Prepare estate contact with a specific goods list
Identify every asset by contract, delivery note, serial number, quantity and location. Attach the title clause and keep the request for release separate from the monetary claim.
Creditors
Supplier in customer insolvency: review goods, invoice and security
What suppliers should document about goods, invoices, retention of title, security and estate communication when a customer becomes insolvent.
Your insolvency law team
BRANDAUER Rechtsanwälte
Insolvency law, Salzburg and throughout Austria
We review the procedural status, contracts, payment records and security, then explain which legal question needs to be addressed next.
16 July 2026, Mag. Bernhard Brandauer, Rechtsanwalt
A customer enters insolvency during an ongoing supply relationship. Goods may still be in the customer’s warehouse, an invoice remains unpaid and further orders may not yet have been dispatched. The supplier must now reconstruct the supply chain item by item.
The unpaid purchase price, retention of title and other security are not interchangeable claims. Section 102 IO concerns the assertion of an insolvency claim. Section 44 IO concerns assets in the estate that do not, or do not fully, belong to the debtor.
This article provides a supplier-specific workflow. The general move from ordinary collection to filing a claim is explained in Debtor insolvency: review claim filing instead of ordinary collection.
Review the supplier file
Can the remaining goods be identified precisely?
This check focuses on goods and evidence. It neither files the claim nor determines a separation right.
Discuss the specific matter with the firm.
Are delivered and unpaid goods demonstrably still with the insolvent customer?
Your answers
Review the documents
Clarify the supply chain and current whereabouts first
Arrange the order, confirmation, terms, delivery note, invoice, payment and stock movement. Processing or resale requires separate review. An invoice alone does not prove that a particular asset must be separated from the estate.
Reconstruct the supply chain up to the opening of proceedings
Reconstruct the supply chain up to the opening of proceedings
Do not start with a consolidated invoice. Record each order with confirmation, delivery date, delivery note, invoice number, due date, payment and current goods status. Each partial delivery needs its own line. This shows which goods were paid for, remain unpaid, were returned, processed or are still with the customer.
Confirm which company actually ordered and accepted the goods. A group name, delivery address and invoice recipient may differ. The correct contracting party must be established for both the claim and the ownership analysis.
Secure the court notice, case reference and verified contact details of the insolvency administrator. Oral warehouse information is useful but does not replace documented stock and location evidence.
Legal positions
Review invoice, retention of title and security separately
The same business documents may support several legal positions, but their consequences remain distinct.
| Position | Evidence | Legal issue |
|---|---|---|
| Unpaid invoice Purchase price claim | Order, delivery, invoice, due date and balance | Under section 102 IO, insolvency creditors must assert their claims in the insolvency proceedings. |
| Ownership Retention of title | Effective clause, delivery note, identification, location and payment allocation | Section 44 IO refers assets not belonging to the debtor to separation rights under general legal principles. |
| Security Guarantee, pledge or insurance | Security agreement, scope, call conditions and payments | Existence, scope and the correct method of enforcement require a separate review. |
This overview does not replace review of the contract, security and actual insolvency proceedings.
Prove retention of title over goods or machinery
Prove retention of title over goods or machinery
Retention of title is only as reliable as its incorporation into the contract and its link to the specific asset. Check whether the clause was agreed in time. A term first printed on the invoice raises different issues from a term in accepted conditions or an order confirmation.
For machinery, record manufacturer, model, serial number, year, location and photographs. For trading goods, record item number, quantity, batch, packaging and storage location. If goods were processed, mixed or resold, do not assume that the original title clause automatically extends to a new product or proceeds.
The hub on separation rights and retention of title explains the legal framework. Suppliers can prepare the file with the checklist for goods or machinery in the estate.
Communication
Communicate with the estate in five steps
A factual, evidenced request avoids mixing the monetary claim, release request and security in one unclear message.
- 0101
Verify proceedings
- 0202
Reconcile deliveries
- 0303
Identify goods
- 0404
Separate positions
- 0505
Request a specific response
Decide separately on security and further deliveries
Decide separately on security and further deliveries
Guarantees, trade credit insurance, pledges or group security may exist alongside the insolvency claim. Review the secured purpose, amount, duration, form and call conditions. Notification to the insolvency administrator does not replace a required demand against a third party.
Open orders and goods not yet dispatched belong on a second working list. Continued supply, withholding or other treatment depends on the contract, performance status and insolvency law. Do not mix goods already delivered with future supply duties.
Finish with a reconciled schedule of invoices, credits, partial payments, security relied upon and asserted ownership. Avoid double recovery and inconsistent amounts.
Coordinate the goods and relevant periods: Document the stock and its location, agree access with the insolvency administrator and coordinate claim filing, separation requests and security legally. Use the actual court notice for the start of any period.
FAQ
Frequently asked supplier questions
Is the unpaid invoice enough to recover the goods? +
No. It evidences the transaction and claim, but not by itself ownership, an effective title clause, asset identity and current location.
Must the purchase price claim be filed despite retention of title? +
The claim and ownership position require separate review. Section 102 IO governs insolvency claims. Any additional separation right depends on the contract and facts.
What if the goods have already been resold? +
Establish their whereabouts, time of sale and flow of proceeds. Section 44(2) IO contains a rule on substitute separation after proceedings open, but its requirements cannot be assumed.
May the supplier stop new deliveries immediately? +
Not automatically because proceedings opened. The contract, performance status, security and applicable insolvency rules require separate review.
Further information
Explore claims, separation and evidence
Claim filing instead of ordinary collection
Understand the general procedural change on forderung-eintreiben.at.
Separation rights and retention of title
Review ownership, asset identity and estate communication.
Checklist for goods or machinery
Document the contract, markings, location and payment flow.
Topics
SupplierCustomer insolvencyRetention of titleSeparation rightSecurity
Would you like us to review a claim, owned goods or a decision in a business crisis?
Tell us your role, the business concerned and the procedural status. We respond within one business day.
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Address
BRANDAUER Rechtsanwälte GmbH Giselakai 51 5020 Salzburg
Phone
+43 662 6280000