Digital platforms: the new information-reporting requirement in 2023

In accordance with the Government proposal to the Finnish parliament, platform operators must inform the Tax Administration of sales and rentals under the intermediation of their digital app or platform, as well as of persons and companies that have received the income. The proposed requirement to collect data concerning these ‘essential activities’ will go into effect 1 January 2023 and the operators must provide information annually.

The platform operator’s information-reporting requirement (IRR) concerns the following activities, transactions and the related amounts of income:

• Provision of personal services, e.g. passenger transport or accounting services
• Sales of goods
• Rental of residential and commercial premises, parking spaces, immovable property and means of transport

Platform operators must submit an annual information return even if there is no information to be reported for a calendar year.

Who are the parties that have the information-reporting requirement?

The majority of third parties concerned by the IRR are companies that provide a digital platform to allow sellers to be connected with customers for the provision of goods and services including renting an apartment. Reporting is required of the platform operators that are domiciled in Finland or that have their single registration for annual return submittal in Finland.

In accordance with the Government proposal to the Finnish parliament, the new legal act will contain detailed rules that impose a ‘due diligence requirement' on the platform operator to review and identify sellers using the platform. Due diligence rules ensure that the platform operator collects and reports information concerning all sellers, and that the reported information is correct.

Platform operators must collect data from 2023 onwards

The first reporting year is the 2023 calendar year, and the deadline for the first information returns will be 31 January 2024. Platform operators are expected to send their annual information returns electronically through Ilmoitin.fi. The Tax Administration will release technical instructions for submitting the annual information return. Detailed guidance will also be released.

Information exchanged between EU countries

The ‘standardised reporting obligation’ for platform operators comes into force in all EU countries. The reason for this is the recent amendment, known as DAC7, of an EU Directive. The collection of data by member states’ tax administrations concerns income earners residing both in their own EU country and in other EU countries.

DAC7 also provides for the exchange of information between EU countries. The Finnish Tax Administration sends data on residents of other countries to their countries of residence, and conversely, the Finnish Tax Administration will receive data concerning income earners whose country of fiscal residence is Finland from the tax administrations of other EU countries.

If real estate or other immovable property has been leased through the platform, the information will always be sent also to the country where the property is located.

Need more information?

You are more than welcome to sign up for our event on 25 November 2022, organised for promoting close cooperation with commercial software vendors. Reporting requirements of digital platforms will be one of the topics. The event is conducted in Finnish.

We can be contacted at the following e-mail address: alustapalveluraportointi.DAC7(at)vero.fi

Read more:

• Do you offer a digital platform? New EU-wide reporting
• “Text of the government proposal”—Hallituksen esitys 225/2022 (Finnish Parliament) (only in Finnish and Swedish)

This page was last updated: 28 March 2023