Statutes of the IVBF – Interessenverband Verpflegung. Accommodation. Free time. e.V.

Version: 01.07.2022

I. General

§ 1 Name and seat

a) The name of the association is “Interessenverband Verpflegung Beherbergung Freizeit e.V.” (IVBF).
b) The registered office and place of jurisdiction is Leipzig. However, the Association may operate business and field offices in other locations.
c) The Association is registered in the Register of Associations.
d) The fiscal year is the calendar year.

§ 2 Purpose of the association

a) The purpose of the Association is to represent and promote the interests of restaurateurs, hotel operators, operators of leisure facilities and event organizers, as well as to promote fair business practices in the relevant industry. The focus is on supporting members in legally compliant trading by providing information, advice and a platform for exchange. As a result, the interests of consumers are to be protected.
b) The association advises its members in all matters related to the purpose of the association. It advises its members on legal matters and informs them about relevant legal and economic issues.
c) The association stands for a fair cooperation in trade as well as a fair, legally secure and transparent appearance towards the customer.
d) For the purpose of promoting the interests set forth in the Articles of Association, the Association may participate in enterprises and establish and maintain commercial business operations.
e) Funds of the Association shall be used only for purposes in accordance with the Articles of Association. The members do not receive any benefits from the association’s funds.

II. members

§ 3 Membership

a) Membership is voluntary. There is no entitlement to membership.
b) The Association shall consist of regular members, personal members and sustaining members. All natural persons, legal entities, social unions and associations of persons who are active in the relevant industry can become ordinary members.
c) Members who have given up their business may become personal members without active and passive voting rights, functions are to be resigned by the end of the calendar year in which the business was given up. Supporting members can be all natural persons, associations or legal entities that support the purpose of the association without being regular members.

§ 4 Rights and duties of the members

a) All members have equal rights and obligations and are entitled to use the facilities and services of the Vere.
b) All members are obliged to promote the common industry-specific interests disinterestedly and to pay the agreed contributions.
c) Each member shall pay an annual subscription payable in advance. The amount of the dues is decided by the Presidium and regulated in the dues regulations. Members have the right to submit their resignation in writing to the Association within 14 days of being notified of a dues increase. In this case, the membership shall end at the time when the member could have declared his resignation without the increase in contributions taking effect for the remaining period of membership. Contributions and other income as well as any surpluses may only be used for statutory purposes, with the exception of financing general administrative tasks.
d) The rights and obligations arising from membership may also be exercised by another member authorized in writing or by an authorized representative working in the company; this also applies to the exercise of voting rights.
e) All members are entitled to make motions according to the agenda in the meetings.

§ 5 Acquisition and termination of membership

a) Memberships are concluded by application for admission in text form (also by e-mail), acceptance of the application and payment of the admission fee and.
b) Membership is decided on a discretionary basis. The Presidium is authorized to make decisions.
c) Membership is concluded for a period of one calendar year and is renewed for a further year in each case, unless the member declares his or her resignation in text form (including by e-mail) to the association at the end of the respective year, giving three months’ notice. Membership ends upon the death of a member or deletion from the Commercial Register. After cessation of operations, personal membership may be applied for in writing. Membership may also be terminated by expulsion if a member does not fulfill the purpose of the statutes or has not fulfilled his or her obligation to pay dues for more than three months. During the period of non-payment of dues, membership rights are suspended. The Presidium decides on the exclusion with a simple majority of votes. The member must be notified of the exclusion in writing. The member may appeal against the exclusion within 14 days. Withdrawal or exclusion does not release from the payment of outstanding contributions and claims against the association.

III. organs of the association

The organs of the association are the general meeting and the presidium.

§ 6 General meeting

a) The highest body of the association is the general meeting. It decides on all matters concerning the Association, unless these are expressly reserved for the Executive Board in the Articles of Association. She decides

– by simple majority on the election of the Presidium.
– by a simple majority on the approval of the budget.
– with a 2/3 majority on a possible premature dismissal of a member of the Presidium.
– with 2/3 majority about the change of the purpose of the association or the statutes.
– with 3/4 majority about the dissolution of the association.

b) Convening the General Meeting

The ordinary general meeting takes place once in the calendar year. The Presidium may convene an extraordinary General Assembly at any time.
A General Meeting shall be convened by the Presidium with at least two weeks’ notice in text form, stating the place and time as well as the agenda. If the subject of the General Meeting is an amendment to the Articles of Association, the invitation must contain the amendment to the Articles of Association with reasons. The invitation period shall commence on the day following the day on which the invitation is sent. The invitation shall be deemed to have been received by the member if it is sent to the last address notified to the Association in writing by the member. An electronic address is also considered to be an address. If the meeting is to be held in the form of a video conference, members will receive technical instructions on how to join the meeting with the invitation.

c) Adoption of resolutions by the General Meeting

The President shall preside over the General Assembly. The authority rests with the Vice President when the President so designates or is unable to act. The chairman of the meeting may appoint another person, including a non-member, to chair individual items on the agenda. The chairman of the meeting decides on the admission of guests during the general meeting.
The General Meeting shall constitute a quorum if it has been duly convened and at least twenty percent of the ordinary members are present or represented. If the General Meeting does not have a quorum, a new meeting with the same agenda shall be convened within one week. This meeting shall then constitute a quorum regardless of the number of ordinary members present.
Each full member has one vote. Personal members and sustaining members have no voting rights. Voting shall be by show of hands unless the chairperson of the meeting or one-fourth of the voting members request a secret ballot. In the event of a tie, a run-off vote shall decide.
If the General Meeting takes place in the form of a video conference, votes may be cast in text form.
The general meeting elects a keeper of the minutes who records the resolutions passed in minutes. This must be signed jointly by the chairman of the meeting and the keeper of the minutes. The minutes will be published on the Association’s website in the Members LogIn area following the meeting.

§ 7 Presidium

a) Composition

The Presidium consists of the President, the Vice-President and the Treasurer.

b) Term of office

The Presidium is elected for life at the General Meeting. In the event of the death, dismissal or resignation of a member of the Executive Committee, the remaining members of the Executive Committee shall appoint a successor from among the members until the General Meeting has elected a successor in accordance with § 5.

c) Tasks

The Presidium represents the Association judicially and extrajudicially and conducts the business of the Association. Each member of the Presidium is also authorized to represent the company individually. The Presidium shall perform its duties on an honorary basis. Expenses and costs for the management are to be reimbursed against invoicing. The Presidium may, if necessary and taking into account the economic circumstances and the budgetary situation, award contracts for activities on behalf of the Association to third parties or to individual Presidium members in return for appropriate remuneration. Individual members of the Presidium may be appointed as executive members of the Presidium in return for appropriate remuneration, whereby the member of the Presidium to be appointed shall not be entitled to vote on this decision. The managing member of the Executive Committee is fully exempt from the restrictions of Section 181 of the German Civil Code (BGB). The liability of the members of the Presidium towards the Association is limited to intent and gross negligence. The Presidium may delegate the aforementioned tasks in whole or in part to full-time employees. In order to carry out the management tasks and to run the office, the Executive Board is authorized to hire full-time employees for the administration within the framework of the budgetary activities. The Presidium has the power of direction under labor law in employment relationships.

IV. Resolution

In the event of the dissolution of the Association, the Presidium shall carry out the liquidation, unless the General Meeting appoints another person as liquidator.

Leipzig, 01.07.2022