Matters of enforcement and collection
The following penalties or sanctions are enforced by the Legal Register Centre:
- unit fines imposed by the court
- damages awarded to the state in criminal case
- fines imposed through summary penal proceedings
- increase of a fine
- summary penal fee
- conversion imprisonment
- threat of a fine
- disciplinary fine
- fine imposed on a corporation
- procedular fine
- supplementary fine
- forfeiture
- in EU-countries imposed fines and forfeitures
- in other Nordic country imposed fines
- criminal liability claim
- payments for excess loads
- financial penalty on a carrier
- financial penalty on a television and radio company
- financial penalty on a telecommunications company
- financial penalty for exceeding the emission limits
- oil spill charge
- fine for restrictive practices
- omission charge
- financial penalty on a purchasing unit
THIS IS HOW YOU SETTLE FINES AND OTHER PAYMENTS
A person fined through summary penal proceedings or on the spot has his/her first chance to pay the fine by the transfer order given by the police. Another chance to pay in advance, without further sanctions, is to pay the fine by the payment order sent by the Legal Register Centre.
After imposing a fine or rendering judgment, authorities notify sanctions imposed by them to the Legal Register Centre, where the matters are entered into the enforcement system.
The system checks whether a payment already exists and in the case of non-payment, a payment order regarding the matter is printed out and sent to the debtor at the address registered by the Population Register Centre.
Totalpayments entered by the date of maturity on the payment order prevent the matter from proceeding to execution. An application for recovery proceedings is printed out in about 30 days after the print-out of the payment order.
The interval from the imposition of a fine or judgment to the payment order by the Legal Register Centre may be from a couple of weeks to a few months, depending on the municipality. The payment order sent by the Legal Register Centre is the first sign of the matter advancing and next being transferred to recovery proceedings.
If, despite the payment order by the Legal Register Centre, a fine has not been settled, the execution officer of the municipality of residence sends his own payment order regarding the matter, after which details of payment are dealt with by the execution officer.
Account information
Nordea
IBAN account number FI2216603000108681
SWIFT/BIC-code NDEAFIHH
(166030-108681)
Danske Bank
IBAN account number FI6180001300040905
SWIFT/BIC-code DABAFIHH
(800013-40905)
Pohjola
IBAN account number FI1650000120378103
SWIFT/BIC-code OKOYFIHH
(500001-20378103)
International payments:
Nordea
IBAN account number FI2216603000108681
SWIFT/BIC-code NDEAFIHH
(166030-108681)
Nordea Bank Finland PLC
Aleksanterinkatu 36
FI00020 NORDEA
FINLAND
GRANTING RESPITE FOR PAYMENT
Before the matter has advanced to execution, the Legal Register Centre can grant respite for payment on motivated grounds.
Further information on payment regulations are available on page Granting Respite for Payment.
INQUIRIES
Collection Matters
Regarding an individualized collection matter, the person concerned or the guardian of a minor can be given balance and other data on the phone. For checking the identity, the client has to give identifying details of the matter. If a person has several collection matters in the register or the matter in question is more complicated, the request is to be sent in writing.
As a rule, a request in writing is also required for a balance certificate to be sent, but in urgent cases a balance certificate or a print-out from the register of fines can be sent on the basis of an oral request to the client's address, which has been checked in the population data system.
Inspection Request in accordance with the Personal Data Act
Matters concerning the use of the inspection right under the Personal Data Act always necessitate a request in writing. Requests are answered by the respective Customer Service.
Inquiries by Authorities
Data are submitted to authorities for official duties regarding individualized matters of enforcement.
Damages based on Criminal Liability
On application, the State Treasury can pay damages to the victim of a crime.
After the State Treasury's decision to pay damages under the Act on Criminal Liability, the indemnee's (victim's) right to damages passes from the person responsible for the damage (offender) to the state. The enforcement of this kind of claim based on the state's right of recourse, or a claim based on criminal liability, is carried out by the Legal Register Centre by virtue of the Act and Decree on the Enforcement of a Fine.
For the person liable for payment it is a matter of change of creditor. The Legal Register Centre sends the person a letter with a payment order, after which damages are no longer payable directly to the victim of the crime but must be paid to the Legal Register Centre.
Conversion Imprisonment
If the recovery of a fine in money fails, it is converted into imprisonment. Conversion imprisonment is imposed by the District Court, to whose session the person fined has been summoned expressly for this purpose. The length of the imprisonment is determined so that a day in prison corresponds to three outstanding day-fines. For the conversion of a conditionally imposed fine, a day in prison corresponds to each full lot of 30 euros.
Under certain conditions, the prosecutor may surrender a claim for conversion imprisonment and the District Court may waive the imposition of conversion imprisonment. In case conversion imprisonment is not imposed, the proceedings for the recovery of the fine are resumed.
An outstanding fixed fine or fine imposed through summary penal proceedings are not converted into imprisonment. Conditionally imposed fines are converted only if court has sentenced it to secure the trial or on the grounds of enforcement code.
The District Court sends a decision on the conversion of a fine to the Legal Register Centre for enforcement. Unless the person fined pays the whole amount of the converted fine on the payment order sent by the Legal Register Centre, the matter is transferred to the execution officer of the person's place of domicile. The execution officer commits the person to prison to serve his/her converted sentence. Before that, the person fined has another chance to pay the whole converted amount to the execution officer and in that way avoid going to prison.
Payment for Excess Load
A payment for transporting an excess load as detected by the Police is imposed on the owner or holder of the vehicle. The police districts send the payment orders for excess load to the Legal Register Centre for recovery.
A payment for excess load is payable within six months from the payment order being issued.
Payments for excess load are not claims based on crimes and they are enforced in the way decreed in the Act on the Recovery of Taxes and Payments by Way of Distraint (367/61).
An appeal against the decision does not prevent the enforcement of the payment for excess load. In case the payment order is altered by the decision of the Administrative Court or the Supreme Administrative Court, the overpaid share of the payment for excess load is refunded with interest to the payer without an application.
LEGISLATION
Act on the Enforcement of a Fine nr 672/2002
Act on the Amendment of the Criminal Law nr 550/1999
Act on Payment for Excess Load 51/1982
Links
Finlex (data bank on legislation, search e.g. with the number of an act)
Judicial system (extensive information e.g. on the activities of the courts, the prosecutor and in regard to execution proceedings)
Police (information on the duties of the Police)
Updated 4.1.2013
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