
• Preregistration (for example, name verification or reservation,
notarization)
The business:
• Registration in the economy’s largest business city -Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type of limited
• Postregistration (for example, social security registration, liability company in the economy, the limited liability form most common among domestic firms is
company seal) chosen. Information on the most common form is obtained from incorporation lawyers or the
statistical office.
• Obtaining approval from spouse to start a business or to leave
-Operates in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for
the home to register the company
the second largest business city.
• Obtaining any gender specific document for company -Performs general industrial or commercial activities such as the production or sale to the public of
registration and operation or national identification card goods or services. The business does not perform foreign trade activities and does not handle
products subject to a special tax regime, for example, liquor or tobacco. It is not using heavily
Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days)
polluting production processes.
• Does not include time spent gathering information -Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits.
-Is 100% domestically owned.
• Each procedure starts on a separate day (2 procedures cannot -Has five business owners, none of whom is a legal entity. One business owner holds 30% of the
start on the same day)
company shares, two owners have 20% of shares each, and two owners have 15% of shares
• Procedures fully completed online are recorded as ½ day each.
• Procedure is considered completed once final document is -Is managed by one local director.
received -Has between 10 and 50 employees one month after the commencement of operations, all of them
domestic nationals.
• No prior contact with officials -Has start-up capital of 10 times income per capita.
-Has an estimated turnover of at least 100 times income per capita.
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per
-Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate.
capita)
-Has an annual lease for the office space equivalent to one income per capita.
• Official costs only, no bribes -Is in an office space of approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet).
-Has a company deed that is 10 pages long.
• No professional fees unless services required by law or
commonly used in practice
The owners:
Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita)
-Have reached the legal age of majority and are capable of making decisions as an adult. If there
• Funds deposited in a bank or with third party before registration is no legal age of majority, they are assumed to be 30 years old.
or up to 3 months after incorporation -Are in good health and have no criminal record.
-Are married, the marriage is monogamous and registered with the authorities.
-Where the answer differs according to the legal system applicable to the woman or man in
question (as may be the case in economies where there is legal plurality), the answer used will be
the one that applies to the majority of the population.
Page 5Doing Business 2020 Finland
Starting a Business - Finland
Standardized Company
Legal form Private Limited Company (Oy)
Paid-in minimum capital requirement EUR 2,500
City Covered Helsinki
Indicator Finland OECD high income Best Regulatory Performance
Procedure – Men (number) 3 4.9 1 (2 Economies)
Time – Men (days) 13 9.2 0.5 (New Zealand)
Cost – Men (% of income per capita) 0.7 3.0 0.0 (2 Economies)
Procedure – Women (number) 3 4.9 1 (2 Economies)
Time – Women (days) 13 9.2 0.5 (New Zealand)
Cost – Women (% of income per capita) 0.7 3.0 0.0 (2 Economies)
Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 5.9 7.6 0.0 (120 Economies)
Figure – Starting a Business in Finland – Score
88.2 87.4 99.7 98.5
Procedures Time Cost Paid-in min. capital
Figure – Starting a Business in Finland and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2020 Starting a Business Score
0 100
93.5: Finland (Rank: 31)
93.1: France (Rank: 37)
92.7: Denmark (Rank: 45)
91.3: Regional Average (OECD high income)
90.6: Iceland (Rank: 64)
83.7: Germany (Rank: 125)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a business. These scores are the simple average of
the scores for each of the component indicators.
Page 6Doing Business 2020 Finland
Figure – Starting a Business in Finland – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
0.7
12
0.6
Cost (% of income per capita)
10
0.5
Time (days)
8
0.4
6
0.3
4
0.2
2 0.1
0 0
1 2 *3
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the
time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures
reflected here, see the summary below.
