{"id":22922,"date":"2025-10-30T15:07:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T14:07:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/wenn-die-prokura-teuer-wird-haftungsrisiken-bei-steuerschulden\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T09:57:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T08:57:47","slug":"wenn-die-prokura-teuer-wird-haftungsrisiken-bei-steuerschulden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/en\/wenn-die-prokura-teuer-wird-haftungsrisiken-bei-steuerschulden\/","title":{"rendered":"When procuration becomes costly \u2013 liability risks for tax debts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a recent ruling (VwGH June 26th, 2025, Ro 2023\/13\/0020), the Supreme Administrative Court addressed the question of whether <strong>authorized signatories<\/strong> (&#8220;Prokuristen&#8221;) also belong to the group of representatives <strong>mentioned in section 9(1) and specified in sections 80 et seq. of the Austrian Federal Fiscal Code (BAO)<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/en\/team\/laura-baumgartner-viechtbauer\/\">Laura Baumgartner-Viechtbauer<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/en\/team\/simon-scherzer\/\">Simon Scherzer<\/a> have examined this topic in more detail for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to section 80 BAO, <strong>persons appointed to represent legal entities<\/strong> are <strong>obliged<\/strong> to fulfill all duties of the represented company, in particular to ensure that <strong>taxes are paid<\/strong> from the funds they manage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Representatives who do not fulfill the imposed tax obligations can be <strong>held personally liable<\/strong> under section 9 BAO. Accordingly, the <strong>representatives referred to in sections 80 et seq.<\/strong> are liable \u2013 alongside thetax-liable company \u2013 for the company\u2019s <strong>taxes <\/strong>if these <strong>cannot be collected<\/strong> due to <strong>culpable breach<\/strong> of the duties imposed on the representatives. Four requirements can therefore be derived from section 9 BAO:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Representative status:<\/strong> The liable party must belong to the group of representatives mentioned in sections 80 to 83 BAO.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Culpable breach of duty:<\/strong> The liable party must have culpably violated a tax obligation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Causality:<\/strong> The breach of duty must be causal for the damage incurred (tax shortfall).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Uncollectibility of taxes:<\/strong> The taxes must be objectively uncollectible.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In everyday language, liability under section 9 BAO is referred to as &#8220;<strong>managing director liability.<\/strong>&#8221; Against this background, the question arises whether an <strong>authorized signatory<\/strong> \u2013 even though not explicitly mentioned in sections 80 et seq. BAO \u2013 also qualifies <strong>as a representative within the meaning of section 9 BAO<\/strong> and is therefore <strong>potentially personally liable<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Overview of the Supreme Administrative Court\u2019s decision<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The group of representatives subject to <strong>liability under section 9 BAO<\/strong> is <strong>not limited<\/strong> merely to <strong>managing directors<\/strong>, but is considerably broader. In its ruling, the Supreme Administrative Court examined in detail that those <strong>liable <\/strong>under section\u202f9 BAO also include the groups of <strong>persons mentioned<\/strong> <strong>in sections 80 to 83 BAO<\/strong>. These comprise not only statutory representatives, but also authorized persons. <strong>Sections 80 to 82 BAO<\/strong> primarily regulate <strong>statutory representation<\/strong>, whereas <strong>sections 83 and 84 BAO<\/strong> deal with <strong>authorized or voluntary representation<\/strong> \u2013 this also includes procuration (&#8220;Prokura&#8221;).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is in line with the <strong>intention of the historical legislator<\/strong>: Even in earlier tax codes, liability was not limited to statutory representatives. The general principle was always that both <strong>statutory representatives<\/strong> and <strong>authorized persons<\/strong> <strong>could be held responsible for the duties of the entities they represented.<\/strong> With the introduction of the BAO, this possibility \u2013 albeit only as a liability for default \u2013 was explicitly retained. As stated in the materials to the BAO: <em>&#8220;The liability previously imposed in section 109 AO on statutory representatives and other authorized persons for culpable breach of their duties shall be retained, but restricted to a liability for default.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Practical implications<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In practice, this means that <strong>authorized signatories<\/strong> can be held <strong>personally and unlimitedly liable<\/strong> for tax debts and related additional claims (e.g., late-payment surcharges). To this end, they are held liable by means of a <strong>liability notice<\/strong> (\u00a7 224 BAO).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Liability under section\u202f9 BAO is designed as so\u2011called <strong>liability for default.