Fiscal Representative in Austria and ZKO Notification: Essential for Foreign Businesses

What is the ZKO Notification?

The ZKO (Cen­tral Coor­di­na­tion Office) noti­fi­ca­tion is a legal oblig­a­tion in Aus­tria accord­ing to Sec­tion 7b AVRAG (Aus­tri­an Labour Con­tract Law Adjust­ment Act). It applies to for­eign com­pa­nies post­ing work­ers to Aus­tria or con­duct­ing activ­i­ties such as con­struc­tion or assem­bly.

The noti­fi­ca­tion helps enforce com­pli­ance with labor laws and com­bats wage and social dump­ing. One key aspect: the manda­to­ry appoint­ment of a fis­cal rep­re­sen­ta­tive in Aus­tria, espe­cial­ly for com­pa­nies with­out a per­ma­nent estab­lish­ment.

What Must the ZKO Notification Include?

The ZKO noti­fi­ca­tion must be com­plete and accu­rate and must include:

• Com­pa­ny details of the post­ing busi­ness (name, address, VAT ID)
• Con­tact per­son in Aus­tria (fis­cal rep­re­sen­ta­tive, if required)
• Type of work to be per­formed in Aus­tria (e.g., con­struc­tion, instal­la­tion)
• Loca­tion and dura­tion of the assign­ment or ser­vice
• Details of post­ed work­ers (name, birth­date, nation­al­i­ty, social secu­ri­ty num­ber)
• Proof of social secu­ri­ty, employ­ment per­mits, wage records
• Employ­ment con­tracts or equiv­a­lent doc­u­ments

All doc­u­ments must be sub­mit­ted in Ger­man. Incor­rect or miss­ing infor­ma­tion can lead to sig­nif­i­cant fines.

Who Must Submit a ZKO Notification and When?

For­eign employ­ers from EU/EEA coun­tries and third coun­tries must sub­mit the ZKO noti­fi­ca­tion if they post work­ers or car­ry out ser­vices sub­ject to report­ing oblig­a­tions in Aus­tria.

The ZKO noti­fi­ca­tion must be sub­mit­ted at least one week pri­or to the start of activ­i­ty via the Aus­tri­an Busi­ness Ser­vice Por­tal (USP). In excep­tion­al urgent cas­es, short­er dead­lines may apply, but sub­mis­sion before start­ing the work is always required.

What Is the Role of a Fiscal Representative in Austria?

A fis­cal rep­re­sen­ta­tive in Aus­tria acts as the tax liai­son for for­eign com­pa­nies with­out a local estab­lish­ment. Respon­si­bil­i­ties include:

• VAT reg­is­tra­tion,
• Fil­ing peri­od­ic VAT returns,
• Pay­ment of Aus­tri­an VAT,
• Han­dling the ZKO noti­fi­ca­tion,
• Com­mu­ni­ca­tion with Aus­tri­an tax author­i­ties.

Appoint­ing a fis­cal rep­re­sen­ta­tive is manda­to­ry for for­eign busi­ness­es offer­ing tax­able ser­vices in Aus­tria.

Why Is the ZKO Notification Important?

The ZKO noti­fi­ca­tion ensures that:

• Labor and social stan­dards are main­tained,
• Wage dump­ing is pre­vent­ed,
• Tax oblig­a­tions are met,
• Legal cer­tain­ty for for­eign busi­ness­es is estab­lished.

Non-com­pli­ance can result in heavy fines and a ban from con­tin­u­ing oper­a­tions in Aus­tria.

ZKO Notification Process with a Fiscal Representative

1. Con­tact a fis­cal rep­re­sen­ta­tive in Aus­tria
2. Reg­is­ter via the Aus­tri­an Busi­ness Ser­vice Por­tal (USP)
3. Sub­mis­sion of the ZKO noti­fi­ca­tion by the fis­cal rep­re­sen­ta­tive
4. Coor­di­na­tion of required doc­u­ments (employ­ment con­tracts, social insur­ance proof, etc.)
5. Ongo­ing VAT and tax com­pli­ance sup­port

Conclusion

For for­eign com­pa­nies doing busi­ness in Aus­tria, the ZKO noti­fi­ca­tion is a legal neces­si­ty. Appoint­ing a fis­cal rep­re­sen­ta­tive in Aus­tria is essen­tial for nav­i­gat­ing tax and labor law com­pli­ance. Pro­fes­sion­al sup­port helps avoid delays, penal­ties, and legal com­pli­ca­tions.