Draft Bill on the Package Tax Act– Key Points

The Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance has published the draft bill introducing a package tax. The consultation period ends on 26 May 2026. Under the Package Tax Act (Paketsteuergesetz, PakStG), the delivery of certain packages within Austria is intended to be subject to tax from autumn 2026. According to the draft, the measure is intended in particular to help finance the planned reduction of VAT on selected food products and to support ecological and location-policy objectives. The key points are summarized below.

Taxable event: Which packages are intended to be covered

The package tax is intended to apply to the delivery of packages within Austria in the context of distance sales transactions carried out by distance sellers.

A package is intended to be delivered as soon as it comes under the recipient’s power of disposal. If the distance seller cannot prove that this was not the case, delivery shall be presumed.

Postal items classified as a “package” within the meaning of the Austrian Postal Market Act are intended to be covered; traditional letter mail would therefore not be included, nor would food or meal delivery services be affected.

Who is intended to qualify as a distance seller: Threshold of EUR 100 million

Only larger providers are intended to be subject to the package tax. A distance seller is intended to be an entrepreneur who carries out distance sales transactions and whose distance sales transactions within Austria exceeded EUR 100 million in the previous financial year.

Small and medium-sized online retailers would therefore generally not be directly affected by the planned tax liability.

The planned attribution via electronic interfaces is particularly relevant: distance sales transactions facilitated by an entrepreneur through the use of an electronic interface, such as a marketplace, platform or portal, are intended to be treated as that entrepreneur’s own distance sales transactions for the purposes of the Package Tax Act. This is intended to make the electronic interface, provided the other requirements are met, the taxable person for the delivery within the framework of distance-selling transactions (“deemed supplier rule”), meaning that large platform operators could become directly liable for the tax.

What is intended to qualify as distance sales transactions: Link to the Austrian VAT Act and FAGG

Distance sales transactions are intended to exist in the case of supplies by an entrepreneur within the meaning of the Austrian VAT Act to domestic, non-business customers or to recipients within the meaning of Article 3(4) UStG (such as small businesses, flat-rate farmers, non-taxable legal entities, or businesses carrying out only VAT–exempt transactions without entitlement to input VAT deduction), where the goods are dispatched or transported by the supplier or on the supplier’s behalf, with indirect involvement of the supplier also intended to be sufficient.

This is intended to apply only to supplies made under a distance contract within the meaning of the Austrian Distance and Off-Premises Contracts Act (Fern- und Auswärtsgeschäfte-Gesetz, FAGG), carried out away from business premises. Collections from stationary business premises are therefore not intended to be covered, nor are transports or dispatches carried out after the conclusion of a contract on the entrepreneur’s business premises.

The package tax is therefore intended to typically target online orders placed by consumers. B2B supplies that do not meet these requirements would not be covered.

Amount of the tax and tax debtor

The tax is generally intended to amount to EUR 2.00 per delivered package.

Alternatively, distance sellers are intended to be able to calculate the tax per order, provided that the order results in a delivery within the meaning of the Act. This option could be particularly relevant where several items are combined in one package or one delivery. The chosen method — per package or per order — is intended to apply uniformly to all orders within one reporting period.

The tax debtor is intended to be the distance seller, not the customer.

Accrual of the tax liability, return and due date

The tax liability is intended to arise at the time the payment for the distance sales transaction is accepted, in the context of which the package is to be delivered. A subsequent lapse of the tax liability after delivery is not foreseen, even if the package is returned, for example.

The reporting period is intended to be the calendar quarter. The tax return is intended to be submitted electronically via FinanzOnline by data stream or web service no later than the end of the month following the respective quarter. The tax is intended to fall due on the same day.

If the tax return is not submitted, or if the self-assessment is incomplete or incorrect, the competent tax office is intended to assess the tax. The due date is intended to remain unchanged.

Fiscal representative obligation for third-country distance sellers

Distance sellers without a registered office, place of effective management or permanent establishment in Austria, an EU Member State or an EEA State are intended to be required to appoint a fiscal representative before submitting their first tax return. The fiscal representative must also act as an authorized recipient for service of documents. Distance sellers within the EU or EEA are intended to be able to appoint such a representative voluntarily.

Only certified public accountants/tax advisors, attorneys-at-law and notaries with a residence or registered office in Austria are intended to qualify as fiscal representatives.

Record-keeping and transmission obligations

Distance sellers are intended to be required to keep records enabling the determination of the tax and its calculation bases. These records are intended to be retained for seven years.

Upon request by the competent tax office, the records are intended to be transmitted electronically.

Competent authority and entry into force

The tax office responsible for collecting the package tax is intended to be the same tax office that is responsible for collecting the VAT of the respective distance seller.

The rules are intended to apply to deliveries for which the tax liability arises after 30 September 2026.

As this is currently still a draft bill under consultation, further changes may arise during the legislative process and the final enactment of the legislation remains to be seen.