Page 7Doing Business 2020 Finland
Details – Starting a Business in Finland – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Deposit the paid-in share capital in a bank; pay the registration fee and get a receipt 1 day no charge
Agency : Bank
According to the Companies Act, the paid-in share capital must be paid in full into the company's
bank account. To open a bank account, the company must provide at least a copy of
memorandum of association. Normally also following materials need to be provided to the bank
when opening an account:
- The minutes of the meeting of the Board of Directors including a resolution of opening an
account and identifying persons authorized to use the bank account to be opened,
- A brief description of the nature of company's future banking transactions,
- A description of the company's field of business,
- Sufficient information regarding the shareholders and the directors of the company,
- Copies of the passports regarding the persons authorized to use the bank account
The subscription price may be paid to a bank account outside of Finland. However, the bank
account should correspond to a bank account of a Finnish depository bank or a branch of a
foreign credit institute in Finland.
The receipt of the bank regarding the payment of the share capital is sufficient in order to register
the company. However, if an auditor is elected in accordance with applicable law, the auditor shall
provide a statement confirming the payment of the share capital.
2 Submit a single start-up notification form to the National Board of Patents and Registration 8 business days for EUR 275 (online start-up
(PRH) and the Tax Administration as well as VAT registration. online registration or 24 notification of a limited
Agency : NBPR and the Tax Administration business days for paper liability company) and
A basic declaration to the Trade Register must be filed as the National Board of Patents and registration EUR 380 (start-up
Registration specifies. For each type of business association, a separate basic declaration form
notification in paper form)
must be used. The forms are available on the National Board of Patents and Registration, regional
tax offices, local tax offices, Centers for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment
("ELY" Centers), local register offices, and Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise Agencies. All
registrations to the Trade Register and to the Tax Administration are performed with the same
basic declaration.
It is possible to file a start-up notification online for EUR 275. In order to be able to use the online
system, it is necessary to obtain an ID with the National Board of Patents and Registration of
Finland.
If the company has employees, the company must be entered into the Employer Register,
according to Section 31 of the Preliminary Taxation Act, which happens at the same time as the
registration to the administration. Registration to the Tax administration includes registration for
the Value Added Tax.
When the basic declaration is submitted, a certificate of the company's business identification
number may be obtained at a fee of EUR 7. This certificate allows companies to use their bank
accounts before registration has been completed.
The online registration is possible only when the following conditions are met:
- The standard Article of Association is sufficient.
- The shares are paid in euros to the bank account of the company to be established.
- The subscription price is entered in share capital entirely.
- All subscribers of shares and the Members of the Board of Directors shall have a Finnish social
security number and a personal code for online banking system or an identity card with chip (HST-
card). This applies also to possible CEO and a possible auditor who is a natural person.
- The possible procuration holders and those who are entitled to represent the company have a
Finnish social security number.
According to the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act (624/2006) chapter 2, section 8(1), the
company shall be notified for registration within three months of the signing of the Memorandum of
Association. If failing this, the incorporation of
the company shall lapse. If the company shall carry on business, farming or any other income
deriving activity, it shall be registered in the prepayment register.
Page 8Doing Business 2020 Finland
3 File at a private insurer for pension insurance, accident insurance, and medical insurance 1 day (simultaneous with no charge
of employees previous procedure)
Agency : Private Insurer
Under the statutory pension insurance scheme, an employer must subscribe its employees for
pension insurance with a pension provider handling earnings-related pensions. Supplemental
pension insurance is optional.
The employer also pays the pension institution statutory employee earnings-related contributions,
such as: accident insurance, unemployment insurance, and group life assurance premium. A
social security contribution is also payable to the Regional Tax Office.
The employer must insure its employees against accidents and occupational diseases, according
to Section 3 of the Occupational Accidents, Injuries and Diseases Act, which has been in force as
of 1 January 2017. In addition, certain collective labor agreements require that employers provide
their employees with group life insurance. No proof of insurance is needed to start operations.
