IstKaufmann

IstKaufmann is a term in German commercial law describing a merchant by operation of law. It refers to a natural person or, in some cases, a business that operates a Handelsgewerbe (commercial business) whose size and organization require a professionally organized company structure. A person is an IstKaufmann if the business itself meets the criteria of a Handelsgewerbe, making the operator a merchant even without an entry in the Handelsregister.

The legal basis rests on the German Commercial Code (HGB), which defines Kaufmann as someone who operates a Handelsgewerbe. The key distinction is that IstKaufmannschaft arises from the facts of the business: the enterprise is run in a commercially organized manner. This contrasts with KannKaufmann, who becomes a merchant through voluntary registration in the Handelsregister, and with Formkaufmann, where the legal form of the entity (for example, certain corporations) makes the business a merchant by law regardless of operations.

Consequences of being an IstKaufmann include access to the rules of commercial law, such as duties to keep proper books and records, prepare certain financial statements, and, in many cases, register with the Handelsregister. The status can carry specific obligations for accounting, inventory, and annual reporting. In essence, IstKaufmann status emerges from how the business is conducted and organized, rather than from its corporate form or from a registration decision. Examples typically involve sole proprietors or partnerships whose operations require a commercially organized, ongoing business structure.

See also: Handelsregister, Kaufmann, Handelsgewerbe, KannKaufmann, Formkaufmann.