New types of advance tax rulings agreed

A binding information (“Advance Ruling”) from the fiscal authorities in Austria can currently be obtained for the following topics:

• group taxation (§ 9 Corporate Income Tax Act)
• business reorganizations and
• transfer pricing.

This possibility will now be extended through the Annual Tax Amendment Act 2018. As of 1st January 2019 the extensions is provided for the following topics:

• international tax law (including transfer pricing, tax treaties)
• the existence of abuse of law in an envisaged structuring (§ 22 General Fiscal Code).

Furthermore a binding information can be obtained for value added taxation as of 1st January 2020. 
Moreover the binding information has to be provided within two months after the request (as of 1st July 2019). In case of a rather complex fact pattern this deadline can be exceeded. It has to be mentioned that one of the main prerequisites for receiving a binding tax ruling is that the facts of the anticipated transaction on which the tax ruling is based have not yet materialized.  A fee of  between EUR 1,500 and EUR 20,000 (depending on the applicant’s income and whether it is a member of a consolidated group of companies) is due at the time the application is submitted.