Why we check your identity
A business address or registered office is more than a letterbox. So that addresses are not misused for fraud or money laundering, Austrian trade law requires every provider to carry out checks. For you it takes a few minutes.
The legal basis
Anyone who provides a company with a registered office, a business or a postal address counts as a company service provider under § 365m1 of the Austrian Trade Act (GewO). These providers must apply the due diligence duties for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing (§§ 365m to 365z GewO).
This applies to every provider in Austria, not only to us. The checks take place before the address is activated.
What we ask
An ID of the person booking, and confirmation that they may represent the business.
For companies, the company register number. We retrieve the company register extract and the beneficial ownership register extract ourselves. If the company is only being founded, we do this after it is registered.
The beneficial owners, meaning the people who ultimately own the business. For a sole trader, that is you.
What you will use the address for and what your business does. One sentence is enough.
Whether any of them is a politically exposed person, such as a government member, a member of parliament or a mayor, or a close family member of one. We also compare the names with public lists of politically exposed persons and sanctions.
How long we keep the documents
The law requires us to keep the documents for five years after the business relationship ends (§ 365y GewO). After that we delete them.
Only the person doing the check sees the documents. We do not pass them on unless an authority requires it of us. More in the privacy policy.
Your scanned post, on the other hand, is not kept: it is emailed to you and then deleted.
When something changes
Please tell us when the company name, the representatives or the owners change. About once a year we ask whether the details are still correct.
We are happy to answer questions at office@heinzle-immo.com.