The Federal Fiscal Court has now ruled that if a seller carries out several hundred auctions a year on an internet auction platform, the sales generated there are taxable within the meaning of the Value Added Tax Act. This is a sustainable entrepreneurial activity on which sales tax is due, especially if the auctioned items were previously purchased as planned for resale.
It does not matter whether there is an intention to make a profit or not, as this is not a prerequisite for sales tax. The entrepreneurial status does not cease to apply if the sales are made via a private sales account. In the opinion of the BFH, the only decisive factor is the fact that there was sustained, regular sales activity.
In principle, all sales that an entrepreneur receives in return for his service are subject to 19% sales tax, which the entrepreneur must pay to the responsible tax office. There is an exception for so-called small businesses, which had sales including sales tax of a maximum of EUR 17,500 in the past year and whose sales in the current year will not exceed EUR 50,000.
