Germany distinguishes three forms:
- "Ordinary" retention of title. It is similar to the Dutch situation. This reservation only applies to goods delivered according to the contract. This means, that the supplier no longer has security if the goods have been processed or resold.
- "Extended" retention of title. All goods delivered or to be delivered remain the property of the Supplier until the full debts have been paid. If the buyer has not yet paid, the Supplier may recover the debt from all goods it has delivered and will deliver in the future. All deliveries and future deliveries are subject to retention of title.
- "Extended" retention of title. The buyer may "use", "process" and "resell" the reserved goods for normal use, but ownership rests with the supplier.
Retention of title for your organisation
The above retention of title clauses do not take effect automatically. The retention of title appropriate to your business should be included in your German General Terms and Conditions (Algemeine Geschäftsbedingungen). These should be drafted in German according to German law.
All credit insurers require the extended and extended retention of title to be validly agreed. The best approach is to have the German-language terms of sale with proper retention of title text signed by the buyer in advance. Xolv will be happy to help you with this.
