FAQ about imports: customs and VAT
Answers to FAQs on essential import topics
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FAQs
As a rule, every consignment from abroad is liable to customs duty and VAT. As the recipient of a consignment from abroad, you pay the necessary VAT on the value of the goods and customs duty on the gross weight. Depending on the goods, other fees may be charged. These costs should nevertheless not be confused with the carriage charges paid by the sender when the consignment is posted.
In general, all items must be registered. Exceptions include Postcards and Letters which contain only personal or business communications.
As a rule, every consignment from abroad is liable to customs duty and VAT.
There is no special tax-free limit as with passenger traffic, only a fee exemption limit. Accordingly, customs duties and value added tax are not charged if the amount calculated is less than CHF 5.00 per customs declaration, whereby customs and VAT charges are considered separately. Gifts sent from private individuals living abroad to private individuals in Switzerland are duty-free up to a goods value of CHF 100.00. Goods purchased on the Internet do not satisfy these conditions. They are subject to duty in accordance with the general provisions.
The upper limit of the goods value (incl. transport costs) for an import exempt from VAT is:
- 7.7% VAT (applicable to majority of all consignments) => CHF 65.00
- 2.5% VAT (special goods such as books) => CHF 200.00
For more information, see import customs clearance.
The Swiss postal customs clearance blocks false or incorrectly declared import consignments. As the recipient, a letter of advice will be sent to you requesting that you provide the missing information. With regard to delivery, you can then choose between the following two options:
You provide postal customs clearance with the information required to release the item and you pay the additional processing charges when the item is delivered to you.
You do not want to pay for the sender’s mistake and therefore refuse delivery. Postal customs clearance then returns the consignment to the sender.
Further details on the current fees can be found under Levies, Fees/Surcharges (Inspection, Value Clarification and Storage).
Swiss Post does not recognize collective items and does not have the logistical capability to process parcels from a collective item in a series and to identify them accordingly. The sender is therefore instructed to enclose a correct commercial invoice with each parcel indicating the exact value of the parcel.
Insofar as the postal customs clearance recognizes that a consignment is a collective items, it adapts the goods value accordingly, e.g. with the remark "1 of 5 parcels". In this case, however, five customs clearances are required which are invoiced individually.
If the consignment is not recognized as a collective item, Swiss Post can request a correction from the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) to reclaim the difference on the excess VAT paid. It is crucial that the number of packages is visible on the commercial invoice or on the package.
Only legal entities which have a billing relationship with Swiss Post can take advantage of this option. For an import duty to be charged to the monthly invoice, you must register with Swiss Post.
You can register at Registration for the monthly billing of import levies.
You can indicate your ZAZ account for customs or ZAZ account for VAT online at www.swisspost.ch/import. We charge import duties and VAT to the relevant accounts; the customs clearance fees are charged to your monthly Swiss Post invoice.
Swiss Post applies the surcharge...
...if a consignment cannot clear customs due to missing, unreliable or incomplete customs documents and must therefore be opened
...if, due to missing or incomplete customs documents or due to the contents, a consignment must be placed in storage until the missing information is received or until the recipient or customs authorities take the decision concerning customs clearance.
The inspection, value clarification and storage surcharge is only applied once per consignment and totals CHF 20.00 excl. VAT. No supplement will be charged for duty-free consignments.
Advise the sender that he must declare the postal item adequately. He must indicate the contents and value of the goods on the consignment for customs clearance purposes (either in the form of a customs declaration CN22/CN23 or a commercial invoice). These customs documents must be affixed on the outside of the consignment.
Please contact the service provider responsible for the customs clearance of your consignment. Swiss Post’s customer service for postal customs clearance would be happy to provide further assistance. Please note the deadlines for objections (under article 34 or 116 of the Customs Act) set by the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS).
60 days from the issue date of the electronic tax assessment decision for change of procedure, address corrections, correction of customs duties and the related customs tariff numbers or declarations of origin.
5 years from the end of the calendar year in which the electronic tax assessment was issued for matters regarding the assessment of VAT, such as an inflated goods value or incorrect VAT calculation.
The appeal must be received within the time limit mentioned above. Appeals submitted outside these time limits cannot not be dealt with (case will not be considered). Further information can be found at https://www.ezv.admin.ch.
Swiss Post does not recognize batch consignments and does not have the logistical capability to process parcels from a batch consignment in sequence and to identify them accordingly. The sender is therefore instructed to enclose a correct commercial invoice with each parcel indicating its exact value.
