FAQ
General FAQ
Private clients
Never enter your access data or confidential information if prompted to do so in a link. When signing in, make sure you are logging on to a web site that is actually by Österreichische Post. Delete any e-mails that you find suspicious.
For additional information, please see our page "Online risks".
+43 800 20 60 20
Mon-Fri 08:00 - 17:00 Uhr
Sat/Public holidays: no Service
If you have any questions regarding a change of utility provider, please contact our energy costs hotline:
+43 800 21 22 20
Mon-Fri 07:00 - 19:00 Uhr
Sat 08:00 - 13:00 Uhr
Public holiday: no Service
In the SB Area of the Austrian Post, you can package, frank and dispatch around the clock. If you need any help, you can reach our SB-hotline via the following number:
+43 800 01 01 01
Mon-Fri 07:00 – 20:00 Uhr
Sat 08:00 – 20:00 Uhr
Public holiday: no Service
When your item is at a distribution center, it means that
- it is already in transit and in Austria (in the case of international items).
- it has been handled at the distribution centre and forwarded to the correct delivery station.
- this is an important first step for our delivery staff to eventually bring the item to your doorstep.
Bank
Private clients
- Pension payments/family allowances/unemployment benefits can be paid out at our Österreichische Post service locations and by our delivery staff.
- Transfers can be made as before at the Österreichische Post counter and at our self-service kiosks, if available.
- Cash withdrawals can be made at the Österreichische Post counter and in the self-service area.
- From 1 April, international money transfer via Western Union will no longer be available at Österreichische Post postal branches.
This service will still be available at selected Österreichische Post Partners.
From late April, our new money transfer service RIA will be available for all international transfers.
Letter sending FAQ
Private clients
- With stamps: We will be more than happy to take care of that for you: franking service
- ”Postage paid” items
- Franking machines
For additional information, please click here.
GTC & Liability FAQ
Private clients
Letter International FAQ
Private clients
Parcel and Post Express
Private clients
- In the section "Domestic parcel rates“
- In the section "Domestic Post Express“
- International parcels: Country-specific information.
- In the section "International Post Express rates"“
More than 97% of domestic parcels are delivered within 2 business days.
Post Express items are delivery on the following business day by 1:00 p.m.
For information about international items, please see our rate calculator.
Post Express items are usually delivered to recipients on the following business day by 1:00 p.m.; if required, Saturday delivery is available (by choosing the additional service).
Delivery times for international Post Express items are available here.
We have many additional services to fit your shipping needs.
Additional information is available here:
The following applies for delivery in Austria and abroad:
- Address block aligned left
- For items sent abroad, please print the country of the destination in the last address line
- No empty line in the address information
- Do not underline anything
- No indented postal codes
- No dash between postal code and destination
- No country code before the postal code
Philately
Private clients
FAQ Crypto stamp
Private clients
- Crypto stamp art is where you buy a digital mystery box with NFTs and you receive a collectable Special art stamp on top. You can buy them via the Tokapi platform. https://tokapi.com/drops/b971d37b-4e18-416b-8068-12d0be67b939?locale=en
- Crypto stamp is a stamp with a digital twin (NFT) in the blockchain. You can buy them online, in our branch network and via our collector’s service. A certain number of Crypto stamps are available in the onchain store.
The special art stamp has such an NFC chip built in. This is used to check the authenticity of the special art stamp.
When you hold your smartphone close to the special art stamp, the smartphone communicates with the NFC and checks whether the special art stamp is genuine.
Card Studio
Private clients
With this update, you have now the chance to also create greeting cards for the first time. To highlight the change, we have rebranded the app to the name Kartenstudio.
You can also order cards as a guest user - so, a login is not necessarily required. However, it facilitates the usability of the app, since you are a known sender to us which makes handling queries easier.
Das Flugblatt
Private clients
Customs, Import
Private clients
Please note that the following fees and duties will apply as a result of the customs declaration for your item and we will charge these to you when we deliver the item to you:
- 20% import turnover tax
- Customs duties for a merchandise value of EUR 150 and up
- Import duty depending on the merchandise value and product between EUR 5 and 36 (Customs service rates letter mail, Customs service rates international parcels)
For further information, please also refer to our customs services rates in the General Terms and Conditions. - Any excise duties for all products subject to excise tax, including alcohol and other alcoholic products, beer, intermediate products (Beer Tax Law), sparkling wine, wine, intermediate products (Sparkling Wine Act), mineral oil, and tobacco products. For more information, please click on this link.
- Handling and storage fee if the recipient has to be contacted, EUR 24
Personal gifts up to a value of EUR 45 are exempt from these duties.
