AUSTRIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Martin Schiefer and Christian Richter-Schöller, Schiefer Rechtsanwälte GmbH
3.8 Intra-Company and Intra-Group Transfers There is no blanket intra-company or intra-group exemption. Intra-EU transfers of defence-related products benefit from the the simplified procedures introduced by the Transfers Directive as implement - ed in the Foreign Trade Act 2011: general and global transfer licences and the certification of recipient companies reduce transaction-level licensing. Most dual-use items circulate freely within the EU, with the exception of the particularly sensitive Annex IV items. Transfers of controlled technology to group entities outside the EU are fully controlled, including intangible transfers by email, cloud access or technical support. Global licences and robust internal compliance pro - grammes are the practical tools for managing recur - ring intra-group flows. 3.9 Enforcement, Penalties and Voluntary Disclosure Breaches of export control legislation are criminal offences: the unlicensed export, import, transit or bro - kering of controlled goods under the Foreign Trade Act 2011 carries a penalty of imprisonment of up to three years, and substantially more in aggravated cas - es, in particular where weapons of mass destruction are concerned; violations of the War Material Act are likewise criminal offences. Legal entities face corpo - rate fines under the Corporate Criminal Liability Act ( Verbandsverantwortlichkeitsgesetz , VbVG). Lesser breaches of documentation and reporting duties are administrative offences. Enforcement involves the Austrian Customs Office and the public prosecutors. There is no formal voluntary disclosure programme. Self-reporting, co-operation and remediation are, however, mitigating factors in sentencing and in the decision whether to prosecute an entity under the Corporate Criminal Liability Act, and they are expect - ed by the licensing authority in order to preserve the reliability required for future licences.
For military and dual-use goods, the assessment incorporates the eight criteria of Common Position 2008/944/CFSP, including respect for human rights, the internal and regional situation, and the risk of diversion, as well as Articles 6 and 7 of the Arms Trade Treaty. In practice, the plausibility of the stated end use, the diversion risk and the recipient’s track record are the decisive points of the assessment. 3.6 End-User Controls and Post-Shipment Verification End-user certificates are standard for military exports and for sensitive dual-use transactions; they typically contain end-use undertakings and re-export restric - tions. Licences may be granted subject to conditions, including delivery verification documents. Exporters must keep records for the statutory retention periods, verify their counterparties and report changes in relevant circumstances. The catch-all provisions of the EU Dual-Use Regulation oblige exporters to notify the authority where they are aware, or have grounds to suspect, that non-listed items are intended for a use connected with weapons of mass destruction or certain military end uses. Austria does not operate a broad on-site post-shipment inspection programme; verification relies primarily on documentation, licens - ing conditions and international co-operation. 3.7 Brokering and Intermediary Activities Brokering of military goods is regulated by the Foreign Trade Act 2011: arranging or negotiating transactions in controlled goods between third countries requires an authorisation, and also in defined cases where the broker acts from abroad but is an Austrian national or resident. For dual-use items, brokering controls fol - low the EU Dual-Use Regulation where weapons-of- mass-destruction or military end-use concerns arise. War material transactions touching Austrian territory require transit licences under the War Material Act. Technical assistance related to military and listed dual-use items is separately controlled. The penalties for unlicensed brokering mirror those for unlicensed exports.
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