The Austrian tax authorities recently launched a priority campaign on the Tauernautobahn (A10) in which coaches from Bosnia and other countries were targeted. Numerous violations of the sales tax obligation were identified.

In bus and rail transport, sales tax not only has to be paid at the point of departure, but also proportionally in those countries that are passed through. In long-distance bus transport between Bosnia and Germany, for example, this means that taxes have to be paid by companies in a whole range of countries.

Like any other service that an entrepreneur carries out for a fee, the passenger transport with coaches in scheduled services is subject to sales tax on the Austrian route. Work has been going on for a long time to combat the fraud pattern "Illegal passenger transport in scheduled services between Bosnia and Austria". According to the Ministry of Finance, bus companies also have to pay ten percent sales tax for passenger transport if they drive through Austria without a stopover.

In cooperation with the Austrian customs office, the anti-fraud office, the regional traffic department in Salzburg and the regional police in Carinthia, the Austrian tax office carried out a key campaign on the Tauern motorway. Coaches that were used for long-distance scheduled or charter services were examined closely. The authorities were able to score an exceptional number of hits.

“This highly professional focus campaign shows how important it is for various authorities to network when it comes to combating fraud. This is how we ensure justice between all taxpayers in Austria and compliance with our laws. I would like to thank all my colleagues for the excellent cooperation in this extremely effective joint effort and congratulate them on this success," explains Austria's Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP).

Contraband goods were also found

Numerous tax evaders were identified during the focus campaign, which was carried out by 16 control bodies. The first deployment of the border police at the Karawanken Tunnel made it possible to make a head start of around two hours for a targeted selection of buses at the control point thanks to their findings at the border. There, the police team checked the passports and identity of the bus drivers.

Out of a total of five bus companies from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo that were stopped, three had not paid the sales tax. One of the companies reported that it was going out of business five years ago and has been operating in Austria as a four-wheeled fiscal submarine ever since. Another company had been traveling daily between Bosnia and Germany for at least ten years without ever registering with the tax authorities. Fiscal criminal proceedings have been initiated against the travel companies, severe penalties are threatened.

During the cross-authority control, not only were the travel companies' concessions, price lists and receipts checked – the coaches and luggage of a total of 206 passengers were also searched with the help of a tobacco and drug detection dog. Some dutiable goods were discovered, including two watches, 60 liters of olive oil and finely cut tobacco, which resulted in an additional payment of around 630 euros.