<\/strong> This means that representatives under section\u202f9 in conjunction with sections\u202f80 et seq. BAO are liable only if <strong>the taxes cannot be collected from the tax\u2011liable company (the primary debtor)<\/strong> and the uncollectibility is due to a <strong>culpable breach of duty by the representative<\/strong>. <strong>Uncollectibility<\/strong> exists if enforcement measures have failed or would foreseeably fail. Liability can only be asserted once uncollectibility has been established.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Section\u202f9 BAO speaks of <strong>liability &#8220;<em>alongside<\/em>&#8221; the primary debtor<\/strong>. This means that the <strong>tax authority can pursue the liable representative alongside the primary debtor<\/strong>, but it does not exclude that the <strong>representative may be held solely liable<\/strong> \u2013 for example, if the primary debtor no longer exists (e.g., in the case of dissolved companies).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The authorized signatory can only <strong>avoid liability<\/strong> if they have <strong>not acted culpably<\/strong>. However, judicial practice holds that the potentially <strong>liable authorized signatory<\/strong> has a <strong>qualified duty<\/strong> to <strong>cooperate and disclose information<\/strong> (VwGH June 24th, 2021, Ra 2021\/16\/0014). Accordingly, there is an <strong>obligation to prove<\/strong> that <strong>no breach of duty <\/strong>has been committed. If this proof cannot be provided, the tax authority is entitled <strong>to assume a breach of duty<\/strong> (<strong>reversal of the burden of proof<\/strong>). In practice, this means that authorized signatories must ensure that they can<strong> prove at any time that they have acted in accordance with their duties<\/strong>. They should <strong>set up<\/strong> <strong>internal control systems<\/strong> or review existing ones to ensure that tax obligations are reliably fulfilled.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Disclaimer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This article is for general information only and does not replace legal advice. Haslinger \/ Nagele Rechtsanw\u00e4lte GmbH assumes no liability for the content and correctness of this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cards-thumbs-round align-full\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-6\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"intro\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t      <h2 class=\"light\">Further information on this legal field can be found here<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-6\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t   \t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t   \t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-4\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"item h-100\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/strafrecht-hammer-square.png\" alt=\"Wirtschaftsstrafrecht | Haslinger \/ Nagele, Illustration: Karlheinz Wasserbacher\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/en\/r\/criminal-defense-white-collar-crime\/\" \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          Criminal Defense &amp; White-Collar Crime \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t        <\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"cards-thumbs-round align-full\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-6\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"intro\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t      <h2 class=\"light\">Authors<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-6\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t   \t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t   \t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-4\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"item h-100\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/BaumgartnerViechtbauerLaura_HaslingerNagele_quadratisch-min.jpg\" alt=\"Portr\u00e4tfoto Laura Baumgartner-Viechtbauer, Rechtsanw\u00e4ltin Haslinger\/Nagele, Portrait von Julia Spicker\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/en\/team\/laura-baumgartner-viechtbauer\/\" \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          Laura Baumgartner-Viechtbauer \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t        <\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t      Attorney-at-Law\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t   \t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t   \t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-4\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"item h-100\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ScherzerSimon_HaslingerNagele_quadratisch-min.jpg\" alt=\"Portr\u00e4tfoto Simon Scherzer, Rechtsanwaltsanw\u00e4rter Haslinger\/Nagele, Portrait von Julia Spicker\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/en\/team\/simon-scherzer\/\" \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t          Simon Scherzer \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t        <\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t      Associate\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Laura Baumgartner-Viechtbauer and Simon Scherzer have taken a closer look at this topic for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":816,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[151,31],"class_list":["post-22922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-criminal-defense-white-collar-crime","category-news"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"Empfang","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22922\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.haslinger-nagele.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}