Austria’s new commercial code, Unternehmensgesetzbuch (UGB), came into force as of 1 January this year. It is the codified legal framework applicable to all entrepreneurs and businesses in Austria. In particular, it contains all relevant regulations on the establishment and transfer of businesses, firms, private (limited) partnerships, silent partnerships and the Austrian General Accepted Accounting Principles. The code is still, however, largely based on the Handelsgesetzbuch (HGB), but in its modernisation some very important legal areas have been replaced, amended or even abolished.
The term kaufmann (merchant) has been replaced by unternehmer (entrepreneur) as the main subject of the code. This is more than merely cosmetics. In accordance with the Austrian Consumer Protection Act, the new commercial code defines an entrepreneur broadly as any economic enterprise being performed permanently and independently in an organised manner, even if not aimed at making a profit. This results in the long-overdue harmonisation of the definition of entrepreneur in both the consumer protection and commercial laws. As a consequence, small enterprises now generally fall under the new commercial regime.
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