The 2012 worldwide VAT, GST and sales tax guide

32 A USTRIA
VAT identification number
format ATU 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Tax number format 1 2 3 / 4 5 6 7
VAT return periods Monthly (turnover in preceding
year in excess of €100,000)
Quarterly (turnover in preceding
year below €100,000)
Annually (all businesses)
Thresholds
Registration
€30,000 (entities established in
Austria)
Nil (entities established outside
Austria)
Distance selling €35,000
Intra-Community
€11,000 (acquirers that do not
acquisitions
deduct input tax)
Recovery of VAT by
nonestablished businesses Yes
B. Scope of the tax
VAT applies to the following transactions:
• The supply of goods or services made in Austria by a taxable
person
• The intra-Community acquisition of goods from another
European Union (EU) member state by a taxable person (see
the chapter on the EU, page 208)
• Reverse-charge services received by a taxable person in Austria
(that is, services for which the VAT liability shifts to the recipient
of the service)
• Self supplies of goods and services used for nonbusiness purposes
and supplies of goods without consideration
• The importation of goods from outside the EU, regardless of the
status of the importer
C. Who is liable
A taxable person is any entity or individual that makes taxable
supplies of goods or services, intra-Community acquisitions or
distance sales, in the course of a business, in Austria.
Special rules apply to VAT registration for foreign (or nonestablished)
taxable persons.
Exemption from registration. If a business that is established in
Austria has annual turnover of €30,000 or less and does not have
to pay VAT for the calendar year, it does not need to register for
a tax number or file a VAT return.
Exempt supplies by small businesses. If an Austrian taxable person’s
annual turnover is not more than €30,000, its supplies are
exempt from VAT (with no input tax credit; see Section F).
However, a taxable person with an annual turnover of less than
€30,000 may opt to charge VAT on its supplies and recover input
tax on its purchases.
Group registration. In Austria, group registration may be granted
to entities that are closely bound by financial, economic and
organizational ties. A group consists of a controlling entity and