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If you think that incorrect customs duties were applied to your consignment, you can submit a request for a correction to the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security. We are happy to do this for you. Nevertheless, please note that a request incurs a charge (at least CHF 40.00) and Post CH Ltd only assumes the costs charged by the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security if it can be ruled out that the sender has made an error when declaring the goods. Otherwise, the costs will be passed on to the recipient. Please be aware, that all correction requests must be received by the Federal Customs Administration within 60 days after the issuance of the Tax assessment decision.
To submit a request to the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security, we need the following documents:
- Import documents
- Proof of value (invoice/payment slip)
- Cover letter stating the reasons for the request (alternatively, you can write your reasons in the text field below)
More information on the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security can be found here.
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Gift consignments are not subject to customs duties, provided the following criteria are met:
- Private sender and private recipient
- For personal/private use
- Value up to CHF 100.00
- Declared as a gift (on the shipping documents) or clearly recognizable as a gift
- Tobacco products
- Alcoholic beverages
- Other gifts that are subject to non-customs legislation (see Levies, Non-customs regulatory legislation)
FAQs about customs duties
For items sent from one private individual to another, no customs clearance is required if the consignment
...is intended for personal/private use;
...has a goods value of up to CHF 100.00;
...is declared as a gift or is clearly a gift.
Customs clearance is nevertheless always required for the following exceptions:
- Tobacco products
- Alcoholic beverages
The customs clearance fee depends on the origin of the consignment and the value of the goods sent. For consignments from Germany, France, Austria and Italy, the basic fee is CHF 11.50 while for consignments from any other country, the basic fee is CHF 16.00. A surcharge corresponding to 3% of the declared value of the goods is then applied (not including import levies and customs control).
Examples:
A parcel from France with a value of CHF 100.00:
Basic fee: CHF 11.50
Surcharge: CHF 3.00 (3% of the declared value of the goods)
Customs clearance fee: CHF 14.50
A parcel from the US with a value of CHF 300.00:
Basic fee: CHF 16.00
Surcharge: CHF 9.00 (3% of the declared value of the goods)
Customs clearance fee: CHF 25.00
The variable element of the customs clearance fee totalling “3% of the value of the goods” is charged on the basis of the value of the goods declared on the commercial invoice or other customs forms.
Swiss Post, together with the Swiss federal price regulator, has agreed a simple pricing model which makes it possible to offer as many customers as possible (in particular private customers) attractive customs clearance fees. It must ensure that the customs clearance fees are commensurate with the complexity of the operation and the risk involved.
This model means that consignments which are generally more complex to process with regard to customs formalities are subject to a higher basic price. Consignments from neighbouring countries, which account for well over half of all import consignments and are therefore generally easier to handle in terms of customs formalities, are subject to a comparatively low basic price.
The 3% surcharge allows Swiss Post to offer customs clearance prices that depend on the value of the goods.
The supplement of CHF 13.00 is charged if the import of a good is subject to an order not prescribed by customs law, e.g. precious metals, CITES or an additional levy (alcohol, tobacco).
For questions concerning the customs clearance of postal items of any kind, contact us.
Yes, for goods consignments returned to the sender because of refusal to accept, rescission of the sale, returns of unsatisfactory goods, damage or defects. This does not apply to consignments for which it was clear from the outset that they are only being temporarily imported into Switzerland.
Swiss Post does not recognize multi-parcel consignments (batch consignments). It also does not have the logistics available to process one parcel after another in a multi-parcel consignment and to recognize them accordingly. The sender is therefore instructed to enclose a correct commercial invoice with each parcel indicating its exact value.
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| Goods value + transport costs minus discount | CHF 233.50 | |
| + customs clearance charges | CHF 16.00 | (AT, DE, FR, IT ➞ CHF 11.50; |
| + 3% administration fee | CHF 7.00 | (3% surcharge on the value of the goods) |
| + inspection, value clarification and storage | CHF 20.00 | (surcharge due to insufficient consignment declaration) |
| + customs duties | CHF 18.50 | (duty based on content and weight of the consignment) |
| + 7.7% VAT | CHF 22.20 | (duty based on value of the goods + fees) |
| Total additional costs | CHF 83.70 | |
| Total costs | CHF 317.20 |
You can find the prices for all additional and value-added services under «Prices, additional services and value-added services».
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This fee is charged
- if a consignment cannot clear customs due to missing, unreliable or incomplete customs documents and must therefore be opened
- if, due to missing or incomplete customs documents or due to the contents, a consignment must be placed in storage until the missing information is received or until the recipient or customs authorities take the decision concerning customs clearance.
