Consignment warehouse
The consignment warehouse is a warehouse of a supplier or service provider , which is located in the vicinity of the customer (recipient). The goods remain the property of the supplier until the customer removes them from the warehouse. Only at the time of removal does a delivery take place as the basis for invoicing , which is subject to sales tax in Germany according to § 3 UStG . The payment of import sales tax can be waived on delivery if the conditions of 41, 50 sentence 1 UStDV are met. In this case, the customer must fictitiously purchase the goods upon import and pay the import sales tax. However, he cannot claim it as input tax until he actually purchases the goods, i.e. only after the goods have been removed from the consignment warehouse. Legally, in Germany, the consignment storage contract is a storage contract according to Section 467 of the German Commercial Code (HGB) with elements of purchase law.
advantages
For the customer
- Since the material has already been quality-checked and is available at any time in the agreed quantity, there is a high level of security of supply.
- There is only little processing effort, since the calculation is often processed monthly (based on the withdrawal conditions).
- Since the material is only calculated after removal from the warehouse, the capital commitment is reduced .
For the depositor
- In the case of long-term delivery relationships, the seller (depositor) binds the customer indirectly, since the latter will choose the removal method with low transaction costs rather than ordering from another provider.
- Often the consignment warehouse is not only located in the vicinity of the customer, but also in the customer's premises. In this case, the depositor i. d. R. Storage costs. Since he is still the owner, he is before the customer's bankruptcy i. d. R. protected.
Sales tax peculiarities
If the supplier and consignment warehouse are located in different EU countries , the sales tax regulations for intra-community transfers must be observed. The VAT system guideline (MwstSystRL), which applies throughout Europe, stipulates that the supplier makes an intra-community delivery and at the same time, in the other country, an intra-community purchase at the moment the goods are brought into the warehouse . He must therefore be registered in the country of the consignment warehouse and have a sales tax identification number there .
The delivery from the supplier to the customer is only recognized for VAT when the goods are removed from the warehouse. The place of delivery is - as is usually always the case in sales tax law - the start of delivery - in this case the consignment warehouse abroad. So there is foreign sales tax.
In order to make the VAT obligations easier for the supplier, some countries have introduced simplification regulations (which are not provided for under European law). Germany does not provide for such a regulation by law.
The simplification regulation has been in force across the EU since January 1, 2020 . If various requirements are met, the transfer to the country of purchase is not taxable. This delivery only needs to be recorded with the customer's VAT identification number in the recapitulative statement. A tax-free intra-community delivery is only effected when the customer removes it from the consignment warehouse.
Supplier logistics center (LLZ)
The supplier logistics center is a joint consignment warehouse for several suppliers in the immediate vicinity of a major customer. Here, too, the contents of the warehouse remain the property of the suppliers until they are retrieved / delivered to the customer. The purpose of an LLZ is the “one warehouse principle” with a short and secure connection to the customer. For the suppliers, the possible advantage lies in the savings in costs and storage space. Automobile manufacturers in particular were able to establish LLZ with warehouse rents due to their strong market position. Other EU countries use different procedures.
Demarcation
Consignment stores are of Commission camps delineated. While in the case of consignment warehouses, the supplier manages the warehouse for the consumer (customer), the consignment warehouse is managed by an agent ( commission agent ) to whom goods are made available by a supplier that are intended for sale to third parties ( commission business ).
See also
literature
- Schulte, Christof: Logistics. Ways to optimize the supply chain . 5th edition. Verlag Franz Vahlen GmbH (2008): Munich. ISBN 3-8006-3516-X