For items with a value over EUR 150, additional customs duties apply. The exact amount will strongly depend on the nature of the merchandise and will therefore vary.
The recipient has the option of a) providing the required documents, paperwork etc. so that they can receive the item after it has been cleared through customs.
Option b) is to not provide any documents, paperwork, etc. and for the recipient to declare that they do not want to accept the item. In this case, the item will be returned to the sender.
In the case of option a), we will charge a handling and storage fee for the subsequent customs clearance.
A private gift parcel is merchandise sent from one private person from a non-EU country to another private person in the EU, provided that
- such items are sent infrequently
- such items include only merchandise for personal use and the amount and volume does not lead to believe that a commercial purpose exists and
- the recipient receives the merchandise without having to make a payment.
Private gift parcels are exempt from taxes and duties up to a merchandise value of EUR 45. If a business client/company is involved as a sender, the item cannot be processed exempt from taxes or duties.
The item's content and merchandise value have to be proven via a proof of value that needs to be affixed to the outside of the item and has to be clearly visible. Please note that we cannot accept documents written in Chinese, Cyrillic or other script.
If not all documents required for customs processing are available, Österreichische Post will get in touch with the recipient. This might lead to additional costs.
In the customs declaration that accompanies the item, please make sure to provide the following information if you would like to declare the item as a gift:
- Type of item: gift
- Value (in EUR or another currency)
Unless all these formalities are met, we cannot process the item without charging taxes and duties.
In the latter case, Österreichische Post will charge an import fee to cover the effort required for recording and providing electronic data. This fee is EUR 5 for gift parcels.
Additional costs may apply to items that do not meet all the criteria listed above.
When you placed your order, you paid for the merchandise, but import duties apply as well. All postal items need to be reviewed for customs and tax purposes at the time of import.
Exception IOSS items: if, at the time of the purchase, the Austrian VAT was charged by the online store, it is safe to assume that the retailer has an import-one-stop-shop (IOSS) number and that they pay this tax to the authorities. In this case, no import turnover tax or import fee will be charged at the time of import.
Effective 1 July 2021, the duty and tax-free allowance for merchandise from non-EU countries under EUR 22 no longer exists. This means that all merchandise imported into the EU will be subject to import turnover tax, independently of the merchandise value. For every import item, a customs declaration with duty assessment is required.
In order to prepare the customs declaration for your item, we need a purchase order as well as proof of payment.
On the purchase order, the following information needs to be clearly visible:
- the item you ordered
- the volume you ordered
- invididual values for articles ordered and
- shipping fees paid
If you are unsure which articles are included in the item subject to customs duties, compare the item number you received from us via letter mail or e-mail with the number provided by the online shop you ordered from.
As proof of payment, we need an excerpt from the posting line. This can be, for instance, a PayPal invoice, credit card statement or transfer confirmation. Please note that we do not accept documents in other scripts (Chinese, Cyrillic) or pro forma invoices.
There are a few reasons for a customs impediment. Below please find a list. Detailed information is available underneath.
- Missing proof of value
- Implausible merchandise value
- Missing import permit pursuant to Foreign Trade Act
- Missing return certificate
- Missing import permit for medicaments
- Missing import privileges declaration
- Missing import permit for species protection
- Missing business licence for tobacco products
Impediment as indicated on complement to customs declaration
If none of the reasons above applies, you will find the reason on the supplement to the customs declaration.
For additional information, please visit the web site of the Austrian customs authorities.
To complete the customs declaration for medicaments, the corresponding import permit pursuant to the 2010 Medicament Import Act as amended is required. The import permit pursuant to the 2010 Medicament Import Act as amended is required unless an exception pursuant to the 2010 Medicament Import Act applies.
Private individuals are not eligible to apply for an import permit. You can find more information at the following link.
Please use the contact form to get in touch with our customer support service. To be able to send you the notice, we will need the CRN number and a valid e-mail address.
- the CRN number of your shipment or details to uniquely identify your shipment (e.g. consignment number)
- a valid e-mail address to which the notice can be sent
https://www.bmf.gv.at/en.html
Alternatively, you can request the notice via our customer service. You will need the CRN number and a valid e-mail address for us to send you the notice.
The EORI number is needed for business clients. It is used to identify entrepreneurs and other persons in their relations with customs authorities. For additional information, please visit the website of the Austrian Ministry of Finance.
If you do not want to receive the item, please use the subject “Rückmeldung zu XXX – Annahme verweigert“.
If you were contacted by letter mail, please check the relevant option for “RÜCKMELDUNG ZU” (response regarding) on the enclosed response element and return it to the address indicated on the letter along with the missing documents.
Customs
Private clients