Financial police uncover laboratory violations in the Labubu store!

Financial police uncover laboratory violations in the Labubu store!

In Vienna, the hype surrounding the dog-friendly monster plush figures “Labubu”, imported from China, is causing a lot of excitement. But the joy over the colorful figures could quickly dim after the financial police checked a pop-up store in the city center last week courier reported. During the inspection, several violations of labor market regulations were uncovered, which revealed the less than euphoric reality behind the sales behavior.

Not very encouraging: The store has an enforceable tax arrears of almost 3,300 euros. According to officials, there is even a suspicion that fakes are being sold instead of the coveted “Labubus” – so-called “Lafufus”. These findings are no coincidence, as the inspection was carried out after a written report from the market office. The situation has the potential to significantly damage the positive image that the brand wants to claim.

The legal fiasco

When the employment conditions in the store were checked, it emerged that one employee was listed as being part-time, but did not have a valid employment permit. Even more concerning is that the shop manager and general manager were unable to provide time records. This gives rise to a queasy suspicion that everything is not going well here, especially since customers were not given any receipts when making the purchase and the cash register was not registered via FinanzOnline.

With a monthly turnover of around 43,000 euros in August 2025, the company not only cannot avoid high tax debts, but also has to expect penalties of around 5,000 euros. There is also the risk of further financial sanctions of up to 15,000 euros, which could be imposed as part of ongoing tax investigations. In this context, Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer made it clear how important it is to defend ourselves against tax fraud.

The big picture

The problems with tax evasion are not just limited to the Vienna pop-up store. How Ferner-Alsdorf As it turns out, international online trading in particular is a hot topic. A ruling by the Federal Court of Justice from 2020 sheds light on the problem of sales tax evasion by online sellers, who often use a network of letterbox companies. This mode of fraud means that the tax authorities become aware of the evasion through suspicious activity reports and international cooperation.

In the case of the Labubus forgeries, a similar pattern could emerge: sales tax is either not reported at all or only reported incompletely, which brings the investigating authorities to the scene. The Federal Court of Justice has ruled in this regard that evaded amounts must be confiscated as tax proceeds, which makes the dimension of the strict consequences clear. The seriousness of the situation is reflected not least in the high amount of damage, which is often systematically serious in such cases.

In summary, the Viennese “Labubu” store is walking on a thin rope as it tries to capitalize on the hype surrounding its products without taking the legal framework into account. Whether the magic of these plush monsters will last remains to be seen - but one thing is certain: for tax reasons the wind is blowing more sharply than expected.