FAQ
Questions about the authorized representative
The authorized representative assumes all obligations of the foreign supplier under packaging law.
Foreign mail order companies that do not have a registered office in Austria and hand over packaging, or goods or merchandise in packaging in Austria, to a private end consumer in the context of distance selling must appoint an authorized representative in Austria for packaging placed on the market as of January 1, 2023.
The same also applies to companies whose registered office is in another Member State of the European Union and who wish to assume the preliminary obligation for packaging for their Austrian corporate customers. They may appoint an authorized representative. Pre-commitment is no longer possible without a proxy.
If you do not sell directly to private end consumers in Austria, you do not have to license the packaging. In the duty stand your österr. Customers. Inform your (corporate) customers in Austria that the packaging delivered to them is not licensed. Your customers will then have to decide for themselves how to proceed; either use this transport packaging, which is available from your Austrian suppliers, or use the new packaging. customers as waste, declare them as own imports and report them to the Ministry via own notification, or participate the packaging in a collection and recycling system.
Yes, licensing of packaging for a company without a registered office in Austria, regardless of the quantities, is only possible by appointing an authorized representative in Austria. You have the option to choose the flat rate solution if your quantities are less than 1500 kg per year (both household and commercial).
The authorized representative is a deputy under packaging law who must assume the obligations for you from 01.01.2023. (You will find detailed information on the obligations in the next question). Basically, any natural or legal person can be selected as an authorized representative if the following criteria are met:
- Domicile in Austria (domestic address for service)
- Notarially certified power of attorney
- Registration with the BMK
No, licensing of packaging for a company without a registered office in Austria is only possible by appointing an authorized representative in Austria, regardless of the quantities. You have the option to choose the flat rate solution if your quantities are less than 1500 kg per year (both household and commercial).
All obligations can be found in §§ 16a to 16d of the Packaging Ordinance.
The regulations on authorized representatives (cf. Sections 16a to 16d of the Packaging Ordinance) stipulate that the authorized representative must be a natural person or legal entity with its registered office in Germany.
Branches established within Austria must be registered with the Company Register. Nevertheless, they do not have their own legal personality. Rather, the legal entity remains the natural person or legal entity behind the main branch office.
Yes, for foreign companies/persons without a registered office in Austria, the appointment of an authorized representative is mandatory in order to continue to be able to license packaging in Austria in accordance with the law.
Please check your spam or junk email folder, if you still have not received an email from us, please contact us directly at kundenberatung@interzero.at. We will be happy to send you your email code. Your Interzero customer number is also required, you will find it on the invoices sent to you by Interzero Circular Solutions Europe GmbH (or the former Interseroh Austria GmbH). If you have not received any invoices yet, please ask for your customer number here. Send us a message at kundenberatung@interzero.at.
Since 01.01.2023 you need an authorized representative based in Austria. Once you have a contract and notarization, the power of attorney is valid until dissolved. Please check with your authorized representative regarding the validity of the contract.
Yes, the notarization of the appointment of the authorized representative is required by Austrian law and can be found in the AWG. You are welcome to ask your notary to do this for you, or you can use the digital service of our partner notarity. Thereby, more than 200 notaries are at your disposal, mostly within the next 24 hours. For more information about notarity’s service, visit notarity.com/faq. Notarity can be reached for your questions by e-mail info@notarity.com or by phone +43 1 412 01 48.
Any officially recognized notary can perform the certification, you have the option to have the certification performed electronically via Notarity(insert link).
Only the signature on the power of attorney must be certified and not the copy.
The certification of the signature by the notary on the power of attorney must be issued in the official languages of German or English. Certifications that are not issued in German or English must be translated by a sworn interpreter or a notary public.
Please send us only scanned documents in PDF format. Sending physical contract documents will cause delays in processing time.
No, please send us only scanned documents in PDF form.
Certifications that are not issued in German or English must be translated by a sworn interpreter or a notary public.
The confirmation of participation is available at any time in our registration portal under the respective year and area.
Once you have sent your Authorized Representative Agreement to office@profitara.at and it has been processed by our Service Team, we can send you the License Partner Number.
