Is selling new items at a garage sale legal? The 1 p.m. at your side

Garage sale season has just started, and there are very strict rules to follow. The first: you do not have the right to sell new items. According to the commercial code, participating in garage sales is in fact possible if and only if you sell personal and second-hand items.

If you want to sell your own creations, you must register as a professional. In this case, you will pay taxes and social charges. Note that if you do not respect the law, you risk in theory up to six months in prison and a fine of 30,000 euros.

To participate in a garage sale, you must register in the register kept by the organizers, associations or even cities. It’s quite simple: name, first name, position, address, identity document of each person who sells an item. And sometimes you have to pay for the location. Objective, in particular, to avoid professional sellers posing as individuals. This list of participants is made available to the police, gendarmes and even fraud prevention.

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And if I want to get rid of my items without participating in an organized garage sale, can I have one in my garden or in front of my door? The answer is yes, twice a year maximum, but without going beyond the sidewalk. Another rule to respect is to notify the town hall and send them a registered letter at least fifteen days in advance.

Regardless of the amount of your sales, you will have nothing to declare for taxes. On the other hand, be careful, you will have to pay if you sell precious metals, such as gold, or goods worth more than 5,000 euros each, such as a painting or a vase for example.

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