handelsvertretervertrag

/handelsrecht:handelsvertretervertrag

Purpose

The skill supports the drafting and the review of a commercial agency contract under §§ 84 et seq. HGB. The focus is on the typical points of dispute: distinction from other distribution models, commission claim (initial, follow-on, district commission), termination with staggered periods, compensation claim § 89b HGB (calculation, maximum limit, grounds for exclusion, exclusion period) as well as the post-contractual non-compete obligation § 90a HGB with compensation for the restraint period. Reference to the Commercial Agents Directive 86/653/EEC is taken into account.

Inputs

• Contracting parties (entrepreneur / commercial agent, legal form, branches)
• Subject matter of the contract (product portfolio, geographic territory, industry)
• intended distribution model (commercial agent / authorized dealer / commission agent / franchise)
• Commission model (rate, assessment basis, district representation yes/no, follow-on commissions)
• Contract term and intention to terminate (ordinary/extraordinary termination, termination by the agent/termination by the principal)
• for § 89b calculation: commission income of the last 5 years, share of new customers, share of intensively cultivated existing customers, attrition rate
• Foreign connection (EU/non-EU; choice of law)

Sub-agent architecture

Researcher provides §§ 84–92c HGB, EU Directive 86/653/EEC, BGH case law on § 89b calculation, ECJ line (Ingmar, Turgay Semen, Quenon) and standard commentaries (Hopt, Emde, MüKoHGB, Röhricht/Graf von Westphalen). Drafter prepares the contract draft or the memo with § 89b calculation in five stages. Reviewer checks non-derogability, exclusion periods, standard terms control and compensation for the restraint period.

Procedure

1. Distinction of the distribution model

Distribution model	Key characteristic	Legal basis
Commercial agent	independent, permanently entrusted, brokers/concludes in the name and for the account of another	§§ 84 et seq. HGB
Authorized dealer	buys in its own name, sells for its own account; contractually integrated	analogous § 89b HGB only with integration similar to a commercial agent, settled case law [unverifiziert]
Commission agent	in its own name, for the account of another	§§ 383 et seq. HGB
Franchisee	uses another's business model, for its own account	innominate contract; § 89b HGB analogous possible [unverifiziert]

The status follows from the actual performance of the contract, not from the designation in the contract (Hopt, Baumbach/Hopt HGB, § 84 marginal no. 6).

2. Duties of the parties

• Commercial agent (§ 86 HGB): duty to safeguard interests, duty to use best efforts, duty to report, confidentiality (§ 90 HGB).
• Entrepreneur (Section 86a HGB): provision of the necessary documents, information about acceptance/rejection of transactions and non-execution, commission statement (Section 87c HGB) – these obligations are mandatory for the protection of the commercial agent.

3. Commission claim Sections 87 et seq. HGB

• Section 87 (1) HGB: Commission for transactions concluded during the contract term that are attributable to the commercial agent's activity.
• Section 87 (2) HGB district agent: Commission also for transactions that come about without involvement if the commercial agent has sole representation for the district/customer group.
• Section 87 (3) HGB follow-up transactions: Commission also for follow-up transactions with the same customers, insofar as these are attributable to the original activity.
• Section 87a HGB: Time of accrual and due date, lapse in the event of non-execution by the entrepreneur for reasons for which he is responsible.
• Section 87c HGB statement: monthly (extendable by contract up to 3 months), claim to a book extract.

4. Termination of contract Section 89 HGB

Notice periods (in each case to the end of the month, Section 89 (1) HGB):

Contract term	Period
in the 1st year	1 month
in the 2nd year	2 months
from the 3rd year	3 months
from the 5th year	6 months

Extraordinary termination for good cause under Section 89a HGB is non-negotiable.

5. Compensation claim Section 89b HGB – five-stage calculation

Section 89b HGB is the economically most important provision of the plugin. Calculation in stages (settled case law of the BGH [unverifiziert – prüfen in juris]; cf. Hopt, Baumbach/Hopt HGB, Section 89b marginal no. 30 et seq.; according to ECJ Turgay Semen, C-348/07 [unverifiziert] the national calculation must not fall short of the Directive):

Stage 1 – Commission losses of the commercial agent The commercial agent loses commissions for future follow-up transactions with regular/new customers he has acquired.

• Commission income from these customers in the last contract year
• Forecast period as a rule 3–5 years (industry practice)
• annual attrition rate (e.g. 20 %)
• discounting (e.g. according to the Hoffmann table or simplified)

Stage 2 – Entrepreneur benefits Continuing benefits of the entrepreneur from the customer relationships acquired after the end of the contract.

• Assumption: entrepreneur benefit generally coincides with the commission losses (BGH [unverifiziert]), but may be reduced in the case of the brand's pull effect.

Stage 3 – Equity review (Section 89b (1) no. 2 HGB) Adjustments from:

• Pull effect of the brand (reducing)
• Compensation for restraint from Section 90a HGB (reducing, since already paid)
• Age, pension situation, industry practice
• Contractual fidelity, cooperative conduct

Level 4 – Maximum limit (Section 89b(2) HGB) Limited to an average annual commission of the last five years (or of the shorter contractual term).

Level 5 – Exclusion (Section 89b(3) HGB) No claim if:

• The commercial agent himself gave notice without cause attributable to the principal and without age/illness making continuation unreasonable
• The principal gave notice for good cause attributable to the commercial agent
• Assumption of the contract by a third party with the commercial agent's consent

Simplified formula as a control calculation:

Ausgleich = min(
  Stufe 1 (Provisionsverluste, abgezinst)
    × Billigkeitsfaktor (Stufe 3),
  Stufe 4 (eine Jahresprovision Ø 5 Jahre)
)

Preclusive time limit Section 89b(4) sentence 2 HGB: The claim lapses if it is not within one year of termination of the contractual relationship. The claim is mandatory in advance (Section 89b(4) sentence 1 HGB) – clauses that exclude or restrict it are invalid. Under the ECJ line of case-law (Ingmar, C-381/98 [unverifiziert]), this also applies where non-EU law is chosen if the commercial agent operates in the EU.

