The Federal Office of Consumer Health (BAVG) was established by the Health and Food Safety Act - GESG (Federal Law Gazette I No. 63/2002 as amended). The BAVG is an agency directly subordinate to the BMSGPK and, in accordance with Section 6c (4) GESG, must use the resources available to the Agency for Health and Food Safety GmbH (AGES) to fulfil its sovereign tasks.

Director

Dr. Anton Reinl
Mag. Michael Raumauf, LL.M., B.A. (Deputy Director)

Import Control Department (IMP)

Dr.ⁱⁿ Elke Narath

Export Authorisation Department (EXP)

Dr.ⁱⁿ Ulrike Vorberg, MSc

Legal Services Department (RDI)

Mag. Michael Raumauf, LL.M., B.A.

In addition to the Director and his deputy, the BAVG consists of three operational divisions: "Import Control", "Export Permit" and "Legal Services". The respective areas of responsibility can be found in the rules of procedure and the division of responsibilities.

Organization chart

Division of responsibilities

Rules of Procedure

Pursuant to section 6c (1) of the GESG, the BAVG is responsible for the implementation of the following tasks assigned to it by the respective federal laws:

• Import control within the meaning of section 6c (1) (1) of the GESG
• Issuance of export permits and related controls within the meaning of section 6c (1) (2) GESG
• Issuance of official certificats or official attestations within the meaning of section 6c (1) (3) GESG
• Goods according to § 1 (1) LMSVG, which are offered for sale in Austria via the internet or other distance selling channels from member states of the EU, EEA contracting states or third countries, are subject to regular monitoring by the Federal Office of Consumer Health (§ 6c (1) (4) GESG in conjunction with § 25a (3) LMSVG).

According to § 6c (2) GESG, the BAVG is a subordinate agency of the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection.

In order to carry out the sovereign tasks listed in § 6c (1) GESG, the BAVG must also make use of the means at the disposal of the Agency for Health and Food Safety GmbH (hereinafter referred to as AGES), employ professionally qualified inspection bodies and issue them with a corresponding identification certificate for this purpose.

For activities of the BAVG on the occasion of the execution of the above-mentioned sovereign tasks, a fee is to be paid in accordance with a tariff (§ 57 AVG), which the BAVG is to set with the approval of the Federal Minister for Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection and the Federal Minister for Finance.

Pursuant to section 6c (7) of the GESG, the BAVG shall make ordinances, decisions and the tariff of fees generally available on the BAVG's website, including the date of publication.

Mon-Thu (weekdays): 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Fri (weekdays): 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Mon-Fri(weekdays): 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Sat/Fe(Mon-Fri): 8:00 am to 4:00 pm

By appointment only

Mon-Fri (weekdays): 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

BAVG Import: +43 (0) 50 555 - 25453

BAVG BIO: +43 (0) 50 555 - 33317

BAVG Office: +43 (0) 50 555 - 25450

The employees of the BAVG are in a valid employment relationship with AGES. In § 9 (1) (1) GESG, the obligation for AGES to maintain objectivity and impartiality in the performance of its tasks is explicitly enshrined in law. Within the framework of the implementation of the GESG, but also on the basis of individual provisions of substantive law, the employees of AGES must uphold the principles of independence, objectivity and impartiality.

In addition, AGES and its employees are obliged to maintain and ensure independence and integrity due to their accreditation as conformity assessment bodies according to EN ISO/IEC 17025, EN ISO/IEC 17020 and EN ISO/IEC 17065.