New tax on online orders takes effect in Austria

As of October 1, a new tax on parcels has come into force in Austria, affecting major online stores and marketplaces. The base rate is €2 per delivered parcel, but for buyers the actual increase in order cost can reach €2.40 if the seller fully passes the tax and VAT onto the customer.

The new rules have been published by the Austrian Ministry of Finance. The tax applies to the delivery of goods to private customers in the country within the framework of distance selling—primarily orders placed via the internet and by phone.

Formally, it is not the buyer who must pay the tax, but the online seller. The rule applies to companies whose distance sales volume in Austria in the previous financial year exceeded €100 million.

When goods are sold through a major marketplace, tax liabilities may shift to the platform itself. Thus, the measure primarily affects the largest e-commerce players.

Companies can calculate the tax in two ways: €2 for each delivered parcel or €2 per order that results in such delivery. In the second case, the number of boxes into which the seller has divided one order no longer matters.

At the same time, the law does not oblige stores to separately display this €2 to the buyer. The seller may absorb the costs, include them in the price of goods, or add them to the final order price.

According to Der Standard, some large companies have already begun passing the new burden onto customers. Due to VAT being added, the final surcharge in some cases reaches €2.40 per order or parcel.

According to the publication, the new system currently affects about 15 major online sellers, including Amazon, Temu, Ikea, Otto and Zalando. Indirectly, it may also affect thousands of small businesses that sell their goods through large trading platforms.

The Austrian government expects the parcel tax to bring in around €280 million to the budget. These revenues are intended to partially compensate for state expenses on reducing VAT for certain food products.

The tax applies to transactions where the obligation arose after September 30. The key is the moment payment is accepted, not the day of delivery itself. Therefore, a parcel delivered in October is not subject to the new tax if the order was paid before it came into force.

The Austrian levy should not be confused with separate pan-European rules for cheap goods imported from outside the EU. The new Austrian tax applies to domestic delivery of distance orders and depends primarily on the business size of the seller or marketplace.

The introduction of the tax has drawn criticism from online retailers. Business representatives claim that the additional costs may ultimately fall on buyers and increase the cost of online orders. Some companies have also announced intentions to challenge the new system.