6. Post-contractual non-compete clause Section 90a HGB

Effective only if (cumulatively):

• Written form with delivery of the signed document to the commercial agent
• Maximum duration 2 years after the end of the contract
• Restriction to the district/customer base and the goods with which the commercial agent was concerned
• Compensation for the non-compete period as appropriate compensation

Waiver by the principal is possible until the end of the contract, but releases it from the obligation to pay compensation for the non-compete period only six months after receipt of the declaration of waiver.

Sources and citation style

Binding: ../../../references/zitierweise.md.

Statute

• Section 84 HGB (definition of commercial agent)
• Section 86 HGB (duties of the commercial agent), Section 86a HGB (duties of the principal)
• Section 87 HGB (commission), Section 87a HGB (due date), Section 87c HGB (accounting, book extract)
• Section 89 HGB (termination), Section 89a HGB (extraordinary termination)
• Section 89b HGB (compensation claim)
• Section 90 HGB (confidentiality), Section 90a HGB (post-contractual non-compete clause)
• Directive 86/653/EEC (Commercial Agents Directive)

Commentaries

• Hopt, in: Baumbach/Hopt HGB, 42nd ed. 2023, Section 84 marginal no. 1 et seq., Section 89b marginal no. 1 et seq.
• Emde, in: Staub HGB, 6th ed. 2022, Section 89b marginal no. 1 et seq.
• Ströbl, in: MüKoHGB, 5th ed. 2021, Sections 84 et seq. HGB marginal no. 1 et seq.
• Löwisch, in: EBJS HGB, 4th ed. 2020, Section 89b marginal no. 1 et seq.
• Thume, in: Röhricht/Graf von Westphalen/Haas, HGB, 5th ed. 2019, § 89b marginal no. 1 et seq.

Case law ([unverifiziert – prüfen in juris / curia.europa.eu])

1. ECJ, judgment of 09.11.2000 – Case C-381/98, Ingmar (non-derogability of § 89b in EU activity)
2. ECJ, judgment of 26.03.2009 – Case C-348/07, Turgay Semen (calculation may not fall below the Directive)
3. ECJ, judgment of 03.12.2015 – Case C-338/14, Quenon (relationship between compensation/damages)
4. BGH, judgment of 21.06.2018 – VII ZR 13/17 (calculation of compensation claim)
5. BGH, judgment of 23.11.2011 – VIII ZR 203/10 (analogy to authorized dealer)

Output format

GUTACHTEN / VERTRAGSENTWURF — Handelsvertretervertrag
Parteien: <anonymisiert>

I. Sachverhalt (knapp)
II. Frage(n) / Zielsetzung
III. Kurzantwort
IV. Rechtliche Bewertung
    1. Vertriebsform und Abgrenzung
    2. Pflichten und Provision
    3. Vertragsbeendigung § 89 HGB
    4. Ausgleichsanspruch § 89b HGB – Berechnung
       Stufe 1  Provisionsverluste:     <EUR>
       Stufe 2  Unternehmervorteile:    <EUR>
       Stufe 3  Billigkeit:             Faktor <…>
       Stufe 4  Höchstgrenze (Ø 5 J.):  <EUR>
       Stufe 5  Ausschlussgründe?       <ja/nein>
       Ergebnis:                        <EUR>
    5. Nachvertragliches Wettbewerbsverbot § 90a HGB
V. Vertragsentwurf (sofern beauftragt) – Klauseln nummeriert
VI. Risiken / offene Punkte
    🟢 / 🟡 / 🔴 <Einstufung mit Begründung>
    – Ausschlussfrist § 89b Abs. 4 HGB (1 Jahr) – Wiedervorlage
VII. Quellenverzeichnis

Example (excerpt from § 89b calculation)

"In the last contract year, the commercial agent earned EUR 120,000 in commission from the new customers he procured. With a forecast period of four years, a churn rate of 20% p.a. and a discount rate of 5%, stage 1 yields approximately EUR 290,000. Under the BGH line, entrepreneurial advantages correspond to this value. The equity review leads, due to the strong pulling effect of the brand (market share > 40%), to a reduction of 30%, thus approximately EUR 200,000. The maximum limit under § 89b(2) HGB (one year's commission Ø of the last five years = EUR 150,000) is lower and is therefore the final amount: EUR 150,000. Grounds for exclusion under § 89b(3) HGB do not exist (ordinary termination by the principal). Note: § 89b(4) sentence 2 HGB – the claim must be asserted within one year after the end of the contract."

Risks / typical mistakes

• Preclusive time limit under § 89b(4) sentence 2 HGB missed. One year after the end of the contract, the claim has lapsed. Follow-up is mandatory.
• Clauses that exclude § 89b HGB in advance – invalid (§ 89b(4) sentence 1 HGB); even a choice of non-EU law does not protect (Ingmar).
• § 90a HGB without compensation for the restraint of trade agreed – invalid non-compete clause.
• Book excerpt claim under § 87c(2) HGB overlooked – an essential means of pressure for the commercial agent.
• Designation "commercial agent" in the contract despite actual status as an authorized dealer – status follows the performance of the contract.
• Pulling effect of the brand not taken into account at the equity stage – leads to an excessive claim amount and risk of litigation.