The accident insurance is paid to the insurance company and must be obtained before the work
for the company starts. The group life insurance is also paid to the insurance company. The group
life insurance is compulsory only if the applicable collective labor agreement requires the
employer to take the group life insurance. Unemployment insurance is paid to The Unemployment
Insurance Fund.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 9Doing Business 2020 Finland
Dealing with Construction Permits
This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse—including obtaining necessary the licenses and permits, submitting all required notifications,
requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. In addition, the Dealing with Construction Permits indicator measures the building
quality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professional
certification requirements. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally build a warehouse (number) To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the construction
company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used.
• Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all necessary
clearances, licenses, permits and certificates
The construction company (BuildCo):
• Submitting all required notifications and receiving all necessary - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s largest
inspections
business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city.
• Obtaining utility connections for water and sewerage - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity. Has a
licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with the local association of architects
• Registering and selling the warehouse after its completion
or engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any other employees who are technical or licensed
Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) experts, such as geological or topographical experts.
- Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse upon its
• Does not include time spent gathering information completion.
• Each procedure starts on a separate day—though procedures
that can be fully completed online are an exception to this rule The warehouse:
• Procedure is considered completed once final document is - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery.
received - Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of approximately 1,300.6
square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be
• No prior contact with officials located on a land plot of approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100%
owned by BuildCo, and the warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita.
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per
- Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed architect. If
capita)
preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further documentation or getting prior
• Official costs only, no bribes approvals from external agencies, these are counted as procedures.
- Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and regulatory
Building quality control index (0-15) requirements).
• Quality of building regulations (0-2)
The water and sewerage connections:
• Quality control before construction (0-1)
- Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there is no water
• Quality control during construction (0-3) delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is no sewerage
• Quality control after construction (0-3) infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be installed or built.
- Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average wastewater flow
• Liability and insurance regimes (0-2) of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and
• Professional certifications (0-4) a peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300 gallons) a day.
- Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the year; will be 1
inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection.
Page 10Doing Business 2020 Finland
Dealing with Construction Permits - Finland
Standardized Warehouse
Estimated value of warehouse EUR 2,110,108.20
City Covered Helsinki
Indicator Finland OECD high income Best Regulatory Performance
Procedures (number) 17 12.7 None in 2018/19
Time (days) 65 152.3 None in 2018/19
Cost (% of warehouse value) 0.7 1.5 None in 2018/19
Building quality control index (0-15) 10.0 11.6 15.0 (6 Economies)
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Finland – Score
52.0 88.8 96.3 66.7
Procedures Time Cost Building quality control index
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Finland and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2020 Dealing with Construction Permits Score
0 100
87.9: Denmark (Rank: 4)
78.2: Germany (Rank: 30)
75.9: Finland (Rank: 42)
75.6: Regional Average (OECD high income)
74.3: France (Rank: 52)
71.6: Iceland (Rank: 72)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their scores for dealing with construction permits. These scores
are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
Page 11Doing Business 2020 Finland
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Finland – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of warehouse value)
0.45
60
0.4
Cost (% of warehouse value)
50 0.35
0.3
Time (days)
40
0.25
30 0.2
0.15
20
0.1
10
0.05
0 0
1 *2 *3 *4 *5 *6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the
time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures
reflected here, see the summary below.
Page 12Doing Business 2020 Finland
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Finland and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
14 13.0
11.6
12 11.0
10.0 9.5
Index score
10
8.0
8
6
4
2
0
Finland Denmark France Germany Iceland OECD
high
income
Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Finland – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Obtain building permit maps and extract from the Real Estate Office 12 days EUR 235
Agency : Real Estate Office
The Real Estate Office issues the building permits maps, which must be attached as originals to
the application. The applicant cannot use a map that is older than 3 months. The fee also includes
the extract from the Real Estate Register and the report of the build-site height.
2 Obtain official opinion on the connection of the wastewater drain and water pipeline 7 days no charge
Agency : HSY Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority, HSY Water
The official opinion on the connection of the wastewater drain and the water pipeline must be
attached to the building permit application if the building will be connected to the public water
distribution system and to the public sewerage system. The opinion is issued by the municipal
organization in charge of the water supply (in the greater Helsinki area, Helsinki Water). The cost
is included in the connection charge.
