9.7 Swedish enforcement authority

The Swedish Enforcement Authority, Kronofogdemyndigheten, assists in collecting unpaid claims, issue applications for order to pay, debt restructuring and supervision of bankruptcy.

The activities of the Swedish Enforcement Authority may become relevant for foreign missions if they fail to pay, for instance, social security contributions for locally employed staff.

While the area of state immunity and diplomatic immunity is complex, Swedish courts have delivered rulings which have allowed for enforcement measures against certain property belonging to foreign missions.

It should be noted that, the authority makes its own assessment as to whether certain property is covered by diplomatic immunity or not. Furthermore, the Swedish Constitution prevents the Swedish Government from interfering in how Government authorities handle individual cases. All Swedish authorities are independent in their decision-making, even before the Swedish Government. The main legal source for the enforcement of claims is the Enforcement Code supplemented by the Enforcement Statute.

The Enforcement Authority carries out the enforcement of public claims (e.g. taxes, VAT, excise duties, social security contributions, parking fines) and private claims (e.g. titles of execution, judgments of general or administrative courts). How the enforcement procedures of public claims are handled differs depending on the claim. The main rule is that the debt should be paid immediately regardless if it is a debt to an individual, a company or the state. If there is no possibility to pay the whole debt at once, it is better to pay as much as possible so that the debt diminishes.

The Enforcement Authority is obliged to initiate an investigation if the debtor has failed to pay within the time-limit. The purpose is to see if the debtor has any property that can be subject to enforcement. Third parties are also required to provide information about the debtor. Compulsory sale might be one action taken by the authority and it concerns sale of e.g. personal moveable property and real estate.

Different authorities have registers which are used by the Enforcement Authority in order to gain knowledge about the persons or companies that are subject to the authority's actions. The Tax Agency administers the tax register which the Enforcement Authority has direct access to. Both individuals and legal entities are registered. Furthermore, the vehicle register is kept by the National Road Administration and contains information about all registered vehicles and its owners. The real estate register is administered by the National Land Surveying Office and contains all valuable information about real estates and site leaseholds in Sweden.

The decisions by the Enforcement Authority can be subject to appeal by the debtor or a third party. The appeal is sent to the Enforcement Authority, but has to be directed to the District Court. The only decisions that are not appealable are some preparatory decisions. Normally the appeal has to be submitted within three weeks from the service of the decision.

For more detailed information: The Swedish Enforcement Authority