If you wish to auction third-party movable property, third-party real estate, or third-party rights on a commercial basis, you require permission from the competent authority. The permission may be subject to conditions (even retrospectively) if this is necessary for the protection of the general public, the client, or the bidders.
No permit is required for:
- Sales carried out by stockbrokers or publicly authorized commercial brokers in accordance with legal requirements
- Auctions conducted by authorities or civil servants, or
- auctions in which only persons who wish to purchase goods of the type offered for their business operations are admitted as bidders.
You have a legal right to be granted the requested permit, provided that there are no grounds for refusal within the meaning of Section 34b (4) No. 1 or No. 2 of the Trade Regulation Act (GewO) (unreliability or disordered financial circumstances).
The permit can be granted to natural persons and legal entities. In the case of partnerships without legal personality (e.g., OHG, KG), a permit is required for each managing partner; this also applies to limited partners if they have management authority and are therefore considered to be traders. In the case of legal entities (e.g., GmbH, AG), the license is granted to the legal entity. With regard to the licensing requirements, the focus is generally on the persons authorized to represent the entity, whereby all persons authorized to represent the entity must meet the relevant requirements.
The permit is personal, i.e., you cannot transfer a permit issued in your name to another person, nor can another person transfer a permit issued in their name to you.
rem consumption exists (consumer goods).
In order for you to be granted permission, you must
-
be personally reliable and
- have your financial affairs in order.
Once you have submitted your application and all the necessary documents are complete, the relevant authority will check whether you meet all the requirements.
If you meet all the requirements, you will receive the permit.
You may only start the activity once you have received the permit. At the same time as starting the activity, you must register the business with the authority responsible for business registrations in accordance with Section 14 of the Trade Regulation Act (GewO).
The auctioneer is prohibited from
1. bidding for himself or through another person at his auctions or purchasing auction goods entrusted to him,
2. allowing relatives or employees to bid at his auctions or to purchase auction goods entrusted to him,
3. to bid on behalf of another person at his auctions or to purchase auction goods entrusted to him, unless he has a written bid from the other person,
4. to auction movable items from the range of goods that he sells in his commercial business, unless this is customary,
5. to auction items on which he has a lien or which are among the goods offered for sale in open sales outlets and which are unused or whose intended use is for consumption.
Violations of these prohibitions are punishable as administrative offenses. In addition, such violations may also lead to the revocation of the auctioneer's license if they indicate that the auctioneer is no longer reliable.
Retailers and manufacturers of goods are generally not permitted to auction their goods to the end consumer.
Anyone who auctions off third-party movable property, third-party real estate, or third-party rights without the required permit or violates an enforceable condition is acting unlawfully and may be punished with a fine.
Objection (depending on state law, the objection may be excluded), administrative court action
The permit must be granted before operations commence, so it is necessary to submit your application in good time (several weeks before you intend to start operations).
If you have applied for a permit to work as an auctioneer, the permit is deemed to have been granted if the authority has not made a decision within three months of receiving the complete application documents (Section 6a (1) GewO).
You must notify the authority responsible for business registrations of the start of your activity at the same time.
If the documents are complete, the application will be processed promptly.