3 Schedule start-up meeting 7 days no charge
Agency : Building Supervision Authority
BuildCo must set a date for a startup meeting with the building supervision authority and convene
all necessary persons to the meeting. The meeting must be held before the beginning of
construction (some excavation work can be done, but the foundation may not be laid before the
meeting). At a minimum, the following persons should attend the meeting: the person starting the
building project, the head designer, and the site manager. The meeting attendees must be agreed
with the building supervision authority.
4 Obtain extract from the Trade Register 0.5 days EUR 3
Agency : Trade Register
This procedure is usually required when the building permit applicant is a company (which is the
case in the Doing Business case study). The procedure is done online through an e-form.
5 Notify the neighbors of the building permit application 1 day no charge
Agency : Owners and titleholders of surrounding properties
According to Section 133 of the Land Use and Building Act, neighbours shall be notified when an
application for a building permit is submitted, unless notification is clearly not necessary with
regard to the neighbours' interest, due to the smallness or location of the project, or to the
contents of the plan. 'Neighbour' refers to owners and other titleholders of adjacent or opposite
properties. The fact that the application has been submitted shall at the same time be publicized
on the building site by suitable means.
When needed, a review shall be conducted on the building site in order to assess how the building
fits in with the surroundings and the impact of construction, and in order to hear the neighbours.
The applicant and the titleholders of the neighbouring properties shall be notified of the time and
date of the review.
6 Obtain report on the height of the intended construction 0.5 days no charge
Agency : Real Estate Office
This report can be obtained any time online from http://kartta.hel.fi/ . The report is required to
ensure that the height of the new building is in proportion with other buildings in the same
neighborhood. The statutory zoning map/local detailed plan is the only document stating the
allowed building height.
Page 13Doing Business 2020 Finland
7 Obtain building permit 38 days EUR 8,867
Agency : Municipal Building Inspection
The building permit is issued by the Municipal Building Inspection. BuildCo must provide the
necessary information to the local building supervision authority to decide on the building permit
application. The quality and the extent of the required information depend on the project features.
The following documentation is usually required for warehouse projects:
• The completed application form issued by the building supervision authority. The owner or the
holder of the building site must sign the form. If there are several owners or holders, all must sign
the application form.
• A power of attorney is required only if a representative files the building permit application (This
is not applicable to the warehouse project considered here.)
• The establishment of the ownership title is required because the building permit can be granted
only based on the application made by the owner or the holder of the building site. Usually one of
the following documents is presented to the building supervision authority:
1. The deed of sale of the real estate
2. The lease contract
3. The deed of title
4. The extract from the trade register
5. The building permit map and the extract from the real estate registry
6. The decision to deviate from the provisions, regulations, prohibitions, and other restrictions on
building and other action must be attached to the application, in original, if the project requires
such a decision
7. The certificate of the decision’s legal validity must be presented before the actual launching of
the building project (This is not applicable to the warehouse project.)
8. The environmental permit is required if the use of the building poses a threat of environmental
pollution. The decision on the building permit can be postponed until the environmental permit is
attached to the application (This is not applicable to the warehouse project.)
9. Three master drawings must be attached to the application. One document will be archived with
the building supervision authority, and the other will be returned to the applicant with the final
decision. The master drawings to be followed in construction master drawings are approved in
connection with the grant of the building permit.
10. Report of the height of the building site
11. The ground investigation report of the building site. If needed, also enclosed with the building
permit application will be an account of the site’s health effects and ground levels, and the type of
foundation and any other measures required as a result. This report may be produced by BuildCo.
12. The official opinion on the connection of the wastewater drain and the water pipeline
13. Notification to the neighbors. When the building permit application is filed with the building
supervision authority, the neighbors must also be notified. The applicant may do this personally by
using the official form, obtained from the building supervision authority. Otherwise, subject to a
fee, the applicant may request the building supervision authority to conduct the notification.
