Exhibitor FAQ

Approval must be obtained from the GEMA (Performing Rights Society) for any public performance of copyrighted music by sound/picture media (e.g. CD, DVD, Blue-Ray, Flash memory), for instrumental performances or musical presentations as part of radio or television broadcasts or the screening of films.

Applications should be made prior to the start of the exhibition to the following address:

GEMA, PO Box 30 12 40, 10722 Berlin
T: +49 30 5885 8999; kontakt@gema.de

Please also make use of the online service at www.gema.de.

The Law for the Protection of Young People in Public Places §9 has to be strictly observed and displayed at stands offering alcoholic drinks. The relevant abstract out of the law has to be clearly visible displayed at the stands. You are requested to ensure that your stand director is fully conversant with this regulation. This also applies to closed events.

A template can be found here to download. (PDF, 153.3 kB)

An approval, subject to a fee, in accordance with § 12 of the Law Governing Restaurants (Gaststättengesetz) only need be applied for, if alcoholic drinks are being dispensed (also together with food). Please use the application form GASTG (click here to download) and send it in time to Bezirksamt Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf of Berlin via email at veranstaltungen@charlottenburg-wilmersdorf.de.
Please find here (PDF, 583.8 kB) the instructions on how to fill out the German application GASTG.

Please apply for permission in good time before the beginning of the fair. The fee will be 145.00 € for each booth and has to be paid in advance (please take into consideration that permissions have to be paid prior to the confirmation).
Attention: There are controls during the fair! For short-term applications, a fee of 180.00 € will be charged. If approvals have to be made on-site during the fair, a fee of 210.00 € will be charged.(Prices as of 2020)

Furthermore, it is mandatory to visibly mount the German sign of the German Youth Protection (PDF, 153.3 kB) onto your stand booth if alcohol tobacco products of all kinds (see translation here) is provided. There will be controls and penalties if there is no sign on your booth.

For queries please contact:
Ordnungsamt Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf,
Hohenzollerndamm 174-177,
2. floor, room 2049/2051
10713 Berlin
T: +49 30 9029 29045 /-29051 /-29052 /-29060
F: +49 30 9029 29049
veranstaltungen@charlottenburg-wilmersdorf.de
Consultation hours only after making an appointment by phone.

Procedures for Vendors of Goods Subject to Excise Duty (Wine Spirits / Goods Containing Wine Spirits, Beer, Sparkling Wine, Intermediate Products, Coffee / Goods Containing Coffee) from EU-states at International Green Week in Berlin.

Notification of Purchase or Possession
Notification must be made in advance to: Hauptzollamt Berlin/ SG B/ AB 22/ Mehringdamm 129c, 10965 Berlin, using the official form (2755/ 1833). Notification must include the main characteristics relevant for taxation of goods subject to excise duty (type, quantity, alcohol content or original extract of the wort).

Security Deposit
In accordance with the information in your notification, you are required to pay a security deposit before the goods are brought into the tax territory or before you take possession of them in the tax territory.

Tax Declaration
As the person liable to pay excise duty, you are required to make a tax declaration immediately after the tax liability arises.

Further Information
Please also check our PDF "Information on Management of Stands (PDF, 209.4 kB)", point 2.5. Further information (e.g. tax rates, forms) can be found on the internet site of the German Customs Administration www.zoll.de also in English and French.

If you have further questions, please contact the customs duty:
poststellesgb.hza-berlin@zoll.bund.de

What do I have to consider for the receipt obligation?

Since the beginning of 2020, both organizers of trade fairs and exhibitions and exhibitors have had to comply with the newly introduced Section 146a (2) of the German Fiscal Code (AO). According to this, anyone who records business transactions subject to record-keeping requirements with the aid of an electronic recording system must issue a receipt for the business transaction to the party involved in this business transaction.

