Re: German Stealth VAT ID + Docs - or other country?
My first post here and read this thread with interest also want to say thank you for all the great information here. I think though there are some misunderstandings.
In Germany if you are going to create a business account, you will need a Gewerbeschein, (commercial/trading license) which means you have to have an address in Germany. Through the application for a Gewerbeschein, your details are forwarded to the Finanzamt (Tax office) who then issue you with a VAT number. To register as a commercial seller you need this number. Also if you sell through EBAY you have to supply a Bescheinigung über die Erfassung als Steuerpflichtig, which you get from the Tax office. Without this you cannot sell commercially on Ebay if you are in Germany. As someone above pointed out.
Obviously you can sell from an outside country but you will not be competitive when it comes to post/Versand, which plays a big role with german consumers.
The biggest danger with selling on EBAY commercially or private are the Abmahnanwälte Lawyers who send out cautions with costs attached. they will pick up on any legal failure you make and are like sharks. Best to have everything legally checked in advance, cheaper in the long run. Also if you exaggerate as a private seller, they will pounce on you, claiming you are a business and demand costs etc.
Schufa is not necessary, Schufa checks if you are credit worthy, banks and businessesuse this to check before giving credit/sendig goods. If you are schufa negative you will not be able to open a bank account or a paypal account. You cannot influence Schufa in any way.
The biggest problem with a stealth account is the VAT number and the Bescheinigung, you have to give the Vat number when applying and you must give the proper name otherwise the VAT number will not be accepted.
What would interest me, are these stealth accounts private, when yes then one is severly limited in the quantity of goods which one can sell.
Creating multiple businesses with different trading licences would be very expensive from the accounting side.
I have been suspended from EBAY but am interested from time to time in selling stuff.
The information on stealth accounts in Germany are all a bit vague. The two big problems are VAT and Abmahnanwälte. Would be grateful to hear if anyone has solutions to bypass this.
Last edited by Marsupino; 03-16-2020 at 07:58 AM.
|