The fee is CHF 20.00 excluding VAT and is charged only once per consignment; for duty-free consignments no fee is charged.
To avoid this fee, both the consignment contents and the value of the goods including shipping costs must be visible either in a CN22/CN23 customs declaration or in a commercial invoice. The customs documents must be affixed on the outside of the consignment.
Every consignment from abroad is generally liable to customs duty and VAT. The recipient of such a consignment must pay the levies; VAT is levied on the value of the goods, customs duties on the gross weight. Further levies may also apply (see additional chapters on levies). These levies are not to be confused with the shipping costs.
Firstly, the customs clearance fees are dependent on costs ( = lower prices for consignments from neighbouring countries, which are usually easier to process); secondly, they are in accordance with consensual agreements between Swiss Post Ltd and the federal pricing regulator (these are attractive for many of our customers).
The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security directly requests the applicable customs and VAT levies, and for this reason Post CH Ltd pays in advance for the recipient; the applicable account and interest charges are settled by means of the 3% surcharge on the value of the goods.
This offer can only be used by legal persons who have a billing relationship with Post CH Ltd. For the debiting of import levies via the monthly bill, registration must be carried out at: www.swisspost.ch/import.
Customs duties are duties that are collected by the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security and that, unlike value added tax, relate not to value but to weight (gross weight).
Every consignment from abroad is generally liable to customs duty and VAT. There is no special tax-free limit as in tourist travel but only a duty-free threshold, whereby the levies are imposed from a calculated value of CHF 5.00 per customs declaration while customs and VAT duties are considered separately.
The upper limit of the goods value (including shipping costs) for an import exempt from VAT is:
7.7% VAT (standard rate): CHF 62.50
2.5% VAT (reduced rate): CHF 200.00
The weight limit for a duty-free import varies on the basis of the weight and the customs tariff number, which is based on the product group (see: Swiss working tariff)
FAQs about VAT
The value is calculated on the basis of numerous elements. Example of a consignment from Germany
(all amounts in CHF):
| Invoice amount | 123.50[1] |
| – Foreign VAT | – 23.50 |
| – Discount | – |
| – Cash discount | – |
| – Deposit on packaging | – |
| + Credits | – |
| + Commission | – |
| + Licence rights | – |
| + Transport costs | + 15.00 |
| + Import duties, possibly customs duties, border veterinary controls, precious metals controls | – |
| + Customs clearance | + 14.95 |
| = VAT value of the consignment | = 129.95 rounded down to 129.00 |
When you perform the customs declaration, you have the following means of determining the transport costs:
If the transport costs are indicated on the accompanying documents, they are included in the calculation of the value of the goods.
If the transport costs are indicated on the accompanying documents as part of the value of the goods, no additional transport costs will be included in the value added tax amount.
In the case of gifts sent by private individuals to other private individuals up to a value of CHF 100.00, the transport costs are not included in the value added tax amount.
Since 1 January 2018, the following VAT rates apply:
- Normal rate on taxable deliveries and services: 7.7%
- Reduced rate on taxable deliveries and services (e.g. books): 2.5%
In general, all services relating to an import consignment are liable for VAT, irrespective of whether they concern transport or customs clearance. All services which are provided before and during effective customs clearance are to be taken into account in the VAT amount in accordance with customs regulations and are to be taxed accordingly (for example the customs clearance itself, see VAT Act, article 52). Services which arise during the customs clearance process and which cannot be foreseen are taxed on the Swiss Post invoice at a rate of 7.7%.
There are two possible scenarios:
- If the recipient is a company which can claim the deduction of input tax, VAT paid twice will not be refunded. The company can claim it as part of the input tax payment process (Article 80, para. 2 of the Swiss VAT Act). The recipient has this right if he will be using the imported items for business-related purposes (Article 38, paragraph 1c, paragraph 2 and paragraph 7c of the VAT Act).
As the customs clearance service has been provided twice, it is payable twice. Consequently, both invoices must be paid in full.
- If the recipient is a private individual, he must prove to the customs authorities the existence of an import, a subsequent export and another import. A corresponding import customs clearance document and proof of export (export customs clearance document, waybill specifying contents or similar) will be accepted as proof. With this proof, the VAT can be claimed back. Please provide all the documents (i.e. import documents, export documents and proof of re-import) with a corresponding note.
For active repair traffic, i.e. for goods that you import to Switzerland for repair, the following rules apply:
- Items of Swiss origin imported for repair can be cleared as duty-free provided the VAT value is no higher than CHF 1,298.00.