You will find your customer number on the invoices sent to you by Interzero Circular Solutions Europe GmbH (or the former Interseroh Austria GmbH). If you have not received any invoices yet, please ask for your customer number via our contact form
As a foreign company, from 01.01.2023 you will need an authorized representative to act as an intermediary between you and an Austrian collection and recovery system. You sign a direct contract with profitara austria gmbh, which in turn signs a packaging licensing contract with Interzero Circular Solutions Europe GmbH (collection and recycling system).
- Balloons: except balloons for industrial or other commercial uses and applications not supplied to consumers.
- Fishing gear means any gear or piece of equipment used in fishing or aquaculture to locate, capture, or rear marine biological resources or, floating on the surface of the sea, to attract and capture or rear such marine biological resources.
- Wet wipes: impregnated wipes for personal and household care
- Tobacco products: Tobacco products as defined in § 1 Z 1 of the Tobacco and Non-Smokers Protection Act.
The exact provisions regarding contract cancellation and termination are regulated in our GTCs.
Special feature of the power of attorney agreement: Within the first 2 weeks you can withdraw from the contract without notice. You will receive your previously transferred amount back minus the service fee of 1.48% on the means of payment you used. After commissioning, the refund may take 5-10 business days.
Definitions: Who needs an authorized representative?
A foreign producer is any person as defined in Section 12b(2) of the Waste Management Act 2002 (i) who distributes packaging in Austria to other than private final consumers or (ii) who distributes disposable plastic products commercially in Austria to other than private final consumers and (iii) has its registered office in another Member State of the European Union.
A foreign mail order seller (packaging) is any natural/legal person who does not have a registered office or place of business in Austria and who transfers packaging or goods or goods in packaging in Austria to a private end consumer in the context of distance selling within the meaning of Section 5a KSchG.
Foreign distance seller (single-use plastic products) is any person who commercially sells single-use plastic products, excluding packaging, in Austria directly to private end consumers by means of distance communication technology and is established in another Member State of the European Union or in a third country.
Questions about your license agreement
Once you have sent your Authorized Representative Agreement to office@profitara.at and it has been processed by our Service Team, we can send you the License Partner Number.
You will find your customer number on the invoices sent to you by Interzero Circular Solutions Europe GmbH (or the former Interseroh Austria GmbH). If you have not received any invoices yet, ask for your customer number via our contact form.
The Packaging Ordinance (VVO) regulates the classification according to the annual license fee per household and trade. The calculation results from the packaging quantities placed on the market in tons times €. You can find the current tariff lists here
- <1.500€ – annual report
- Between €1,500 and €20,000 – quarterly reporting
- >20.000 € – monthly reporting
In the course of ordering the contract, your license fee will be calculated automatically based on your specified quantities.
The quantity reports are due on the 15th of the month following the reporting period (e.g.: the report for January on 15.2., the report for the 1st quarter on 15.4., The annual report by 15.1. of the following year).
Our online portal at https://onlineportal.interzero-austria.com/ is available for this purpose. You will receive access data as part of the contract processing.
- For monthly and quarterly reporters there is the possibility to report the continuously reported quantities within the year-end report until 15.3. of the following year.
- Annual reporters, on the other hand, submit the annual report by 15.1. of the following year, and can no longer make any corrections thereafter.
After you have signed your Interzero contract, paid and you have been deposited as a participant, you can download them in the service area of our registration portal.
Currently, payment for the packaging licensing contract is only possible by invoice. This will be sent to you after signing the contract.
The proxy fee can be paid in advance, which is why payment by credit card is possible. In addition, we offer purchase on account. You will find the terms of payment on the invoice sent to you.
The e-bill will be sent to the e-mail address you provide. If you wish delivery by mail, enter this info in the field: Messages – as well as a different billing address.
- The flat fee must be paid within the 14-day period after receipt of the invoice in order to be registered as a system participant.
- Annual registrants will receive the first invoice during the year.
- Monthly or quarterly reporters will receive their invoices within 2 weeks after submitting the last reports.
The delimitation according to § 13h AWG (Waste Management Act), which came into force in January 2015, indicates that the following packaging must be classified as household packaging:
Which have the following sizes
- An area up to 1.5m²
- Nominal volume up to 5L
- EPS: a mass of up to 0.15kg per sales unit
- And in private households or companies that are comparable to households in terms of packaging generated
- Sales packaging made of paper, cardboard or carton
- Service packaging and carrier bags
Commercial packaging is all other packaging that does not have explicitly previously mentioned properties.
You can find more information in our information sheets