From July 1, 2026, a new reduced VAT rate of 4.9% (previously 10%) will apply permanently in Austria for selected basic foodstuffs. The Austrian Federal Government passed this permanent tax reduction as part of its cost-of-living relief package to ease the financial burden on households.
New tax rate already set up in bessa
bessa has set up the new 4.9% tax rate for all customers in good time. It is now available in your POS configuration.
Which products are affected?
The tax reduction applies to selected basic foodstuffs – including milk and dairy products, eggs, fresh and frozen vegetables, fresh fruit, bread, pastries, pasta, flour, rice and table salt.
Note: This list is not exhaustive
The legally binding list of affected products, including Combined Nomenclature (CN) codes, is defined exclusively by the Austrian Ministry of Finance. Please consult the official product list from the Federal Chancellery for your tax classification, or contact your tax advisor.
Products already subject to the standard rate of 20% – such as coffee, tea, cocoa, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages – are not affected by this change.
How to update your articles in bessa
We recommend creating one or more new article groups with the 4.9% tax rate and moving the affected articles into these groups. bessa will then automatically apply the updated tax rate to all articles within the group.
Step 1 – Create a new article group with tax rate 4.9%
Create a new article group and select 4.9% as the tax rate.
→ Instructions: Create a New Article Group
Step 2 – Move affected articles to the new group
Move all affected basic food articles into the newly created article group. The tax rate will be applied automatically.
→ Instructions: Moving Article to Group
Tip: Multiple article groups
For larger product ranges, consider creating multiple article groups – e.g. separately for Fruit & Vegetables, Baked Goods and Milk & Eggs – to keep your product catalogue clearly organised.