Government measures in key jurisdictions 5th edition - Flipbook - Page 9
Austria
Company
law matters
•
Meetings of all types of Austrian companies can be held without the physical presence
of the participants. In principle, an acoustic and optical connection is necessary in
order to hold virtual (general) meetings, whereby a common video conference solution
should be sufficient. In exceptional cases, participants can only participate acoustically.
Special rules apply, inter alia, to the general meetings of listed companies: submitting
an application for a resolution, voting and raising of an objection in the virtual general
meeting can only be made by a special proxy instructed by the company. In such case,
the company has to propose at least four suitable and independent proxies, whereby at
least two of such special proxies must be lawyers or notaries.
•
To the extent a notarial deed or a certification is required with respect to e.g. M&A
transactions, capital measures and any legal document, notaries are entitled to use
electronic tools to render their services.
•
The deadline for the ordinary general meetings has been extended to twelve months
following the balance sheet date.
•
Furthermore, the deadline for submitting the annual financial statements has been
extended by three months, so that the annual financial statements of companies must
be submitted to the responsible commercial register court no later than twelve months
following the balance sheet date.
Have any measures
been put in place
to accommodate
social distancing
(such as remote
general meetings)?
Government measures in key jurisdictions
9
