Auctioneer trade - apply for permission
If you wish to auction off movable property, land or rights belonging to third parties on a commercial basis, you must obtain permission from the competent authority. The permit may (also subsequently) be subject to conditions, insofar as this is necessary for the protection of the general public, the clients or the bidders.
Permission is not required for:
- Sales which are carried out in accordance with statutory regulations by price brokers or by the trading brokers publicly authorized to do so,
- auctions conducted by public authorities or by civil servants, or
- auctions to which only persons are admitted as bidders who wish to purchase goods of the offered type at auction for their business operations.
You have a legal claim to the granting of the requested permission, provided that no reason for refusal iSv §34b Abs.4 Nr.1 or Nr.2 GewO (unreliability or disorderly financial circumstances) is present.
Permission can be granted to natural persons and legal entities. In the case of partnerships without legal personality (e.g. OHG, KG), permission is required for each managing partner; this also applies to limited partners, provided they have management authority and are therefore to be regarded as traders. In the case of legal entities (e.g. GmbH, AG), permission is granted to the legal entity. With regard to the licensing requirements, the focus is generally on the persons authorized to represent the company, whereby all persons authorized to represent the company must fulfill the relevant requirements.
The permit is personal, i.e. you cannot transfer a permit in your name to another person, nor can another person transfer a permit in his name to you.rem consumption exists (consumer goods).
Who should I contact?
County, independent cities, large independent cities and independent municipalities
Requirements
In order for you to be granted permission, you must
- be personally reliable,
- have an orderly financial situation.
Which documents are required?
- Identity card or comparable identification document (copy)
- Non-EU citizens: residence permit (copy)
- Proof of entrepreneurial legal form
- Company headquarters in Germany:
- Excerpt from the commercial register for registered company
- If applicable, a copy of the articles of association (e.g. in the case of a partnership under civil law (GbR))
- Company domicile abroad: documents from this country proving the legal form
- Company headquarters in Germany:
- Proof of personal reliability
- Residence in Germany:
- Certificate of good conduct
- Excerpt from the Central Trade Register for natural and, if applicable, legal persons
- Residence abroad: Documents from your home country that prove that you have the personal reliability to perform the desired service
- In individual cases, the authority may request further documents that are suitable for making a statement about your personal reliability as an applicant.
- Residence in Germany:
- Proof of orderly financial circumstances
- Residence in Germany:
- Excerpt from the debtor file
- Certificate from the insolvency court
- Certificate from the tax office in tax matters
- Residence abroad: Documents from your home country that prove that you live in an orderly financial situation
- Residence in Germany:
What are the fees?
Is based on the respective administrative fee regulations of the state or on the fee statutes of the bodies responsible under state law.
Payment in advance: noIn Lower Saxony, the fee can be up to €437 in accordance with § 1 para 1 in conjunction with .dem cost tariff (annex to § 1 para. 1) AllGO
Process flow
Once you have submitted the application and all the documents are complete, the competent body will check whether you meet all the requirements.
If you meet all the requirements, you will receive the permit.
You may only begin with the activity when you have received the permit. Simultaneously with the start of the activity, the trade must be reported to the authority responsible for trade notifications in accordance with § 14 GewO.
The application can be made informally. However, it is strongly recommended to submit the application in writing.
What deadlines do I have to pay attention to?
The permit must be granted before the start of operations, so a timely application (several weeks before the intended start of operations) is required.
If you have applied for a permit to operate as an auctioneer, the permit is deemed to have been granted if the authority has not made a decision on your application within a period of three months after receipt of the complete documents (Section 6a (1) of the German Trade Regulation Act).
You must notify the authority responsible for trade notifications of the start of the activity at the same time.
Processing duration
If the documents are complete, the application will be processed promptly.
What else should I know?
The auctioneer is prohibited,
1. to bid for himself or through another at his auctions or to purchase auctioned goods entrusted to him,
2. to allow relatives or his employees to bid at his auctions or to purchase auction goods entrusted to him,
3. to bid for another person at his auctions or to purchase auction goods entrusted to him, unless a written bid of the other person is available,
4. to auction movable goods from among the goods he carries in his commercial business, unless this is customary,
5. to sell by auction goods on which he has a lien or which belong to goods offered for sale in open sales outlets and which are unused or whose intended use consists in their consumption.
Violation of these prohibitions shall be punished as a misdemeanor. In addition, such violations may also lead to the revocation of the auctioneer's permit if it can be concluded from them that the auctioneer is no longer reliable.
Retailers and manufacturers of goods are generally not allowed to auction their goods to the end consumer.
Anyone who auctions movable property, real estate or rights belonging to third parties without the necessary permission, or violates an enforceable condition, is acting in breach of the law and may be fined.
Appeal
If the addressee (usually the applicant) has legal doubts or concerns about the decision on the permit or details thereof, these can be reviewed by way of an action for an obligation or rescission at the competent administrative court, depending on the legal nature.
In Lower Saxony, § 80 of the Lower Saxony Justice Act does not provide for preliminary proceedings. Therefore, no objection is admissible, but rather an administrative court action must be brought directly.
