The classification notification is the information from Statistics Austria to all enterprises about their assignment to an economic sector according to the economic activity classification ÖNACE 2008 (further information on ÖNACE 2008 can be found on the Statistics Austria website). This classification notification is sent to all newly founded enterprises as well as existing enterprises that have undergone a change of legal form, change of company name or restructuring, or to enterprises that inform Statistics Austria that the main economic activity has changed.
In accordance with Article 21 of the Federal Statistics Act 2000 (Federal Law Gazette No. 163/1999 in the current version), Statistics Austria is obliged to provide every Austrian company with written information about its classification assignment free of charge.
This classificatory assignment forms the basis for the creation of economic and company statistics and is therefore stored in Statistics Austria's business register.
Benefits of the classification notification
Procedure for classificatory assignment
On the basis of the economic activities actually carried out, each enterprise is assigned to a subclass of ÖNACE 2008 in the Business register of Statistics Austria. If activities of different sublasses of ÖNACE 2008 are carried out, the main economic activity must be determined. An auxiliary factor for this is the proportion of the turnover of the products or services produced.
If the main economic activity changes, the classification assignment must be corrected.
We ask you to check your classification based on the current main economic activity of your company.
If your classification is correct, keep the notification with your business records. We kindly ask you to confirm the correctness of the classification on the enclosed confirmation sheet and return it to us or send it to us directly via the web using an electronic message. You can find the user ID and password in the upper right part of the letter accompanying the classification notification.
However, if the pre-printed assignment is not correct, we ask you to fill out the confirmation sheet sent by post within four weeks of sending the notification and return it to Statistics Austria or send it to us directly via the web using an electronic report. After the corresponding correction in our register, you will receive a new message with the correct assignment.
If your economic activities have changed, we ask you to contact us or send the changes to us directly via the web using an electronic message.
The following options are available to you for feedback
You can reach us by phone at +43 1 711 28-8686 from Monday to Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
By fax: +43 1 711 28-7053
By email: klm@statistik.gv.at
By post: Using the enclosed confirmation sheet of your classification notification sent by post
By web: Please click on “classification notification” on our website. To get started, please enter your user ID and password, which you will find in your classification notification sent by post at the top right and then select classification notification again. The Web application also offers the advantage that you can view and print out your current classification notification at any time. After registration, feedback is also possible via the Business Service Portal (USP - Unternehmensserviceportal). By entering online via our portal or the USP, both main and any secondary activities can be viewed and printed out as a PDF.
Procedure
We endeavor to process your information as quickly as possible and send you a new classification notification. If there remain any questions or if your information is misleading in terms of the classification, we will contact you if necessary. In any case, you will receive a new classification notification.
If Statistics Austria does not agree with your arguments or if a mutually agreed solution cannot be found bilaterally, Statistics Austria must forward your request to the competent Federal Minister without delay, but at the latest after the expiry of a four-week period. In this case, you will be informed to which department your application was forwarded.
The decision itself is the responsibility of the Federal Minister, who, according to the Federal Ministries Act 1986, is competent 'by reason of the main activity of the institution concerned'.