Usancen Blog
VwGH: Interest on late repayment of VAT claim
The Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof, VwGH) ruled on the possibility of claiming interest on late repayment of an input tax surplus. The appellant was a hotelier who claimed a surplus of input tax in 2007 as part of the advance VAT return...
OGH: Non-competition clause of the managing sole shareholder
The Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshf, OGH) ruled on the question whether the managing sole shareholder is subject to the non-competition clause even if he holds part of the shares in trust. The plaintiff was a company in the real estate sector. The...
OGH: Claim for reimbursement of insurance benefits
The Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) deals with the question of the statute of limitations for a claim for reimbursement of erroneously paid compensation payments, as well as with the commencement of the limitation period for such a claim fo...
OGH: Applicability of exclusion of risks to limited partnerships
The Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) ruled on exclusions of risks in an insurance contract and their applicability to limited partnerships (Kommanditgesellschaften, KG). The plaintiff is an engineering office in the legal form of a KG and is...
DE: VW diesel scandal: Withdrawal only with prior setting of a time limit
The German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) had to decide whether buyers of a vehicle affected by the diesel scandal can withdraw from the purchase contract even if they have not previously given the seller an opportunity to remedy the ...
COVID-19: Holiday leave and continued remuneration (sick pay)
If Austria is chosen as the holiday destination, the official segregation due to illness or the suspicion of infection with COVID-19 constitutes a justified inability to work. According to the rules of the Epidemic Act (Epidemiegesetzes, EpiG), the e...
Taxation of cryptocurrencies
The planned eco-social tax reform for 2022 has been supplemented by another important aspect, namely the taxation of cryptocurrencies. A brief overview of essential innovations: As of March 2022, income from cryptocurrencies will be added to the list...
OGH: Local jurisdiction under Section 198 of the Financial Crimes Act (new)
The Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) issued a first decision on the new jurisdiction system in financial criminal cases. The files of judicial financial criminal proceedings submitted by a Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht) pursuant t...
OGH requests preliminary ruling on terms in general terms and conditions
In the present case, the Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) referred to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) the question of how clauses in general terms and conditions (GTC) may act with regard to Art 6 para 1 and Art 7 para 1 of Directive 93/...
OGH on the upper limit of the amount in dispute in legal expenses insurance
The Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) dealt with how the alleged settlement of a claim is to be treated in the upper limit of the amount in dispute of a legal expenses insurance. In the preliminary proceedings, the plaintiff was sued by a sub...
Innovations in COVID-19 short-time work from 01.07.2021
Due to the pandemic, businesses continue to be put to the test. In order to nevertheless preserve the liquidity of the entrepreneur and the workers employed in the business, the legislator provides a remedy through the short-time work (“Kurzarbeit”) ...
Eco-social tax reform under review
The evaluation drafts of the eco-social tax reform are now available. The aim of the tax reform is the introduction of CO2 pricing and a corresponding social compensation. The following is an overview of important changes. Income tax (Section 33 Inc...
VwGH: Taxation of insurance compensation
The Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof, VwGH) has ruled on whether an insurance compensation received for a property is subject to the special tax rate of Section 30a of the Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz, EStG). The appellant ran a ...
OGH on the supervisory duties of the bankruptcy court
The bankruptcy court's power to supervise and issue instructions is in principle comprehensive and undoubtedly not limited to the "operational area of the bankruptcy trustee’s activities". In the present case, a bankruptcy debtor applied for the term...
OGH on the duty to mitigate damage
Section 1304 of the Austrian General Civil Code (Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, ABGB) imposes an obligation on the injured party to minimise the damage incurred if and to the extent that it is possible and reasonable for him to act accordingly....
HG Wien: Inadmissible terms and conditions of a fitness membership
In the case at hand, the Vienna Commercial Court (Handelsgericht Wien, HG Wien) dealt with a request for injunction filed by the Association for Consumer Information due to the inadmissibility of three clauses used in the General Terms and Conditions...
DPA on unauthorised inspection of electronic vaccination certificate
The Data Protection Authority (DPA) examined an allegation of unauthorised inspection of a data subject's electronic vaccination record by a doctor. The complainant, who is also the sister-in-law of the defendant, is an employee of the medical practi...
DE: Giro contract - no implied new contract in case of insolvency
If a debtor's checking (giro) account contract lapses due to the opening of bancruptcy proceedings and the bank is not aware of the bankruptcy proceedings, actions of the bank after the debtor's self-employment has been released cannot be interpreted...
OGH: On the liability of the host provider for copyright infringements
Although the operator of a video platform plays a central role in making the content posted by users accessible, this alone is not sufficient to assume communication to the public. For copyright infringement, there is only limited accountability. In ...
OGH on the reimbursement of educational costs of minors
In the present case, the Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) dealt with the permissibility of an agreement on the reimbursement of training costs between a minor and her employer. In the case in question, a minor concluded a contract of employm...
OGH on the calculation of number of employees for parental part-time work
Civil LawThe Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) has dealt with the issue of how occasional employees are to be treated when calculating the number of employees in connection with parental part-time work. Pursuant to Section 15h para 1 and para 3 of the...
DE: Scope of legal advice
The German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) ruled that the lawyer's duty to inform his client about the prospects of success of a prospective legal action does not end with its initiation. If the legal and effective situation changes du...
COVID-19: 3G rule at the workplace
COVID-19: 3G rule at the workplace With the entry into force of the 3rd COVID-19 Measures Ordinance (3. COVID-19-MV) on November 1, 2021, the so-called "3G rule" (“geimpft”, “genesen”, “getestet”: vaccinated, recovered or tested) applies at the workp...
BFG: Protection of trust in the case of information from a tax authority
The Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzgericht, BFG) ruled on the protection of legitimate expectations in the case of information provided by a tax authority regarding tax liability. The appellant earned income from employment in Liechtenstein. Durin...
OGH on the justification of the reservation right of ownership
In the present case, the Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) dealt with the question of whether, in proceedings for justification (Sections 40 et sqq. of the Land Register Act - Grundbuchsgesetz, GBG), a missing declaration of registration or a...
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