• The receipt must contain the following information in accordance with § 6 KassenSichV:
• the full name and address of the party making the transaction,
• the date of issue of the document and the time of the beginning of the transaction within the meaning of § 2 sentence 2 number 1 and the time of the end of the transaction within the meaning of § 2 sentence 2 number 6,
• the quantity and nature of the goods supplied or the extent and nature of other performance,
• the transaction number within the meaning of § 2 sentence 2 number 2,
• the consideration and the amount of tax payable thereon for the supply or other service in one sum as well as the applicable tax rate or, in the case of a tax exemption, an indication that a tax exemption applies to the supply or other service, and
• the serial number of the electronic recording system or the serial number of the security module.

For further information please see: Auma.de

In general the General Terms of Business and Technical Guidelines of Messe Berlin apply, along with such valid and recognised technical rules as the DVGW worksheets (in particular DVGW W 551), DIN standards, VDE regulations, the relevant accident prevention regulations (BGV C1), MVStättV and the Drinking Water Regulations.

In addition the following conditions issued by the Health Department of the District of Charlottenburg – Wilmersdorf apply: In order to prevent the spread of legionella and thus protect visitors and employees at trade shows, permanent chemical disinfection must be provided for the water in all exhibits containing water and in which aerosols can be created by the movement of water e.g. by means of fountains, waterfalls, whirlpools, bathtubs etc.

Please find further information under point 6 in the PDF "Information on Management of Stands" in our Download-Center.

For further queries please contact:
Verfügung: Infektions-, Katastrophenschutz und umweltbezogener Gesundheitsschutz, Hohenzollerndamm 174 – 177, 10713 Berlin
T: +49 30 9029 16162, hygiene@charlottenburg-wilmersdorf.de

Manufacturers are obliged to disclose a range of clearly legible information on the label – including details about the ingredients and the best-before date.

Food labelling requirements are laid down in EU legislation. This means that uniform standards apply throughout all the Member States of the European Union. EU Regulation No. 1169/2011 will apply from 13 December 2014. It updates the labelling legislation and brings together in one place the previously relevant legal areas. In addition, it improves the legibility of information on packaging by stipulating a minimum font size.

Further information on the mandatory labelling of pre-packaged food and allergens can be found under point 3.3 in our PDF "Information on Management of Stands".

The European Commission reviews this list constantly and updates it if required. The complete Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 can be found here.

The Guidelines of Public Health and Building Inspectorate as listed overleaf and the Technical Guidelines must be observed when setting up kitchen areas for preparing food which is intended for dispensing and immediate consumption on site.

All persons preparing or dispensing unwrapped foodstuffs of animal origin, food for babies and infants, ice cream, bakery products with fillings that are not fully baked, delicatessen salads etc. must have received instructions in accordance with the Law on the protection against Infection.

For queries please contact: Bezirksamt Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf von Berlin – Public Health Department – Lebensmittelpersonal-Beratungsstelle, Hohenzollerndamm 177, 10713 Berlin, Germany
T: +49 30 9029 16290, vetleb@charlottenburg-wilmersdorf.de

Due to spreading epizootic disease in Europe is it required to meet highly protective measures and to ensure strict compliance of the animal welfare regulations and standards on the exhibition grounds when delivering foreign products. Further, the regulations are necessary to guarantee biosafety for animal husbandry in the halls 25 and 26 on the exhibition grounds for Grüne Woche.

• It is not permitted to import pork (any kind) or products containing pork from ASF restricted zones
• It is not permitted to bring pork for private consumption to IGW
• Exhibitors must give full proof / full traceability of product

Please find further information under point 7 in the PDF "Information on Management of Stands" in our Download-Center.

More information under: https://www.fli.de/en/news/animal-disease-situation/african-swine-fever/

• Foodstuffs may not be stored, handled or sold anywhere except on the sales stands
• Hygienic storage (protected against dust and dirt, refrigerated if necessary) of all foodstuffs and utensils (e.g. plates, cooking pots)
• Water intended for consumption or for cleaning purposes may only be obtained from drinking water taps. No water may be obtained from toilet areas
• Prohibition on smoking on stands containing foodstuffs
• Clean working clothes for all personnel employed on the stands
• Live mussels must be stored under cool conditions at between +2 and +10 ˚C. Fresh oysters may only be served by suitably qualified personnel who are properly informed about the edibility of such items.