14. Forms for official statistics. The building supervision authority must deliver information on
building projects to the Population Register Center. Thus, the forms in question must be attached
to the application. These forms are available at the building supervision authority or at the public
printing center.
15. The official form on the building designer. Every building project must have a qualified head
designer in charge of the construction design and the quality of the design as a whole.
Other documents are required, as follows:
1. Working designs
2. Calculation of permitted building volume
3. Report on fire load, parking spaces, handling construction waste; on environmental issues, with
photographs (can be produced by BuildCo)
4. Constructional drawings and strength calculations and drawings on ventilation and heating
devices, on water and sewage devices, and on bomb shelters and the notification of the bomb
shelter
8 Receive foundation work inspection 1 day no charge
Agency : Municipality
9 Receive location inspection from the Real Estate Office 1 day EUR 1,520
Agency : Real Estate Office
The location inspection must be requested from the Real Estate Office after the foundation work is
completed. This inspection is held to determine that the building height and location are in
accordance with the master drawings.
10 Receive structure inspection 1 day no charge
Agency : Municipality
The inspection of the building structure is conducted after the load-bearing structure and
connected insulation works are completed.
11 Receive ventilation inspection 1 day no charge
Agency : Municipality
The ventilation inspection is conducted after the completion of the exit flue and the ventilation
installation.
Page 14Doing Business 2020 Finland
12 Receive sewer and water pipeline inspection 1 day no charge
Agency : HSY Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority, HSY Water
The inspection of the sewer and water pipeline fittings is conducted after the completion of these
fittings.
13 Report information to the Finnish Tax Agency 1 day no charge
Agency : Finnish Tax Agency
The building supervisor (contractor) must provide information on employees at the construction
site on a monthly basis since July 2014 to the Finnish Tax agency. In addition, tax rules require
that the contractor informs the tax authority (agency) on monthly basis of construction services
contracts (including contracting parties, total amount, and duration etc.).
14 Request and obtain water connection 3 days EUR 4,826
Agency : HSY Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority
HSY Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority is responsible for all matters of
connections to the water distribution and sewerage systems.
The procedure for ordering a connection is as follows:
• Helsinki Water customer service staff provides the new customer with a statement on the
connection. The street address of the plot or property is required, as is the owner’s name,
address, and phone number.
• Helsinki Water provides the customer with a preliminary estimate of the recently introduced
connection charge.
• The customer should acquire a building permit for the plot.
• After the customer has obtained the building permit, Helsinki Water will send the customer the
connection charge notice. The property owner can file a complaint within 14 days of receiving the
notice. Unless a complaint is made, the proposed charge will be considered as having been
accepted by the customer.
• Water service connection and meter installation will be conducted after the connection charge is
paid. The customer is responsible for the construction and maintenance of the connection pipes
and conduits and their financing. Before the start of on-site construction work, a supervisor
responsible for the construction of the water facility and sewerage system -- approved by the
municipal building control officials -- should be assigned. Helsinki Water always takes care of
installation of water meters with seals, water main connection with water-sealed joints, and
connections to the sewerage system on the customer’s properties. Service charges will be
invoiced at rates valid at the time of the order.
• A connection agreement is concluded.
• The invoicing procedure is settled.
15 Receive fire inspection from the Public Rescue Service 1 day EUR 200
Agency : Public Rescue Service
16 Receive final inspection 1 day no charge
Agency : BuildCo
A building, or a part thereof, shall not be commissioned before it has been finally inspected and
approved for use. The minutes of the commissioning inspection of the electrical installation
(drafted by the electricity contractor) are necessary for obtaining a use or occupancy permit. This
inspection can be performed by BuildCo, provided that the company has qualified employees.
17 Obtain occupancy permit 4 days no charge
Agency : Municipality
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 15Doing Business 2020 Finland
Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Finland – Measure of Quality
Answer Score
Building quality control index (0-15) 10.0
Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 2.0
How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) Available online; Free 1.0
of charge.
Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly specified in the building regulations or on any List of required 1.0
accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1) documents; Fees to
be paid; Required
preapprovals.
Quality control before construction index (0-1) 1.0
Which third-party entities are required by law to verify that the building plans are in compliance with existing Licensed architect; 1.0
building regulations? (0-1) Licensed engineer.
Quality control during construction index (0-3) 2.0
What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out during construction? (0-2) Inspections at various 1.0
phases.
Do legally mandated inspections occur in practice during construction? (0-1) Mandatory 1.0
inspections are
always done in
practice.
Quality control after construction index (0-3) 3.0
Is there a final inspection required by law to verify that the building was built in accordance with the approved Yes, final inspection 2.0
plans and regulations? (0-2) is done by
government agency.
Do legally mandated final inspections occur in practice? (0-1) Final inspection 1.0
always occurs in
practice.
Liability and insurance regimes index (0-2) 0.0
Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural flaws or problems in the building once it is in use No party is held liable 0.0
(Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1) under the law.
Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover possible structural flaws or No party is required 0.0
problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability Insurance or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1) by law to obtain
insurance .
Professional certifications index (0-4) 2.0
What are the qualification requirements for the professional responsible for verifying that the architectural plans Minimum number of 1.0
or drawings are in compliance with existing building regulations? (0-2) years of experience;
University degree in
architecture or
engineering.
What are the qualification requirements for the professional who supervises the construction on the ground? (0- Minimum number of 1.0
2) years of experience;
University degree in
engineering,
construction or
construction
management.
Page 16Doing Business 2020 Finland
Getting Electricity
This topic measures the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly constructed warehouse. Additionally,
the reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index measures reliability of supply, transparency of tariffs and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data
collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to obtain an electricity connection (number) To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the warehouse, the
electricity connection and the monthly consumption are used.
• Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all necessary
clearances and permits
The warehouse:
• Completing all required notifications and receiving all necessary - Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods.
inspections
- Is located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for
• Obtaining external installation works and possibly purchasing the second largest business city.
material for these works - Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and is in an area with no
physical constraints. For example, the property is not near a railway.
• Concluding any necessary supply contract and obtaining final
- Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the first time.
supply
- Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square
Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) feet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929 square meters (10,000 square feet).
• Is at least 1 calendar day The electricity connection:
• Each procedure starts on a separate day - Is a permanent one with a three-phase, four-wire Y connection with a subscribed capacity of 140-
• Does not include time spent gathering information kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) with a power factor of 1, when 1 kVA = 1 kilowatt (kW).
- Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- or medium-voltage distribution
• Reflects the time spent in practice, with little follow-up and no network and is either overhead or underground, whichever is more common in the area where the
prior contact with officials
warehouse is located and requires works that involve the crossing of a 10-meter road (such as by
excavation or overhead lines) but are all carried out on public land. There is no crossing of other
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per
owners’ private property because the warehouse has access to a road.
capita)
- Does not require work to install the internal wiring of the warehouse. This has already been
• Official costs only, no bribes completed up to and including the customer’s service panel or switchboard and the meter base.
• Value added tax excluded
The monthly consumption:
The reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index (0-8)
- It is assumed that the warehouse operates 30 days a month from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (8 hours
• Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3) a day), with equipment utilized at 80% of capacity on average and that there are no electricity cuts
• Tools to monitor power outages (0–1) (assumed for simplicity reasons) and the monthly energy consumption is 26,880 kilowatt-hours
(kWh); hourly consumption is 112 kWh.
• Tools to restore power supply (0–1) - If multiple electricity suppliers exist, the warehouse is served by the cheapest supplier.
• Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance (0–1) - Tariffs effective in January of the current year are used for calculation of the price of electricity for
the warehouse. Although January has 31 days, for calculation purposes only 30 days are used.
• Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1)
• Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1)
Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)*
• Price based on monthly bill for commercial warehouse in case
study
*Note: Doing Business measures the price of electricity, but it is
not included in the ease of doing business score nor in the ranking
on the ease of getting electricity.
