Mineral oil tax

General information

Mineral oils, motor fuels and heating fuels produced in Austria or imported into Austria are subject to mineral oil tax. This also entails an obligation to obtain approval for the production, storage, processing and/or untaxed transfer ("under duty suspension") of certain mineral oils (and in particular to obtain a "tax warehouse approval") and to submit a mineral oil tax return. Movements under duty suspension to or from other EU Member States or within Austria must be handled under the Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS). Movements of certain mineral oils in free circulation with other EU Member States must be carried out via the EMCS as well  and in certain cases a mineral oil tax return must be submitted. Production outside of a tax warehouse must be notified in advance to the customs authorities.

Motor fuels and heating fuels are mineral oil substitutes which, if used for (tax-relevant) energy purposes, are also subject to mineral oil tax, for which a simplified procedure is applicable.

The category "Energy (Mineral oils)" includes the following sub-categories:

• Fatty Acid Monoalkyl Esters (FAMAE) with an ester content of 96.5 per cent by vol. or more, including FAME
• Leaded petrol
• Unleaded petrol
• Non-marked gas oil
• Marked gas oil
• Heating oils
• Products of CN codes 2707 10 (benzol), 2707 20 (toluene), 2707 30 (xylene) and 2707 50 (mixtures of aromatic hydrocarbons)
• Products of CN codes 2710 11 21, 2710 11 25 and 2710 19 29, where they are not decanted into containers
• Other products of CN codes 2710 11 to 2710 19 69
• Products of CN codes 2711 liquid gas (except 2711 11, 2711 21 and 2711 29)
• Products of CN codes 2901 10 saturated acyclic hydrocarbons
• Products of CN codes 2902 20 (benzol), 2902 30 (toluene), 2902 41 (o-xylene), 2902 42 (m-xylene), 2902 43 (p-xylene) and 2902 44 (xylene isomer mixtures), cyclic hydrocarbons
• Products of CN codes 2905 11 00 that are not of synthetic origin and can be used as fuel or for heating (methanol)
• Products of CN codes 3811 11, 3811 1900 and 3811 90 00
• Other products of CN codes 3824 90 99 for use as fuel or for heating
• Products of CN codes 1507 to 1518 used as fuel or for heating

Enterprises affected

• Businesses that produce, store or transfer mineral oils (tax warehouses, registered consignees and registered consignors)
• Utilisation operations that purchase mineral oils free of tax and make tax-exempt use of them on the basis of an exemption certificate
• Other businesses (e.g. fuel companies) that supply or make tax-exempt use of products subject to mineral oil tax

Requirements

Approvals are required for intended activities. These are obtained from the Customs Authority Austria. The conditions vary according to the nature of the activity for which the application is made but will generally include a good tax record, correct and proper bookkeeping, a payment bond and, where applicable, a minimum annual turnover. Businesses are subject to official oversight and must meet – again depending on the nature of the activity – different record-keeping requirements.

Deadlines

Mineral oil tax must be reported in writing by the 25th of each month. Specifically, the quantities removed from the tax warehouse in the preceding month, or withdrawn for consumption from the tax warehouse (that is, released for free circulation), must be stated. Furthermore, the Mineral Oil Tax Act prescribes additional factual information regarding tax liabilities incurred (in particular with regard to motor fuels and heating fuels and to improper use) and tax benefits that (may) also need to be entered on the tax return.

The tax due must generally be paid by the reporting deadline. Deadlines may be shorter in cases where irregularities are found.

Competent authority

The Customs Authority Austria (→ BMF)^{German text}

Mailing address: Zollamt Österreich, Conrad von Hötzendorf-Straße 14-18, 8010 Graz

Fax: 050 233 5960000

If you have any questions, the Central Customs Information Office is available Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 050 233 740.

E-Mail: zollinfo@bmf.gv.at

Procedure

After the tax liability has arisen, the mineral oil tax return must be submitted in due time via EVA (→ BMF)^{German text} and FinanzOnline (→ BMF)^{German text}. Furthermore, EVA is available for refund or reimbursement applications.

The transfer of mineral oils under duty suspension as well as in free circulation is conditional on registration via EMCS and FinanzOnline.

The application for operating approval to be granted must be made in writing at the Customs Authority Austria (→ BMF)^{German text}.

