FAQs about imports: customs and VAT
Answers to frequently asked questions about imports

All consignments from abroad are liable for customs duty and VAT. If the duties are less than CHF 5, you will not be charged.

Value added tax: consignments are subject to duty if they have at least the following value of goods (including shipping costs):

• CHF 63.– for the VAT rate of 8.1%
• CHF 194.– at the reduced tax rate of 2.6% (e.g. food supplements, books, plants and medicines)

Customs duties: Customs duties are calculated on the basis of the type of goods (contents of the consignment) and weight. Detailed information is available on the “Tares” customs tariff page on the website of the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS).

Swiss Post charges service fees for its customs clearance. These are made up as follows:

• Consignments from countries in the European Union (EU) and their overseas territories: 13 francs for the customs clearance service + 3% goods value supplement
• Consignments from other countries: 16 francs for the customs clearance service + 3% goods value supplement

Additional fees may be charged for extra work required. For example, an additional 20 francs if the information provided by the sender is inadequate and Swiss Post has to carry out an inspection or value assessment.

Go to the prices for postal customs clearance

Gift consignments are exempt from duty under the following conditions:

• Both the sender abroad and the recipient in Switzerland are private individuals.
• The value of goods does not exceed 100 francs (excluding shipping costs).
• The item is declared as a gift (or has clear characteristics of a gift).
• The parcel contains no alcohol or tobacco.

If consignments are incorrectly or insufficiently declared, customs clearance cannot be completed and the consignment will undergo a clarification process. If, for example, we are unable to determine the value of the goods, we will request the recipient to provide us with more information about the consignment.

• Is it a purchase? Swiss Post requires an order confirmation, an invoice or proof of payment.
• Is it a gift? The sender confirms that it is a gift and indicates the value of the goods.

You can submit the missing information via the link to the form. You will need your personal code for this. You will find the code in the value clarification message you received by SMS, e-mail or letter.

To the form: Value clarification – details of your consignment

Register free of charge for the “My consignments” service. You can now pay for future consignments with import costs either via the link you receive by SMS/e-mail or you can log into the “My Post” customer portal, select the relevant item in the “My consignments” online service and pay for it online via the payment screen.

If you have not paid within 20 days, you will receive a payment reminder in the post containing a QR-bill. From this point, you will no longer be able to pay online.

Your customs clearance documents (electronic tax assessment decision and customs clearance invoice) are usually available on the Swiss Post website within three working days after customs clearance. You can view and download your documents free of charge for three months.

To retrieve the documents, enter the consignment number and your personal code. You will find this information on your consignment or customs clearance invoice.

Accessing electronic customs clearance documents

Personal goods, personal effects, as well as removal goods are exempt from duties under the following conditions:

• The goods have been in personal use for at least six months
• The goods are sent from abroad to the Swiss owner or from the owner abroad to Switzerland
• The goods are clearly marked as “personal effects”

The import declaration is based on the customs declaration or the commercial invoice. It contains all the information about the consignment. The sender must attach it to the outside of the parcel.

Three to four working days, provided all the information is complete and correct. If any information is missing, Swiss Post will carry out the necessary clarifications. This may delay the processing.

Swiss Post applies the surcharge if it cannot declare a consignment due to missing, untrustworthy or incomplete documents. We open the consignment (inspection) to determine the correct value. Alternatively, Swiss Post will contact you as the recipient (value clarification) and request more information from you. Swiss Post stores the item until the necessary information is available.

If you reply in writing within three working days, the value clarification is free of charge. From the fourth working day onwards, Swiss Post will apply a surcharge of 20 francs.

Tip: Advise the sender to declare the consignment fully and correctly. The information on the consignment must be attached to the outside of the parcel, either in the form of a customs declaration (CN22/CN23 form) or a commercial invoice.

Swiss Post is generally unable to recognize whether an order has been sent in several individual parcels. This means the sender must enclose a correct customs declaration or commercial invoice with each parcel, indicating the value of the parcel.

If Swiss Post recognizes that a parcel is a collective consignment (e.g. based on the note “1 of 5 parcels”), it adjusts the value of the goods accordingly. In this way, parcels are only cleared for the contents they effectively contain. If the total value of the order is subject to import tax, but not the individual parcels, a duty will be paid on the total value.

Contact Swiss Post’s International Customer Service.

• By phone: +41 848 48 48 47
• Via contact form

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).

• For change of procedure, address corrections or correction of customs duties (including customs tariff numbers / declaration of origin): 60 days from the issue date of the tax assessment decision
• For incorrectly charged import taxes (e.g. value of goods / VAT rate): five years from the end of the calendar year in which the tax assessment decision was issued

Appeals outside of these deadlines cannot be dealt with (case will not be considered).

You can find more information on the FOCBS website.

Register free of charge for the “My consignments” service. You can now pay for future consignments with import costs either via the link you receive by SMS/e-mail or you can log into the “My Post” customer portal, select the relevant item in the “My consignments” online service and pay for it online via the payment screen.

If you have not paid within 20 days, you will receive a payment reminder in the post containing a QR-bill. From this point, you will no longer be able to pay online.

Yes. You receive a discount of CHF 1.50 per consignment on the basic fee for customs clearance.

Log in to the “My Post” customer portal and select the recipient settings in the “My consignments” online service. You can change the payment options there.

Go to “My Post” customer portal

You have 20 days to pay your import costs online. During this time, you will receive up to three electronic reminders: when the consignment is announced, after delivery has been made and when a notification is sent if delivery was not possible.

If you have not paid the amount within 20 days, you will receive a written payment reminder with a QR-bill. From this point, you must use the payment slip and will no longer be able to pay online.

Yes, in the “My consignments” online service. Select the corresponding consignment there. You can view and download the payment confirmation in the detailed view.

In order for the import duties to be debited on the monthly customer invoice, you need a Swiss Post Customer Login. Please proceed as follows:

1. Create a Swiss Post Customer Login
2. Request the Swiss Post customer invoice (invoice reference number, RRN)
3. Register for invoice debit of import levies/deposit of import tax account (ZAZ)

You need a personal eCCD account for this. You can specify that the customs clearance documents are to be sent to you automatically by e-mail. An eCCD account is automatically created when you register to have your import details charged to your monthly invoice (see registration above) or after the first customs clearance.

No. Companies that are entitled to deduct input tax can claim the import tax in their quarterly tax statement.

• More information on importing for business customers
• More information on the Mail Order Regulation