Page 17Doing Business 2020 Finland
Getting Electricity - Finland
Standardized Connection
Name of utility Helen Electricity Network (Helen Sähköverkko Oy)
Price of electricity (US cents per kWh) 13.3
City Covered Helsinki
Indicator Finland OECD high income Best Regulatory Performance
Procedures (number) 5 4.4 3 (28 Economies)
Time (days) 42 74.8 18 (3 Economies)
Cost (% of income per capita) 27.5 61.0 0.0 (3 Economies)
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 8 7.4 8 (26 Economies)
Figure – Getting Electricity in Finland – Score
66.7 89.6 99.7 100.0
Reliability of supply and transparency of
Procedures Time Cost
tariff index
Figure – Getting Electricity in Finland and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2020 Getting Electricity Score
0 100
98.8: Germany (Rank: 5)
92.2: Iceland (Rank: 16)
92.0: France (Rank: 17)
90.2: Denmark (Rank: 21)
89.0: Finland (Rank: 24)
85.9: Regional Average (OECD high income)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting electricity is determined by sorting their scores for getting electricity. These scores are the simple average of the
scores for all the component indicators except the price of electricity.
Figure – Getting Electricity in Finland – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
25
40
Cost (% of income per capita)
35
20
30
Time (days)
25 15
20
10
15
10
5
5
0 0
1 2 3 4 5
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the
time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures
Page 18Doing Business 2020 Finland
reflected here, see the summary below.
Figure – Getting Electricity in Finland and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
8.2
8 8 8
8
7.8
Index score
7.6
7.4
7.4
7.2
7 7
7
6.8
6.6
6.4
Finland Denmark France Germany Iceland OECD
high
income
Page 19Doing Business 2020 Finland
Details – Getting Electricity in Finland – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Submit application and certification from electrician to Helen Electricity Network 1 calendar day EUR 0
Agency : Helen Electricity Network
The application for a new connection can be submitted through an online form (i.e. to obtain the
contract for getting connected to the distribution grid) or in person at Helen’s customer service
point. If submitted online, the customer can choose to provide the required documents either
directly online, or send them via email/regular mail. The required documents include the blueprints
of the buildings internal wiring, which have to be approved by the utility before the building is
connected to the grid.
2 Purchase material and carry out external works 3 calendar days EUR 3,000
Agency : Helen Electricity Network
The customer needs to purchase and install the connection cable from the building to the
perimeter wall, since the utility does only the external connection works, and everything inside the
boundary wall of the building is the customer’s responsibility. The meter is installed only after the
connection cable is installed.
3 Submit electrician's statement on internal wiring and receive external works from Helen 30 calendar days EUR 8,411.29
Electricity Network
Agency : Helen Electricity Network
The customer's electrician submits a document where he states that all the wiring has been done
according to the rules and regulations. The person in charge of the wiring has to be a certified
electrician and have the licenses that are required to do inspections. The electrician does not have
to be registered with the utility company and there is no verification whether they are certified or
not.
4 Sign supply contract with retailer 1 calendar day EUR 0
Agency : Helen Electricity Network
The customer has a choice of retailers for electricity supply. In the case of most retailers, the
application is done online, and no paperwork needs to submit.
