German email rules name 'the addressee', with no business carve-out.

The rules that matter here

Marketing email, texts and calls

• UWG section 7(2): advertising by automated calling machine, fax or electronic mail needs the recipient's prior express consent; telephone advertising to consumers needs prior express consent, and to other market participants at least presumed consent.^[1] Note: Read in German on gesetze-im-internet.de and checked against the official English translation at gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_uwg/ on 2026-10-02; the translation can lag the German text. Re-read in the official English translation on 2026-10-05: no. 2 (electronic mail) names 'the addressee' with no business carve-out; the 'at least presumed consent' wording for other market participants is in no. 1 (telephone calls) only.
• UWG section 7(3): email advertising to an existing customer is allowed without prior consent only if the address was obtained in connection with a sale, the advertising is for the company's own similar products or services, the customer has not objected, and the customer was clearly told at collection and in every message that they can object at no cost beyond transmission costs.^[1]

Personal data

• The European Commission's list of countries with an EU adequacy decision (as retrieved) does not include India. Transfers of personal data from the EU to a country without an adequacy decision need another tool, commonly Standard Contractual Clauses.^[2]
• The European Commission describes Standard Contractual Clauses (modernized June 2021) as pre-approved model contracts used for transfers from EU/EEA controllers or processors to recipients in countries without an adequacy decision.^[3]

Billing across borders

• The European Commission says that for supplies of services between businesses, the place of taxation is where the customer is established (Article 44 of the VAT Directive).^[4] Note: Place-of-supply rule only. How the German customer accounts for the VAT is not published here.

Time zone and language

Central European Time, 3.5 to 4.5 hours behind India depending on daylight saving. A 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. business day in India overlaps the German morning and early afternoon. Languages: German. Our own context, not a sourced rule.

What buyers here ask

These answers draw only on the sources listed on this page, last verified 2026-10-02.