Government & Regulatory Affairs in Austria

Essentials guide · Source-checked research39% of statements checked against a source7 checked against an official source13 checked against a secondary sourceChecked 2026-10-1914 held back until checked against an official source11 topics include AI-written statements, not source-checkedNot yet professionally reviewed

• The acquisition of real estate by foreign nationals is regulated by the real estate transfer laws (Grundverkehrsgesetze) of the nine federal states, which generally require approval for non-EU/EEA buyers.

  State law, so conditions differ between states; EU/EEA nationals are generally treated like Austrians.AI-written, not source-checked

• Public procurement in Austria is governed by the Federal Procurement Act 2018 (Bundesvergabegesetz 2018), which transposes the EU procurement directives.

  Applies to federal, state and municipal contracting authorities; review bodies differ by level of government.AI-written, not source-checked

• Austria grants a research premium (Forschungsprämie) of 14% of qualifying research and development expenses for R&D carried out in Austria.

  Requires an expert opinion from the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) confirming that the expenses are R&D; for contracted research, qualifying costs are capped at EUR 1 million a year.PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries · checked 2026-10-19

• Concentrations meeting the Austrian turnover thresholds or the transaction-value threshold must be notified to the Federal Competition Authority (Bundeswettbewerbsbehörde).

  Turnover test: combined worldwide turnover above EUR 300 million, Austrian turnover above EUR 30 million and at least two parties each above set amounts. Transaction-value test: worldwide turnover above EUR 300 million, Austrian turnover above EUR 15 million, consideration above EUR 200 million and substantial activity of the target in Austria.Unternehmensserviceportal (USP) · checked 2026-10-19

• The Investment Control Act (Investitionskontrollgesetz) requires approval for acquisitions by investors from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland of Austrian companies in listed sensitive sectors.

  Thresholds are 25% and 50% of voting rights, and also 10% in particularly sensitive sectors such as defence, critical energy and digital infrastructure, water and certain health research. In force since 25 July 2020.CMS · checked 2026-10-19

Read the full guide: Licensing, sector rules and real estate · M&A, merger control, investment screening and insolvency