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Registration of an Austrian Company (GmbH). Service offer

Main forms of doing business in Austria. Registration of Austrian limited liability companies, corporate requirements and fees for basic services.

Contents

  1. Main forms of doing business in Austria
  2. Limited liability company(GmbH)
    1. Main requirements for a limited liability company (GmbH)
      1. Company name
      2. Director
      3. Shareholder
      4. Secretary
      5. Registered office
      6. Share capital
      7. Activity
      8. Financial statements
      9. Audit
      10. Accounting records keeping
    2. Company registration
  3. Fees[1]

Main forms of doing business in Austria

The main forms of doing business in Austria are:

  1. sole proprietorship;
  2. general partnership;
  3. limited partnership;
  4. limited liability company (GmbH);
  5. joint-stock company (AG);
  6. European company (SE);
  7. branch of foreign company;
  8. private foundation.

Limited liability company(GmbH)

The most popular and common form is the limited liability company (GmbH).

Main requirements for a limited liability company (GmbH)

Company name

  • must be different from the names of existing companies;
  • must contain an indication of the company type;
  • must not be offensive or contain restricted words (Austria, Austrian, etc.).

Director

  • at least 1 director;
  • only individuals are permitted;
  • no residency requirements.

Shareholder

  • at least 1 shareholder;
  • individuals and legal entities are permitted;
  • no residency requirements.

Secretary

  • no requirement to appoint one.

Registered office

  • must be in Austria.

Share capital

  • the minimum share capital is EUR 10 000 (at least 50% of the share capital must be paid in cash).

Activity

  • any legal activities are permitted, except pharmaceutical, political and insurance business, business as pension funds and employee provident funds, real estate lending, and private equity funds.

Financial statements

  • companies are required to prepare and submit financial statements and director’s report (the documents are publicly available).

Audit

  • medium-sized and large companies are required to audit their financial statements.

Accounting records keeping

  • companies are required to keep financial statements, tax returns, accounting books, underlying documentation, and copies of business correspondence for 7 years after the end of the reporting period to which these documents relate.

Company registration

The registration of a limited liability company takes approximately 3 - 4 weeks (this period depends on the company’s proposed structure and type of activity and can be longer).

Company registration includes the following steps:

1. Obtaining confirmation from the Austrian Economic Chamber (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich / WKÖ) that the company is a new one (optional);

2. Certification by notary of the articles of association or declaration of establishment of the company: the articles signed before a notary must state the company name, the registered office address, the type of activity, the share capital and the contribution of each shareholder;

3. Payment of the company’s share capital to a bank account;

4. Entry of the company in the local register and publication of the relevant announcement in the Wiener Zeitung newspaper;

The application for registration of a GmbH must be accompanied by the following documents:

  • certified declaration of establishment;
  • articles;
  • declaration (together with a bank certificate) of payment of share capital;
  • certificate of free transferability of the initial contribution by the directors;
  • directors’ specimen signatures;
  • confirmation from the tax office of payment of capital tax or a guarantee to pay capital tax.

If the register has doubts about the company name, it can seek the opinion of the Economic Chamber.

A GmbH receives its legal status after its entry in the commercial register.

5. Registration with the tax office (obtaining a VAT number) for Domestic-type companies: the commercial register automatically informs the tax office about the registration of a new company; in turn, the tax office usually submits a request to register the company for tax;

6. Registration with the trade authority;

7. Registration of employees in social insurance system;

8. Registration with the municipality for tax purposes.

Fees[1]

Services
Fees
Total cost of registration (including government fees, preparation and provision of the company’s original constitutive documents, and the company seal)
from EUR 13 100
Registered office of the company, starting from the first year
from EUR 5 040 / year
Local nominee director (if necessary)
from EUR 6 350 / year
Local nominee shareholder (if necessary)
from EUR 2 890 / year
Compliance fee

Payable in the cases of:
⁎ incorporation of a company,
⁎ renewal of a company,
⁎ liquidation of a company,
⁎ transfer out of a company,
⁎ issue of a power of attorney to a new attorney,
⁎ change of director/shareholder/beneficial owner, except the change to a nominee director/shareholder,
⁎ signing of documents.
USD 350 (standard rate, includes the check of 1 individual)

+ USD 150 for each additional individual (director, shareholder, or beneficial owner) or legal entity (director or shareholder) if such legal entity is administered by GSL

+ USD 200 for each additional legal entity (director or shareholder) if such legal entity is not administered by GSL

USD 450 (rate for high-risk companies, includes the check of 1 individual)

USD 100 (signing of documents)
Assistance with opening a bank account in Austria (the cost depends on the selected bank)
USD 3 500
Preparation and submission of financial statements
EUR 150 – 350 / hour[2]

[1] The fees are valid as of July 2024 and do not include Austrian VAT (20%).

[2] Payment of auditor’s fee at rates from EUR 150 to EUR 350 / hour.

Are you interested in the offer?
from EUR 18 320
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