- Goods imported for repair originating abroad are cleared for customs as normal or with free passage.
- You can claim the VAT back after re-export or clam the deduction of input tax (subject to a fee).
For passive repair traffic, the goods have been repaired abroad and are returning to Switzerland. In this case, VAT is only charged on the new material and the labour costs. However, these two elements must be clearly stated on the commercial invoice.
Yes, for goods consignments returned to the sender because of refusal to accept, rescission of the sale, returns of unsatisfactory goods, damage or defects. This does not apply to consignments for which it was clear from the outset that they are only being temporarily imported into Switzerland.
If you have returned the goods, we can apply on your behalf to the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security for a refund of the import levies due to re-export. A processing fee of 5% of the refunded amount is incurred, which is nevertheless a minimum of CHF 40.00 and a maximum of CHF 500.00. Please be aware that no reimbursement claims can be submitted for companies that are entitled to reclaim VAT. All correction requests must be received by the Federal Customs Administration within 60 days after the re-exportation.
To enable us to submit an application to the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security, we require the following documents:
- Import documents
- Proof of export (waybill/postal receipt)
- Invoices/delivery notes
- Receipts of payments and transfers (credits)
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Evidence that it concerns a replacement consignment must be supplied to the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security. This is done by submitting the appropriate import and export documents including waybills with correct data. It is possible to request a VAT refund with these documents.
As a general rule, all services relating to an import consignment are subject to VAT. All services which are provided before and during actual customs clearance are to be taken into account in the VAT amount in accordance with customs regulations, and are to be taxed accordingly (such as the customs clearance itself, see VAT Act, article 52).
There are various types of repair traffic, which are handled differently:
Goods are imported in order to be repaired in Switzerland (active repair traffic = repair in Switzerland):
- Goods of Swiss origin are processed duty-free, provided that the VAT value is not greater than CHF 1,250.00
- Goods imported for repair originating abroad are cleared for customs as normal
- A VAT refund may be claimed back after the re-export of the repaired good or a pre-tax deduction process may be claimed (for a fee)
The goods were repaired abroad and are being imported again into Switzerland (passive repair traffic = repair abroad):
- VAT applies only to the new material and to the wage costs, which must however be clearly disclosed in the commercial invoice.
There is no customs declaration charge for consignments with duty-free goods (Customs Act, article 8) and for consignments without duties.
Various questions about precious metal controls, stamp values, etc.
The fees for precious metal controls, CITES, plant protection and border veterinary controls are charged when the relevant control bodies inspect the goods which are therefore subject to duty.
The additional customs tariff numbers supplement applies if a consignment covers more than five customs tariff numbers. Customs clearance of a consignment containing between one and five customs tariff numbers is included in the customs clearance fee. From the sixth customs tariff number onwards, a supplement of CHF 10.00 is charged per additional customs tariff number.
Example:
For the customs clearance of a consignment with eight customs tariff numbers, a surcharge of CHF 30.00 applies.
Swiss Post applies the surcharge...
...if a consignment cannot clear customs due to missing, unreliable or incomplete customs documents and must therefore be opened
...if, due to missing or incomplete customs documents or due to the contents, a consignment must be placed in storage until the missing information is received or until the recipient or customs authorities take the decision concerning customs clearance. The inspection, value clarification and storage surcharge is only applied once per consignment and totals CHF 20.00. No supplement will be charged for duty-free consignments.
The additional customs tariff numbers supplement applies if a consignment covers more than five customs tariff numbers. Customs clearance of a consignment containing between one and five customs tariff numbers is included in the customs clearance fee. From the sixth customs tariff number onwards, a supplement of CHF 10.00 is charged per additional customs tariff number.
Example: For the customs clearance of a consignment with eight customs tariff numbers, a surcharge of CHF 30.00 applies.
The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security cooperates in enforcing federal orders not prescribed by customs law. These orders exist in numerous fields of law. These include:
Security: munitions, weapons, blasting material, nuclear energy, goods for civil and military use, seditious propaganda material
Intellectual property: precious metals, trademarks and indications of origin, design right, copyright, lotteries and wagers
Economic and financial measures: restriction and monitoring of imports and exports
Health: food, doping, narcotics, corpses, medicines
State monopolies and monopolies: alcohol, tobacco, mail, coins, bank notes, salt
Environment: epizootic diseases, animal welfare, fisheries, plant protection, refuse
Cultural property / antiques more than 100 years old: stamps, postcards, coins, pictures, sculptures, maps, antique books and other items which are clearly more than 100 years old must be registered upon import with the customs office and the Federal Office of Culture (FOC) in accordance with the provisions of the federal law (KGTG/KGTV). Additional cost-related customs clearance fees apply as part of this process. More information can be found at www.bak.admin.ch/kulturerbe.
