Disclosure of the financial statements until 30 September 2023
Management of corporations with balance sheet date as of 31 December be careful: In order to avoid heavy fines, take care to disclose the financial statements with the Austrian Commercial Court on time until 30 September 2023.
Mandatory disclosure obligation
Management of
- corporations (GmbH, AG, SE)
- partnerships, without natural persons being personally liable (e.g. GmbH & Co KG)
- certain co-operative entities as well as
- branches of foreign corporations (e.g. Limited)
are required to disclose the financial statements after dealing in the general meeting, but at the latest 9 months after the balance sheet date with the Austrian Commercial Court.
The mandatory disclosure obligation regarding the financial statements applies to every corporation and is to be performed annually. If the balance sheet date is 31 December, disclosure is required until 30 September. In case of other balance sheet dates, the end of the disclosure deadline moves accordingly.
The extent of the mandatory disclosure and publication obligation depends on the size and legal form of the company and may apply also to the management report, the resolution of the general meeting and the auditor’s report, or the adverse opinion or the qualified audit opinion. Large stock corporations are required to publish their financial statements on the “electronic announcement and information platform of the federal government (EVI)” as of 1 July 2023 since the prior designated way of publication was cancelled due to the discontinuation of the Official Gazette of the Wiener Zeitung.
Missing the deadline and amount of the fine
If the deadline is missed, the Austrian Commercial Court automatically imposes heavy fines without prior notification. Regarding this procedure a fine between EUR 700 and EUR 3,600 may be imposed by decision. For micro corporations fines from EUR 350 to EUR 1,800 may be imposed. Every individual body authorised to represent the company (managing directors) as well as the company itself are addressees of the fine. If a small GmbH, for example, has three managing directors, three fines are imposed each amounting to EUR 700 and for the company EUR 700 as well, in total amounting to EUR 2,800.
If the financial statements are not disclosed despite an imposed fine, on a bi-monthly basis further fines are automatically imposed amounting to EUR 700 per body and company. For medium-sized corporations the level of fines triples amounting to a minimum of EUR 2,100 per member of a body and company starting with the second imposition of fines. For large corporations every further fine increases sixfold, meaning EUR 4,200 per member of a body and company!
The fine is imposed as long as the corresponding financial statements were submitted to the Company Register. Mere payment of the fine does not exempt from the mandatory disclosure obligation.
Recommendation
In order to avoid heavy fines, we recommend our clients to take care to transmit their financial statements on time for disclosure. Your PwC advisor is happy to support you and to provide professional advice regarding detailed questions.
Authors: Kainaat Maqsood, Kevin Nitsch
