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Declaratory administrative ruling ex officio
The Administrative Court Vienna rules that an authority may issue a declaratory administrative ruling ex officio under two conditions. This is permissible if expressly provided by law or if the ruling is in the public interest. According to the NAG, the authority may, upon knowledge of certain circumstances, review the validity of an associated residence permit. However, such competency does not constitute a legal basis for issuing a declaratory administrative ruling. (LVwG Wien 18.02.2019; VGW-151/016/14744/2018)
22. March 2019
New Tax Treaty with Japan has come into effect
A new DTA between Austria and Japan entered into force on 01.01.2019 and replaced the previous DTA from 1961. The new DTA basically follows the most recent OECD model tax convention. Significant changes in the new DTA concern the taxation of company profits, withholding tax exemptions for group dividends, interests, licensing fees and the sale of shares.
28. February 2019
EU Commission: Japanese data protection is equivalent.
The Commission’s decision dated 23.01.2019 allows data to flow freely between Japan and the EU. The Japanese data protection laws have been amended so that they comply with GDPR requirements. This decision is also a facilitation for European companies. They do not need to provide any further guarantees when transferring personal data to Japan.
1. February 2019
The New Year brings new investor-compensation schemes
The Austrian investor-compensation scheme was fundamentally reorganized by the 1st of January 2019. Prior existing investor-compensation schemes have been merged into one institution, the Einlagensicherung Austria GmbH; Only the Banks of Erste Group and Sparkassen keep their own institution for investor-compensation: the Sparkassen Haftungs GmbH. Any credit institution seated in Austria that receives customer deposits or provides investment services subject to compulsory insurance must be a member of the Einlagensicherung Austria GmbH.
17. January 2019
The EU- Parliament endorses free trade agreement with Japan
The free trade agreement JEFTA between the European Union and Japan is ratified. The EU- parliamentarians voted for the agreement which had been negotiated and proposed on 17.07.2018 in the European Parliament with 474 to 156 votes on 12.12.2018. By this, the world’s largest free trade zone is established. The JEFTA agreement intends the reduction of all tariffs on goods. It will enter into force on 01.02.2019.
21. December 2018