Selling to Switzerland from Germany: VAT for sellers

In brief

• Germany: A sale to a private customer in Switzerland is VAT-exempt as an export supply if you transport or send the goods there and can prove the export (section 4 no. 1 (a), section 6 UStG). The conditions and proof are in Selling outside the EU from Germany: when is an export VAT-free?.
• Switzerland, registration: If, as a mail-order seller, you reach at least 100,000 francs of turnover a year from small consignments that you transport or send from abroad into Switzerland, your supplies count as domestic supplies and you become liable for VAT.
• Foreign sellers: They need a tax representative with a residence or seat in Switzerland to register.
• Marketplaces: Platform taxation has applied since 1 January 2025; under certain conditions the platform operator counts as the supplier.

What applies in Germany, what in Switzerland?

The German side is covered in Selling outside the EU from Germany, including the answer to whether a sale to a private customer in Switzerland is VAT-free. This article is about the second half: what Switzerland asks of you.

For Swiss VAT, "domestic" means Swiss territory, the Principality of Liechtenstein and the German municipality of Büsingen. The ESTV says that foreign companies active in mail-order sales are treated like companies with a seat in Switzerland.

When do you have to register for Swiss VAT?

The ESTV describes the mail-order rule like this:

• Limit: At least 100,000 francs of turnover a year from small consignments that you transport or send from abroad into Switzerland. The limit is calculated from the payments buyers make to you. Pick-ups do not count; dispatch and transport supplies do.
• Small consignment: A consignment whose tax amount is 5 francs or less, so that no import tax is charged.
• Start of liability: It arises when you reach the limit. Until the end of the month in which you reach it, the place of supply counts as abroad. From the following month it counts as Swiss for all your supplies from abroad into Switzerland.
• After that: You must register in the VAT register and make the import in your own name. From registration, not only small consignments but also all other consignments with more than 5 francs of import tax count as domestic supplies; all consignments into Switzerland are then subject to domestic tax.
• Tax representative: A foreign mail-order seller must have a tax representative with a residence or seat in Switzerland (Art. 67 (1) MWSTG).
• Voluntarily earlier: With the "Unterstellungserklärung Ausland" (declaration of voluntary subjection for foreign sellers) you can place yourself under the tax before you reach the limit. That makes the changeover easier to plan.

Who pays the import tax, and what does your customer see?

The ESTV distinguishes two situations.

You are not registered. For small consignments, that is consignments with a tax amount of at most 5 francs, no import tax is charged; according to the ESTV this also holds under the mail-order rule. For larger consignments the import rules of the customs administration (BAZG) apply; they are not part of this article.

You are registered. Then you owe Swiss VAT (domestic tax) on all supplies to buyers in Switzerland, small consignments included. In return you can deduct the import tax (you then count as the importer) and other input tax from your business activity. You invoice your buyer the domestic tax and must make sure the buyer is not also charged import tax.

The ESTV names several points that are your responsibility:

• The customs declarant must be able to see that you are in the VAT register. If that is missing where the import tax is more than 5 francs, the declarant may charge the import tax to the buyer.
• In postal traffic, your name and VAT number go on the address label of the parcel, and a VAT-compliant invoice or a pro forma invoice with the domestic tax shown openly goes with it.
• If the buyer is charged both domestic and import tax because of incorrect handling, in principle neither the ESTV nor the BAZG can refund the tax, because both are owed. You can claim the import tax as input tax in such cases, even if the buyer is named as importer on the assessment decision; for that you must hold the assessment decision and have paid the import tax yourself. Refunding the buyer is a private-law matter between the parties.
• The ESTV keeps a list of registered mail-order sellers. It helps declarants see who is to be charged the import tax.

Selling to Switzerland through marketplaces

Platform taxation, in particular Art. 20a MWSTG, has applied since 1 January 2025. If a platform operator uses an electronic platform to bring a seller and a buyer together to conclude a contract and so makes the supply possible, it counts as the supplier towards the buyer.

The ESTV adds:

• A platform operator without a seat in Switzerland can become liable to Swiss tax if it counts as a mail-order seller or holds an "Unterstellungserklärung Ausland".
• A platform operator with no link to Switzerland does not become liable to Swiss VAT.
• The ESTV publishes a list of the companies registered as platform operators. Sellers can use it to classify, for VAT purposes, their supply to the platform operator.

If you sell through a platform, look at that list and at the platform's terms first. Whether a given platform appears there can change; the ESTV list is the source.

How VAT GPT helps

VAT GPT is the tax software for Amazon and eBay sellers in Germany: your OSS return first, then every other tax you owe, calculated and filed in one place. For your German returns that means:

1. You upload your Amazon and eBay CSV reports.
2. VAT GPT breaks the VAT down for Germany and the EU (OSS) and prepares the VAT return, monthly or quarterly.
3. With VAT GPT Pro you send it to the tax office through ELSTER.

There is Free, Go (30 days free with all Pro features) and Pro (€49 per month or €444 per year, including VAT). Try for free now

Not tax advice: the content does not replace individual advice.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to register in Switzerland if I only send a few parcels? Under the mail-order rule, liability arises when you reach 100,000 francs of turnover a year from small consignments. Other reasons for liability you check with the ESTV.

Do I need a representative in Switzerland? A foreign mail-order seller who registers needs a tax representative with a residence or seat in Switzerland (Art. 67 (1) MWSTG).

Are Liechtenstein and Büsingen included? Yes, the ESTV counts the Principality of Liechtenstein and the German municipality of Büsingen as domestic for VAT.

What if my customer was charged twice? Then what the ESTV describes above applies: in principle neither it nor the BAZG can refund anything; as a registered mail-order seller you can claim the import tax as input tax if you hold the assessment decision and have paid the import tax yourself, and the refund to the customer is settled between the parties.

Can I register before I reach the limit? Yes, with the declaration of voluntary subjection for foreign sellers.

Read next

• Selling outside the EU from Germany: when is an export VAT-free?
• File the VAT return online
• OSS registration in Germany

Sources

• ESTV: mail-order sales and platform taxation
• ESTV: VAT registration under the mail-order rule
• ESTV: VAT registration for platform taxation
• Section 6 UStG