The auction of foreign movable property, foreign land or foreign rights subject to permission. Movable property also includes fruit on the stalk and timber on the trunk.
The auctioneer is generally subject to certain prohibitions, e.g. he may not bid for himself or through another at his auctions, or purchase auction goods entrusted to him, or auction movable goods from among the goods he carries in his commercial business, unless this is customary.
Furthermore, the auctioneer is subject to the requirements of the Auctioneer Ordinance (VerstV) when carrying out his trade, e.g. he must
- prepare a list of the items to be auctioned no later than two weeks before the auction, in which the items to be auctioned from each client are to be uniformly identified
- notify the competent authority and the chamber of industry and commerce in whose district the auction is to take place in writing of each auction at least two weeks before the planned auction date, stating the place and time of the auction and the type of goods to be auctioned off
- give an opportunity to inspect the goods to be auctioned for a period of at least two hours
- keep a record of each auction order and its execution.
In the case of partnerships, the trader is any managing partner; in the case of legal entities, the permission is granted to the legal entity.
Particularly competent auctioneers other than legal entities may be publicly appointed by the competent authority (see under "Related Topics").
When assessing the required special expertise, certificates of training and qualification issued in the country of origin must also be recognized. If the applicant is authorized to conduct auctions in the country of origin,
- which are reserved there for persons possessing a level of expertise substantially equivalent to the special expertise, or
- has worked full-time as an expert auctioneer in two of the last ten years and the evidence submitted shows that the applicant has above-average expert knowledge which essentially corresponds to the special expert knowledge pursuant to Section 34 b (5) of the German Trade Regulation Act (GewO),
his or her expert knowledge shall be recognized.
In the event of substantial deviations in the content of the applicant's previous training or activity from the content of Section 34(5) GewO, the applicant may be required to take an aptitude test or attend an adaptation course, at the applicant's discretion.
The authorities have information and inspection rights vis-à-vis traders. At the request of the authorities, the persons concerned must provide the information required to monitor business operations. Furthermore, the authorities are authorized to enter the business premises in order to carry out inspections and surveys.
In addition to obtaining permission, the trade must be notified to the relevant municipality.
If you select a location under "Localization" the contact details of the responsible authority and, if applicable, locally valid information will be displayed.