Terms of use – Incomes Register's e-service
Record no.
VH/4252/00.01.02/2021
Validity
1.9.2021 - Until further notice
Background of the service and definitions
The Incomes Register and its e-service is provided for in the Act on the Incomes Information System (53/2018).
For the purposes of these terms and conditions, the following definitions apply:
Payer refers to an employer, customer or other similar payer or provider of non-monetary benefits.
Data user refers to an authority or a public-sector instance to whom data saved in the Incomes Information System can be forwarded.
Income earner refers to a natural person, estate or legal entity to whom a payment reported to the Incomes Register has been paid or a non-monetary benefit reported to the Incomes Register has been given.
Service refers to the Incomes Register's e-service available in the public telecommunications network.
Service user refers to a payer, data user or income earner who starts using the service and accepts the present terms and conditions.
Purpose of the service
The service is intended for payers, data users and income earners. The content of the service and the functions available in it depend on in which of the above-mentioned roles the service is used. The content of the service is described in more detail below in the relevant section.
The use of the service is free of charge.
Controller, accuracy of the data and data retention
The Finnish Tax Administration's Incomes Register Unit is the controller for the Incomes Register.
The payers are responsible for the accuracy of the data they report to the Incomes Register and the correction of any errors in the data.
The income data reported by payers is retained in the Incomes Register for 10 years from the end of the payment year. The income data in the Incomes Register is confidential, and it is only forwarded in accordance with the provisions of the above-mentioned Act.
Acceptance of the terms and conditions
The use of the service is subject to these terms and conditions. Service users must read these terms and conditions carefully. By using the service, the user accepts the terms and conditions and agrees to comply with them when using the service. This will ensure the correct and error-free functioning of the service.
The Incomes Register Unit can change the service terms and conditions without prior notice. The changes will take effect when the changed terms have been published on the incomesregister.fi website.
Service user’s responsibilities
The service user must use the service in accordance with these terms and conditions, valid legislation, orders given by a public authority and the instructions provided by the Incomes Register Unit. The service user is responsible for the functioning and security of the devices, software and communications and network connections used to use the service.
Service users have the right to add a link to the service’s main page on their own website. The link must be accompanied by a reference to “Incomes Register's e-service”. Clicking on the link must open the service in a new browser window without frames. No other type of link to the service is allowed.
Identification in the service
The service is logged into via the incomesregister.fi website. The service requires identification using the Suomi.fi identification methods (personal online banking codes, a mobile certificate or certificate card). Foreign organisations and their representatives must use the Finnish Authenticator Identification Service for identification.
The Digital and Population Data Services Agency is responsible for the identification services and their maintenance. The use of the identification services is subject to the terms and conditions of the service in question as published by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. The Incomes Register Unit bears no responsibility for the operations of a third party and for the information, products or services provided by a third party, including the content and efficiency of the same.
Payers’ functions
Payers can use the service for the following functions:
- Reporting data on payments made to the Incomes Register and the correction of incorrect data in the Incomes Register. The service provides two different methods for reporting and correcting data:
- The upload service, in which the data is uploaded into the Incomes Register as an XML file. This requires that the payroll software used generates a file that is uploaded into the Incomes Register via the service. The file must be generated in accordance with the detailed instructions provided on the incomesregister.fi website under Documentation.
- An online form, from which the data of an individual incomes payment report is entered manually into the Incomes Register. The data on an individual incomes payment report can also be corrected on an online form.
- Browsing income data reported to the Incomes Register. All the income data reported by an organisation to the Incomes Register can be viewed in the service, regardless of which channel was used to report it to the Incomes Register (technical interface, e-service, paper form).
- Requesting transcripts concerning data reported to the Incomes Register.
- Management of certificates used for reporting to the Incomes Register.
A payer can authorise another person or organisation, such as an accounting firm, to act on its behalf in the service.
The payer is responsible for the accuracy of the data reported on incomes payment reports to the Incomes Register and for submitting them to the Incomes Register within the time period specified by law. If incorrect data is found, the payer must correct the error without undue delay. The payer is always responsible for the accuracy of the data, even if an authorised agent, such as an accounting firm, has submitted the reports on its behalf.
If an authorised agent reports data to the Incomes Register on behalf of a payer on the basis of authorisation received from the same, the authorised agent is responsible for ensuring that the reports it submits reflect the intentions of the payer.
If an authorised agent has been granted authorisation to browse income data concerning the payer in the Incomes Register, the authorised agent is responsible for ensuring the confidentiality and security of the data thus obtained.
The payer and authorised agent must comply with the provisions on the protection of personal data.
Data user's functions
Representatives of the data user can use the service for the following functions:
- Browsing the income data reported by the payer to the Incomes Register in accordance with the data access rights of the data user’s organisation.
- Making record subscriptions in the Incomes Register for the data user’s organisation.
- Management of user and access rights granted to the data user’s organisation.
- Management of certificates used for disclosing data from the Incomes Register.
Data is only forwarded and disclosed to the data users referred to in Section 13 of the Act on the Incomes Information System. The Incomes Register Unit will issue a separate decision for each data user on forwarding and disclosing data to the data user. The decision will specify the intended use of the disclosed data, the data access profiles and the data user’s roles in the service.
The master user of the data user’s organisation will grant the authorisations for browsing data and making record subscriptions to the required data user roles in the service. The authorised party is responsible for safeguarding the confidentiality of the data obtained from the Incomes Register and for retrieving, using and processing the data obtained from the Incomes Register only for the performance of its duties in accordance with the instructions provided by the employer.
Income earner’s functions
Income earners can use the service for the following functions:
- Browsing their income data reported to the Incomes Register.
- Generating an extract of their income data reported to the Incomes Register.
Income earners can authorise another person to act on their behalf in the service.
If there are errors in the income data in the Incomes Register, the income earner must request the payer to correct them. Income data is always stored in the Incomes Register as reported by the payer.
The Incomes Register Unit obtains basic information on individuals, such as address data, directly from the Population Information System. If there are errors in this information, income earners must always correct them directly in the Population Information System.
However, income earners may choose to provide their own contact information and their contact language for using Incomes Register services in the service. In addition, they can provide contact information for the use of Incomes Register services for a person who has authorised another person to act on their behalf in the service. In such a case, the income earner and the person they have authorised are responsible for the accuracy and currency of the information they provide.
Restriction to liability for damages
Neither the Incomes Register Unit nor the service user shall, under any circumstances, be held accountable for any indirect damage, including lost income and lost business revenue or other comparable damage, unless otherwise agreed.
Personal data processing
The Incomes Register Unit processes the service users’ personal data in accordance with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation and other valid data protection legislation for exercising its public authority tasks. The service users’ personal data is used in the Incomes Register Unit for authority communication.
Applicable law and dispute resolution
The service and its use are subject to the laws of Finland, with the exception of rules related to the choice of applicable law.
Disputes concerning the use of the e-service will primarily be resolved through negotiations between the Incomes Register Unit and the service user and, as a last resort, in a competent court.