The legal aspects of selling receivables.

The basic difference lies in the assignment of the receivables. Whereas when you sell your receivables the receivables including the associated rights and obligations change ownership, i.e. are assigned (transferred), in conventional debt collection a fiduciary mandate is assigned, i.e. the debt collection service provider does not own the receivables but acts in the capacity of an authorized agent.

Both forms have their benefits. Read here what the benefits of selling receivables are:

• Benefits of selling receivables 

In the event of the sale of receivables without recourse, the buyer renounces any recourse to the seller in the event of a payment default. This means that the seller is not liable for the creditworthiness of the defaulting payers. Nevertheless, the seller is liable for the legal validity of the receivable. If it is not legally valid then the sale of the receivables can be rescinded.

A purchase and assignment of receivables agreement is a purchase contract. The creditor undertakes to sell the outstanding receivables to a third party, to which they thus also transfer the creditor status. Within the scope of the agreement the seller confirms that they own the receivables under negotiation and that there is a legal claim to payment (liability for the legal validity of accounts receivable). Moreover, the receivables purchase and assignment agreement states which specific receivables are under negotiation and which purchase price has been agreed. By means of an assignment declaration incorporated into the agreement, the rights and obligations are transferred from the previous creditor to the new creditor. In addition, the parties agree on an effective date from which the buyer is entitled to receive payments and has to bear the costs associated with the recovery of the receivables. Receivables purchase and assignment agreements often also contain provisions on data privacy, liability, and quality agreements.

Für Sie als Verkäufer unterliegt der Forderungsverkauf in keinem Fall der Umsatzsteuer. Das Umsatzsteuergesetz (UStG) legt in Paragraph 4 Nr. 8 Buchstabe c fest, dass bereits zahlungsgestörte Forderungen im Falle eines Verkaufs nicht der Umsatzsteuer – häufig auch Mehrwertsteuer genannt – unterliegen. Als zahlungsgestört gilt eine Forderung, wenn sie, soweit sie fällig ist, ganz oder zu einem nicht nur geringfügigen Teil seit mehr als 90 Tagen nicht ausgeglichen wurde. Eine Forderung ist auch zahlungsgestört, wenn die Kündigung erfolgt ist oder die Voraussetzungen für eine Kündigung vorliegen. Im Volksmund sind zahlungsgestörte Forderungen bzw. Non-performing Loans (NPL) auch als notleidende Kredite bekannt.