According to Swiss VAT law (Art. 54 paragraph 3) transport costs are part of the goods value. The goods value is used as the basis for calculating VAT. If the postage for consignments is not explicitly excluded from the goods value, Swiss Post will assume that they are included in the invoice amount, provided that the information seems plausible overall. If the postage for consignments is explicitly excluded from the goods value, Swiss Post will calculate a flat rate for transport costs (known as the “postage stamp value”). The postage stamp values are approved by the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) and amount to CHF 9.00 for letter mail. For parcel consignments, the postage stamp value depends on the country of posting. You can find more detailed information in the overview of postage stamp values.
The import requirements for fruits, vegetables (except potatoes), cut flowers and seeds in small quantities for own use were tightened up as of January 2020. Please note the information in german of the Federal Office for Agriculture FOAG.
This fee is charged when a consignment must be reported to the Precious Metals Control because of its contents. This applies when the goods consist of or are overlaid with a precious metal. For further details, see the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security.
The fee is CHF 50.00 including VAT.
Tax assessment decisions
The electronic tax assessment decision (eVV) is a proof of customs clearance issued by the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security.
To obtain an electronic assessment decision (eVV) for customs clearance goods, use the “electronic customs clearance documents” (eCCD) online service. You can then save the eVV on your own IT infrastructure and print it out when necessary.
Companies liable for VAT are obliged by the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) to keep an electronic copy of the assessment decision for eleven years (ten years + current year).
If you register a good for export electronically via e-dec Export, the electronic assessment decision is returned to the relevant customer tool. In this case, the eVV cannot be obtained via the www.swisspost.ch/ecd platform.
The electronic assessment decision is unnecessary when exporting items that are not subject to any permit obligations and have a value of up to CHF 1,000. Companies that are registered with the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) as persons liable for VAT can in these cases give evidence of export to the Federal Tax Administration as follows: with the dispatch list / dispatch receipt from Swiss Post and the relevant business documents (e.g. order, invoice copy, delivery contract, payment slip).
For the following products, an electronic assessment decision is available:
- PRIORITY and ECONOMY letters
- PostPac International PRIORITY and ECONOMY
- Swiss Post GLS parcels
- EMS parcels
As a rule, the electronic assessment decisions (eVV) are ready within 72 hours of successful customs clearance.
In principle, all natural or legal entities that export or import goods in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein are entitled to an eVV.
Storing and obtaining tax assessment decisions
You can make your request by phone to the customer service for postal customs clearance or Swiss Post GLS: contact.
If Swiss Post has issued the customs declaration: free download at http://www.swisspost.ch/ecd or from the postal customs clearance customer service by phone or Swiss Post GLS. If you have executed an export declaration via e-dec export: the eVV is generally sent back to the system via which you submitted the declaration. If you have not received the eVV, you must contact the Federal Customs Administration.
If no customs declaration has been submitted for a shipment Swiss Post makes a request to the customs administration for a retroactive assessment decision. This is then delivered to you free of charge, on condition that the customs office accepts the request.
The following conditions must be satisfied in order to request a retroactive assessment decision:
- Swiss Post has processed the consignment.
- The processing date for the consignment may not be more than 60 days in the past.
- The goods value of the consignment is at least CHF 1,000.
- You have a commercial invoice (copy) which confirms the information.
- An original receipt is available for import customs clearance in the foreign country or confirmation from the Swiss embassy or similar representative office abroad that the goods are in the country in question.
Electronic assessment decisions (eVV) are generally available in electronic form within three working days of customs clearance. From this time, the eVV is either available for download or you receive it by e-mail.
The eVVs remain available to the sender free of charge for multiple download for a period of three months after customs clearance at www.swisspost.ch/ecd.
If the goods were exported more than three months ago, please the customer service. It will provide you with the electronic assessment decision you are entitled to in exchange for an administration fee.
In principle, there are three means of obtaining the electronic assessment decision:
Download from the website www.swisspost.ch/ecd
Delivery by e-mail (only for exports with PostPac International and only if the waybill was created using one of Swiss Post’s electronic tools and the sender’s e-mail address was explicitly recorded)
Ordering from the customer service (by phone or e-mail; for unregistered letter mail, this is the only means of obtaining the required document)
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