Government agencies write to a company in Estonian. You do not have to speak Estonian. You only have to recognize a few words and find the deadline in the letter.
Two senders matter most. The Commercial Register holds the company's data and reports. The Estonian Tax and Customs Board (MTA) deals with taxes. Always look at which of them the letter came from, and what deadline has been set.
Six words worth knowing
Majandusaasta aruanne (annual report) — the report that every company files once a year. By law it has to be filed with the Commercial Register within six months of the end of the financial year (Commercial Code § 179 subsection 4). If the letter contains the word esitamata, the report has not been filed on time.
Netovara (net assets) — assets minus liabilities. If net assets fall below half of the share capital, this is not simply a warning. The law places the shareholders under an obligation to decide what happens next: to reduce the share capital, to dissolve the company, or to put the situation right in some other way. A letter of this kind calls for action, not just for taking note.
Hoiatusmäärus (warning ruling) — the register's first official warning. It states the shortcoming and a deadline. If you put the mistake right within the deadline, that is usually the end of the matter. A trahvihoiatusmäärus (fine-warning ruling) already names the fine that follows if the mistake is not corrected by the deadline.
Sunniraha (penalty payment) — a financial sanction imposed by the register. Important: paying the penalty does not remove the obligation itself. The report still has to be filed. If the mistake is not corrected, the penalty payment may come again.
Kustutamishoiatus (deletion warning) — a warning that the company will be deleted from the register if the shortcoming is not removed by the deadline. This is the last step before deletion.
Registrist kustutamine (deletion from the register) — the company has been deleted from the register. After that the bank account is closed and the assets are locked. The way back is expensive and slow.
One reassuring pattern
Every step has a deadline. And at every step before the last one, the right answer ends the matter. The system wants an answer, not a victim. Your task is simple: find the sender, find the deadline, act before the deadline.
Common questions
Is machine translation enough?
You will get the general sense, yes. But the translation of the deadline and of the required step must not be wrong — a mistake there costs money. If you are in doubt, have it checked.
What if the deadline has already passed?
Do not leave the letter sitting. Even late, correcting the mistake is almost always cheaper. Sorting out a deletion or a penalty payment afterwards is far more expensive.
This article was prepared with the help of artificial intelligence.