5 Request and receive meter installation and electricity flow 7 calendar days EUR 200
Agency : Helen Electricity Network
The meter is installed when the customer’s electrician informs the utility that it can be installed (not
at the same time as the connection). The installation is done by Empower Oy. The customer does
not need to contact this company separately, it is taken care of by the utility. Electricity starts
flowing once the meter is installed, and once Empower Oy has informed the utility that the meter
has been installed.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 20Doing Business 2020 Finland
Details – Getting Electricity in Finland – Measure of Quality
Answer
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 8
Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year (0-3) 3
System average interruption duration index (SAIDI) 0.2
System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) 0.2
What is the minimum outage time (in minutes) that the utility considers for the calculation of SAIDI/SAIFI 0.0
Mechanisms for monitoring outages (0-1) 1
Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages? Yes
Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1) 1
Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service? Yes
Regulatory monitoring (0-1) 1
Does a regulator—that is, an entity separate from the utility—monitor the utility’s performance on reliability of supply? Yes
Financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages (0-1) 1
Does the utility either pay compensation to customers or face fines by the regulator (or both) if outages exceed a certain cap? Yes
Communication of tariffs and tariff changes (0-1) 1
Are effective tariffs available online? Yes
Link to the website, if available online https://www.helensahkove
rkko.fi/globalassets/hinna
stot-ja-sopimusehdot/hsv-
--enkku/Distribution-
tariffs.pdf
Are customers notified of a change in tariff ahead of the billing cycle? Yes
Note:
If the duration and frequency of outages is 100 or less, the economy is eligible to score on the Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index.
If the duration and frequency of outages is not available, or is over 100, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.
If the minimum outage time considered for SAIDI/SAIFI is over 5 minutes, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.
Page 21Doing Business 2020 Finland
Registering Property
This topic examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a
building that is already registered and free of title dispute. In addition, the topic also measures the quality of the land administration system in each economy. The quality
of land administration index has five dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access
to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally transfer title on immovable property To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the parties to the
(number) transaction, the property and the procedures are used.
• Preregistration procedures (for example, checking for liens, The parties (buyer and seller):
notarizing sales agreement, paying property transfer taxes)
- Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent).
• Registration procedures in the economy's largest business city. - Are located in the periurban (that is, on the outskirts of the city but still within its official limits)
• Postregistration procedures (for example, filling title with area of the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the
municipality) second largest business city.
- Are 100% domestically and privately owned.
Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) - Perform general commercial activities.
• Does not include time spent gathering information
The property (fully owned by the seller):
• Each procedure starts on a separate day - though procedures
- Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price.
that can be fully completed online are an exception to this rule
- Is fully owned by the seller.
• Procedure is considered completed once final document is - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past 10 years.
received - Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes.
• No prior contact with officials - Is located in a periurban commercial zone (that is, on the outskirts of the city but still within its
official limits), and no rezoning is required.
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of property - Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6,000 square feet). A two-
value) story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is located on the land. The warehouse
is 10 years old, is in good condition, has no heating system and complies with all safety standards,
• Official costs only (such as administrative fees, duties and building codes and legal requirements. The property, consisting of land and building, will be
taxes).
transferred in its entirety.
• Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit payments are - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase.
excluded - Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of any kind.
- Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for residential use,
Quality of land administration index (0-30) industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural activities, are required.
• Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) - Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it.
• Transparency of information index (0–6)
• Geographic coverage index (0–8)
• Land dispute resolution index (0–8)
• Equal access to property rights index (-2–0)
Page 22Doing Business 2020 Finland
Registering Property - Finland
Indicator Finland OECD high income Best Regulatory Performance
Procedures (number) 3 4.7 1 (5 Economies)
Time (days) 61.5 23.6 1 (2 Economies)
Cost (% of property value) 4.0 4.2 0.0 (Saudi Arabia)
Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 26.5 23.2 None in 2018/19
Figure – Registering Property in Finland – Score
83.3 71.1 73.3 88.3
Procedures Time Cost
Quality of the land administration index
Figure – Registering Property in Finland and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2020 Registering Property Score
0 100
89.9: Denmark (Rank: 11)
86.6: Iceland (Rank: 16)
79.0: Finland (Rank: 34)
77.0: Regional Average (OECD high income)
66.6: Germany (Rank: 76)
63.3: France (Rank: 99)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their scores for registering property. These scores are the simple average of
the scores for each of the component indicators.
Page 23Doing Business 2020 Finland
Figure – Registering Property in Finland – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of property value)
4.5
60
4
50
Cost (% of property value)
3.5
40 3
Time (days)
2.5
30
2
20 1.5
1
10
0.5
0 0
1 2 3
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the
time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures
reflected here, see the summary below.
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