Required documents

• Name and address of the business
• Location and territorial scope
• A description of the operation, including a site plan
• A description of the production and warehousing process

Costs and fees

A fee may be charged for all official activity that is undertaken at a specific time requested by the applicant.

In addition, costs will be incurred for certain specific monitoring and for expert reports.

Further information

Tax rates

• Petrol under sub-heading 2710 12 31 (provided the lead content does not exceed 0.013g per litre), 2710 12 41, 2710 12 45 and 2710 12 49 according to the Combined Nomenclature:
  For 1,000 litres of petrol containing at least 46 litres of biogenic substances and a sulphur content of up to 10mg/kg, the mineral oil tax due is 482 Euro; otherwise it is 515 Euro.
• Fuel under sub-headings 2710 12 31, 2710 12 51 and 2710 12 59 of the Combined Nomenclature:
  For 1,000 litres of petrol containing at least 46 litres of biogenic substances and a sulphur content of up to 10mg/kg, the mineral oil tax due is 554 Euro; otherwise it is 587 Euro.
• Medium oils under sub-headings 2710 19 21 and 2710 19 25 of the Combined Nomenclature:
  The mineral oil tax due on 1,000 litres of medium oil is 397 Euro.
• Gas oils under sub-headings 2710 19 43 to 2710 19 48 and 2710 20 11 to 2710 20 19 of the Combined Nomenclature, except marked gas oil:
  For 1,000 litres of gas oil containing at least 66 litres of biogenic substances and a sulphur content of up to 10mg/kg, the mineral oil tax due is 397 Euro; otherwise it is 425 Euro.
• Marked gas oil:
  The mineral oil tax due on 1,000 litres of gas oil with a sulphur content of up to 10mg/kg is 98 Euro; otherwise, it is 128 Euro.
• Liquefied hydrocarbons, including natural gas (sub-heading 2711 11 00 of the Combined Nomenclature) and biogas (sub-heading 2711 19 00 of the Combined Nomenclature):
  The mineral oil tax due on 1,000 litres of liquefied hydrocarbons is 88 Euro.
• Gaseous hydrocarbons used as fuel, except natural gas as defined by the Natural Gas Act (Erdgasabgabegesetz):
  The mineral oil tax due on 1,000 kg of gaseous hydrocarbons is 261 Euro; otherwise it is 43 Euro.
• Heating oils under sub-headings 2710 19 62 to 2710 19 68 and 2710 20 31 to 2710 20 39 of the Combined Nomenclature:
  If these products are used for heating, the mineral oil tax due on 1,000 kg of heating oil is 60 Euro. Otherwise, for 1,000 litres of heating oil containing at least 66 litres of biogenic substances and a sulphur content of up to 10mg/kg, the mineral oil tax due is 397 Euro; otherwise it is 425 Euro.
• Liquefied gasses (except biogas under sub-heading 2711 19 00 of the Combined Nomenclature):
  If these products are used as fuel, the mineral oil tax due on 1,000kg of liquefied gas is 261 Euro, otherwise it is 43 Euro.
• Fuels:
  If used as fuel instead of petrol, the mineral oil tax due on 1,000 litres of fuel is 515 Euro; otherwise it is 425 Euro.
• Heating fuel:
  The mineral oil tax due on 1,000 litres of heating fuel with a sulphur content of up to 10mg/kg is 98 Euro; otherwise, it is 128 Euro.

Further information and manuals for SEED, EVA and EMCS are available on the VIP+ (Excise Duty Internet Platform plus) under "Help".

Legal bases

• Mineralölsteuergesetz (MinStG)
• Gasölkennzeichnungsverordnung
• Bioethanolgemischverordnung
• Verordnung der Bundesministerin für Finanzen, betreffend die Anwendung von Kontroll- und Beförderungsbestimmungen auf Additive (Additive Verordnung)
• Luftfahrtbegünstigungsverordnung
• Nachhaltigkeitsverordnung
• Sections 314, 315 of the Bundesabgabenordnung

Link to form

• For your tax return or your applications to the customs authorities, please use the forms from the forms database (→ BMF)^{German text} of the Federal Ministry of Finance.
• FinanzOnline (→ BMF)^{German text}
  Entrepreneurs registered on the business service portal (USP) are able to make use of this and many other online procedures with a single sign-in to the USP. More detailed information about registering with the USP can be obtained from the online advisor for USP registration^{German text}.