For queries please contact: Bezirksamt Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf von Berlin – Veterinär- und Lebensmittelaufsichtsamt – Dillenburger Str. 57, 14199 Berlin, Germany T: +49 30 9029 18407, email: vetleb@charlottenburg-wilmersdorf.de

Reusable packaging obligation for packaging filled at the stand, packaging register

From 01.01.2023, in accordance with Section 33 of the German Packaging Act (VerpackG), if the size of the stand exceeds 80 square meters or if there are more than five stand employees, visitors to the stand must be offered appropriate reusable alternatives for disposable plastic food packaging or disposable beverage cups filled on site at no extra charge. This must be indicated by clearly visible and legible information boards or signs, stating the following note: 'You get your food and drinks in reusable containers' | sign for you to download (JPG, 139.5 kB).

In the case of a smaller stand area and a maximum of 5 or fewer employees, in accordance with § 34 of the German Packaging Act (VerpackG), visitors to the stand may instead be offered the opportunity to fill the goods into reusable containers provided by themselves. This must be indicated by clearly visible and legible information boards or signs, stating the following note: ‘We fill reusable containers that you bring along’ | sign for you to download (JPG, 126.8 kB).

For distributors of packaging, there is a general obligation to register with the packaging register LUCID.

If you have any further questions, please contact the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf Environmental and Nature Conservation Office:

T. +49 30 9029 188 31
F. +49 30 9029 188 48
Rudolf-Mosse-Str 9
14197 Berlin

Ordinance on the prohibition of the placing on the market of certain single-use plastic products and of products made of oxo-degradable plastic / Single-Use Plastic Prohibition Ordinance

Certain single-use plastic products may no longer be placed on the market by the manufacturers of these products as of July 3, 2021. The ban is stipulated by the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive (Directive 2019/904) and implemented 1:1 in Germany by the Single-Use Plastics Ban Ordinance (EWKVerbotsV). In particular, businesses that use the listed single-use plastic products in their to-go business and businesses with event business are thus directly affected by the new regulation. However, old stocks may continue to be sold after July 3, 2021.

The first-time provision of the following single-use plastic products, among others, has been prohibited since July 3, 2021:

• Cutlery, especially forks, knives, spoons and chopsticks,
• plates,
• drinking straws,
• stirrers,
• Balloon sticks attached to balloons for stabilization, including their respective holding mechanisms,
• Food containers made of expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam), i.e. containers, such as boxes with or without lids, for foodstuffs that are intended to be consumed directly on site or to be taken away for consumption, are generally consumed out of the container and can be consumed without further preparation such as cooking, boiling or heating (="to-go"); beverage containers, beverage cups, plates as well as bags and film packaging, such as wrappers, containing foodstuffs are not food containers in this sense,
• beverage containers made of expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam) including their closures and lids, and
• Beverage cups made of expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam) including their closures and lids.

Further information can be found on the website of the BMUV and DEHOGA (german only).

Employers or principals are required to instruct their staff about the Law on the Prevention of Infection; the obligation upon the employer to provide such instruction applies to all staff engaged in the relevant activities (production, handling or marketing of the foodstuffs listed in the written instructional material) – including those who are still working with a valid “Red Card” in accordance with § 18 of the Federal Law on Contagious Diseases (Bundesseuchengesetz).

The certificates referring to the instruction in accordance with § 43 IfSG (initial instruction and documentation of the subsequent instruction as carried out by the employer) must be available at the place of work and must be presented for inspection by the Veterinary and Food Supervisory Office or by staff of the Health Department. The absence of a certificate confirming initial instruction by the Health Department or a physician appointed by the Health Department and the lack of documentation about subsequent instruction may lead to the imposition of substantial fines.

Please find further information under point 4 in the PDF "Information on Management of Stands".

For queries please contact:
Advisory office for Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Bezirksamt Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf von Berlin, Gesundheitsamt Lebensmittelpersonal-Beratungsstelle Hohenzollerndamm 177 10713 Berlin
T: +49 30 9029 16299, lebensmittelpersonal-beratung@charlottenburg-wilmersdorf.de