Katso users can use the services of Tax Administration and Customs for longer – still advisable to change over to Suomi.fi e-Authorizations in time

The transition period for replacing the Katso service has been extended for users of Katso in both the Finnish Tax Administration and Finnish Customs. For other e-services, the use of Katso will end on 31 December 2020 at the latest.

For more information on the schedules, please see the relevant authority’s news bulletins:

• News bulletin of the Finnish Tax Administration
• News bulletin of the Finnish Customs

The Katso service will be replaced by Suomi.fi e-Identification and Suomi.fi e-Authorizations. In future, it will no longer be possible to use the Katso ID for identification and the roles and authorisations in the Katso service will no longer be valid.

Data security and up-to-date data are the advantages of Suomi.fi e-Authorizations – Katso service does not meet today's requirements

Suomi.fi e-Authorizations is a secure national solution that takes advantage of the up-to-date representation details recorded in basic registers. The basic registers are the Finnish Trade register, the Business Information System, the Finnish Register of Associations and the Population Information System. Unlike in the Katso service, the representation details do not need to be maintained separately. 

Suomi.fi e-Identification is strong identification that complies with today’s requirements. Katso identification, on the other hand, does not meet the requirements of strong identification as it is based on a username and a list of passwords. 

Instead of maintaining two overlapping authorisation and identification systems, it is better to focus the development on the system that is more modern, more flexible and more secure. The Katso service cannot be developed to meet the current requirements without considerable additional costs.

Suomi.fi e-Authorizations can be used by public administration, the private sector and private individuals 

Suomi.fi e-Authorizations serves all of Finland – it can be used by the public sector, the private sector and private individuals. 

Suomi.fi offers a digital platform for authorisation not only for the public administration but also for the e-services of the private sector. It can also be used at physical service points, such as pharmacies. The use of the Katso service has been possible only in the authorities’ e-services.

With Suomi.fi e-Authorizations, private citizens can also authorise their trusted persons or companies to act on their behalf in those e-services that have implemented Suomi.fi e-Authorizations. This has not been possible in the Katso service.   

Authorisation is a strong legal act – careful registration of authorisations is in the interest of customers

The mandates currently in the Katso service will not be automatically transferred to the new service; they must be separately created as Suomi.fi e-Authorizations. The content of the mandates in Suomi.fi e-Authorizations is different from the content of Katso authorisations. The mandates can therefore not be transferred from the Katso service without verifiable acceptance by the assignor. Authorizations is different from the content of Katso authorisations. The mandates can therefore not be transferred from the Katso service without verifiable acceptance by the assignor.

The situation can be compared to a signed power of attorney, which cannot be supplemented afterwards by one party alone. 

The content of the act applied to Suomi.fi e-Authorizations is also more detailed than in the Katso service. More detailed regulations ensure better legal protection for the assignor. 

Careful registration of mandates is above all in the interest of the customer. Authorisation is a strong legal act. 

The majority of organisations can replace Katso independently in Suomi.fi e-Authorizations – verification of the representation rights from registers is not possible for all organisations

Replacing the authorisations is understandably a laborious stage to some of the users of Katso. Attempts have been made to make the changeover as smooth as possible within the current legislation.

The majority of the current users of Katso (more than 90 per cent) can replace their authorisations independently in Suomi.fi e-Authorizations. The representation details of all Finnish companies and many associations can be verified from the Trade Register and the Register of Associations.

Organisation types whose representation details cannot be automatically verified from a basic register must first register the rights to grant a mandate in the organisation by submitting a mandate application. Examples of such organisations are forest property partnerships and municipalities. The registration of a right to grant a mandate requires a signed application, a copy of the passport or personal identification document and, depending on the type of the organisation, other accompanying documents which enable us to verify that the assignor with the right to make decisions has been heard in the matter.

Additional information

https://dvv.fi/en/from-katso

Suomi.fi e-Authorizations in a nutshell

• In the e-Authorizations service, you can issue digital mandates to another individual, company or organisation to act on your behalf. The service offers its users a smooth and digitally secure self-service at all times and in all locations.
• The mandates issued are secure and are kept up-to-date. The service checks the right to act on behalf of another party from the authorisation register, the Finnish Trade Register, the Finnish Register of Associations or the Population Information System.
• It is free to take the service into use in both public and private customer service systems. The customer service pays only for the costs of integrating the service.
• Using the service brings significant savings through the digitalisation of service processes.
• Since its launch in 2016, over 16 million mandates have been created in the service.
• Every month, more than 4 million mandate checks are carried out in Suomi.fi e-Authorizations and the number is increasing.
• Suomi.fi e-Authorizations have already been integrated into over 135 customer service systems, and these are used by a total of 235 private and public sector service providers. In addition, the service is also in use in Finnish pharmacies.