Setting up a company in Austria

There are the following types of businesses in Austria:

• Einzelunternehmer – individual enterprise (individual entrepreneur); it is liable for economic and commercial activity with all its assets.
• Offene Handelsgesellschaft (OHG) – unlimited liability partnership (company).
• Offene Erwerbsgesellschaft (OEG) – unlimited liability partnership (company).
• Kommanditgesellschaft (KG) — limited liability partnership (company).
• Kommanditerwerbsgesellschaft (KEG) – limited liability partnership (company).
• Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung (GmbH) – private company limited by shares (limited liability company).
• Aktiengesellschaft (AG) – public company, open joint-stock company (joint-stock company);
• Zweigniederlassungen – a foreign company affiliate;
• Societas Europaea (SE) – European company.

OHG, OEG, KG and KEG – these partnership types have no significant differences; their registration follows signing of the Memorandum of association. This Memorandum is registered in the local Commercial Register. This is a much more bureaucratic procedure if partnership is registered by non-residents of Austria. The partnership (company) does not pay an income tax in Austria; each partner pays taxes in his own country. If a company operates in Austria, it must obtain the appropriate license (There are 82 licensed activities in Austria).

The GmbH company in its structure corresponds to any UAB or Ltd type company. Minimum authorized capital – 35,000 EUR. A half of the authorized capital must be paid at the time of registration of the company. A real registration address must be provided.

The AG company’s minimum authorized capital is 70,000 EUR. The number of shareholders is unlimited. The Supervisory Board must be formed. an annual shareholders’ meeting is a must, Minutes of the meeting shall be notarized.

SE – is a new company type, which allows to freely move the business to other EU countries, while not retiring from the “initial” register of the country. Individuals cannot be founders of this company. All companies registered in Austria must be members of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce

Documents required for company registration in Austria

In order to register a company in Austria, it is necessary to prepare and submit the following documents in an appropriate form:

• Notarized last and second last passport pages of all founders of the company.
• A document confirming the place of residence of the founders.
• Several prospective future company names (it will be necessary to specify the preferred option).
• Notarized copies of diplomas.
• List of all activities that the company is planning to carry out in Austria.
• Sources of funds.
• Legal address of the company.

If the company’s founder is a legal entity, there are additional requirements for him. In particular, the legal entity must provide a copy of all statutory documents of the company, as well as extracts from the tax identification number and the Register of Companies. All the copies must be made in German.

Additional services provided at the company’s registration:

• opening of a bank account
• provision of a legal address with mail forwarding service
• provision of a legal address with mail forwarding and call answering
• organization of the company’s accounting records maintenance
• provision of a furnished office / secretary service to the company
• obtaining licenses required for the company’s activities according to the Austrian legislation
• issuance of Apostille