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Who is allowed to sell wine?
The essential requirement for being allowed to sell wine in Germany is the registration of a trade at the local trade office. In this context, knowledge of the Youth Protection Act must be demonstrated, as the sale of alcoholic beverages to persons under the age of 16 is prohibited.
Only wine producers who exclusively sell their own, i.e. self-produced wine from their own grapes, are exempt from the obligation to register a trade, as viticulture counts as so-called primary production.
In addition, the regulations of food law (e.g. Food Information Ordinance), trade and tax law (e.g. Price Indication Ordinance, General Terms and Conditions Act, Value Added Tax Act), competition law, consumer protection law as well as corresponding other relevant laws apply, for example when trading with organic wines or selling wine on the internet (e.g. Distance Selling Act).
Since the legal framework is very complex and contains numerous pitfalls, detailed legal advice is strongly recommended before starting a wine sale. For comprehensive legal advice - including protection from warning letters - wein.plus works with the lawyer and internet expert Hans-Peter Kröger, who specialises in the wine trade and grants wein.plus Business Premium members preferential conditions for certain services. Details can be found in the wein.plus World of benefits for members: Competent legal advice
RA Kröger offers Business Premium members of wein.plus a free initial consultation after receiving an warning letter: To the initial consultation