Insolvency proceedings in Austria

Bankruptcy or restructuring

Proceedings are called bankruptcy proceedings when the assets are realised, and restructuring proceedings when the company is to continue under a restructuring plan. Both start when the regional court opens them and publishes this in the edict file.

In the restructuring plan the company offers its creditors a quota. The law requires at least 20 per cent, with self-administration at least 30 per cent (sections 141 and 169 IO).

Who runs the proceedings

The court appoints an insolvency administrator from the list the Ministry of Justice keeps. Under self-administration the company stays in charge and a restructuring administrator supervises it.

Before insolvency, restructuring proceedings under the Restructuring Act (ReO) have been available since 2021. There the court can appoint a restructuring officer.

• List of insolvency administrators: /insolvenzverwalter
• Restructuring officers: /restrukturierungsbeauftragte

What creditors do

Claims are filed with the insolvency court within the deadline stated in the edict. Filing late can cost money and means no say in the vote on a restructuring plan.

When the administrator sells assets such as a property or the business, this is published in the edict file too. We show these sales and leases on the company page and together under “Insolvencies”.

Spot insolvencies of business partners early

The latest annual accounts often show how things stand: equity, debt, cash. Watch a company on firmenbuchdaten.at and you get an e-mail for every new register entry, every new set of accounts and every edict on a sale or lease in insolvency proceedings.