Buying a watch from a private seller: the paperwork

A private seller cannot give you an invoice. They are not a business, they charge no VAT, and most of them have never written a receipt in their life. But your books need a document for every purchase, and your margin under § 25a UStG is calculated from the price on it.

So the dealer writes it. In Germany this document is called an Ankaufsrechnung (purchase receipt). Get it right at the counter, because you cannot fix it later when the seller is gone.

Why it matters

• Bookkeeping. Every payment out of the business needs a receipt (GoBD). Without one, the purchase price is not a documented cost.
• Margin scheme. Under § 25a you pay VAT only on the difference between purchase and sale price. The purchase price has to be recorded per piece, and the Ankaufsrechnung is where it comes from.
• Provenance. If the watch ever turns out to be stolen or disputed, the receipt with the seller's identity and signature is your evidence that you bought in good faith.

What it should contain

• Seller: full name, address, date of birth, and the ID document you checked (type and number).
• Buyer: your business name, address and tax or VAT number.
• The watch: brand, model, reference, serial number, year, condition, and what comes with it (box, papers, links, see full set).
• Price and payment: purchase price, payment method, date and place.
• Seller's declarations: that they are the rightful owner and no third-party rights exist (no pledge, no retention of title), that the watch is sold as is, and that they received the full price.
• Tax note: that you acquire the watch under the margin scheme and no VAT is shown.
• Both signatures.

Photograph the watch, the case back and the serial at the counter, and keep the photos with the receipt.

ID and cash: the GwG

Under the German Money Laundering Act (GwG), a dealer in goods must identify the other party when cash payments of EUR 10,000 or more are made or received. For precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum, the threshold is EUR 2,000. Identification means checking an official ID and recording the details.

Practical rules most dealers follow:

• Check ID on every private purchase, not only above the threshold. It is your protection against stolen goods.
• Pay by bank transfer where you can. It documents the payment and keeps you clear of the cash thresholds.
• Never split one purchase into several cash payments to stay under a threshold.
• Run the serial against a stolen-watch register before you pay, when the price justifies it. See Rolex serial numbers.

Your obligations under the GwG go beyond identification (risk assessment, reporting suspicious transactions). Clarify them with your advisor or the supervisory authority of your region.

Private, small business or dealer?

The Ankaufsrechnung is for sellers who are not charging VAT: private persons, and small businesses under the Kleinunternehmer rule. Both allow you to sell the watch under the margin scheme later.

If the seller is a VAT-registered business, they issue you an invoice. If you write it for them, it is a self-billed invoice (Gutschrift), which needs their agreement and has its own requirements. See Gutschrift.

How ChronoDesk writes it

When you add a watch bought from a private seller, ChronoDesk writes the Ankaufsrechnung on the spot from the record: seller details with ID document, the watch with reference and serial, price and payment method, the seller's ownership declaration, the as-is clause, the margin scheme note and the confirmation of payment. Print it, both sign, done.

The tax scheme you chose at purchase stays on the watch. When you sell it, the invoice follows the margin scheme automatically, carries the required note and shows no VAT, while the VAT on your margin is booked in the background. The reference and serial on the receipt are the same ones on the sale invoice, because both come from one record. See invoicing.

If you add watches from photos of the papers, reference, serial and year are read for you and you confirm them, so the counter work is mostly checking, not typing.

FAQ

Is an Ankaufsrechnung legally required?

No law names it, but your bookkeeping needs a document for every purchase, and the margin scheme needs the purchase price per piece. The Ankaufsrechnung is how dealers meet both.

Does an Ankaufsrechnung need to be an e-invoice?

No. A purchase from a private person is not a transaction between two businesses, so the e-invoicing mandate does not apply. More in e-invoicing for watch dealers.

ChronoDesk is free for 60 days. Your next private purchase can leave the counter with a signed receipt. See the plans.