Swiss customs duties: which goods are still dutiable and how much

What is still dutiable since 2024

Switzerland abolished its customs duties on industrial products on 1 January 2024. The Federal Council took the decision on 2 February 2022, after Parliament approved the amendment to the Customs Tariff Act on 1 October 2021. Every rate in HS chapters 25 to 97 was set to zero, with no condition of origin or routing.

A machine, an electronic component, a textile or a piece of furniture now enters Switzerland duty-free. The question “how much duty will I pay?” has only one useful answer left: it depends on whether your goods are agricultural or not.

Duties by category of goods

On the agricultural perimeter, the duty is not read as a percentage of value but in francs per unit of weight, and it varies sharply from one tariff heading to the next. Three families concentrate most of the questions we receive.

Meat and products of animal origin

Meat sits among the most protected headings of the Swiss tariff. Beyond the traveller allowance, the duty applies by weight and the out-of-quota rate is markedly higher than the in-quota rate. A sanitary constraint adds to it: the importation of products of animal origin is only permitted from EU member states, Iceland, Northern Ireland and Norway. From any other country it is prohibited — whatever amount you would be willing to pay.

Wine and spirits

Alcoholic beverages combine three separate charges: the customs duty by weight, the tax on distilled spirits, and import VAT. The regime depends on the alcohol content and the volume imported, and duty-free quantities are strictly framed. We cover this case in detail in our guide to the importation of wine and spirits into Switzerland.

Fruit, vegetables and cereals

These headings add a variable the others do not have: seasonality. The rate applying to a fruit or vegetable can change with the time of year, to protect Swiss production during its harvest campaign. The tariff must therefore always be consulted in Tares at the intended date of assessment, never at an approximate one.

Tariff quotas: the factor that changes everything

On agricultural products, Switzerland operates tariff quotas. A defined volume of goods can be imported at a reduced, in-quota rate; beyond that volume, the same goods bear the out-of-quota rate, which is substantially higher. Two identical shipments can thus cost very different amounts depending on whether a quota share covers them.

Access to quota shares is administered by the Federal Office for Agriculture, under rules that vary by product — auction, allocation in proportion to purchases of Swiss production, or first come first served. For a regular food importer, mastering this mechanism weighs more on the margin than the rate itself.

The gross-weight calculation

Where a duty applies, Switzerland levies it as a rule on the gross weight of the consignment — the goods together with their packaging. Most other countries charge duty as a percentage of the value of the goods. This difference in method is behind the bulk of the estimation errors made by companies importing into Switzerland for the first time.

Two practical consequences. At equal value, weight drives the cost: two shipments invoiced at the same amount can bear very different duties. And any online calculator built for the European Union, which reasons in percentage of invoiced value, returns a wrong figure for Switzerland.

Worked example

A company imports two shipments from France, of identical value: CHF 12,000 of mechanical parts on one side, CHF 12,000 of cheese on the other. Each weighs 400 kg gross; transport and insurance cost CHF 600 and clearance CHF 200.

The reading is clear. On the industrial field, the customs duty is gone and only VAT remains — recoverable for a registered business. On the agricultural field, the duty adds to the cost AND enters the VAT base: it is taxed a second time.

Permits and import authorisations

The abolition of duties changed nothing about non-tariff restrictions — and this is the point companies most often discover at the border rather than upstream. Some goods require an authorisation before importation, independently of any customs duty.

• General import permit (GIP/PGI) for agricultural products under quota: without it, no access to the in-quota rate. See our guide to the Swiss general import permit.
• Veterinary controls for products of animal origin, with the provenance restriction recalled above.
• Phytosanitary controls for plants, seeds and seedlings.
• Specific authorisations for goods under surveillance: medicines, weapons, dual-use goods, protected species.

These obligations attach to the tariff heading of the goods. That is why tariff classification remains decisive even on a zero-duty field: it no longer decides the amount, but it decides the legality of the operation.

Allowances: per product, per value, per consignment

Three allowance regimes coexist and are routinely confused. They target neither the same people nor the same situations.

For a business, only the CHF 5 rule is relevant, and it waives collection, never declaration. The quantitative allowances and the value allowance belong to traveller traffic and apply to no commercial import.

Import VAT is still due

Whatever the duty rate, import VAT is collected by the FOCBS at clearance: 8.1 % at the standard rate, 2.6 % for foodstuffs, non-alcoholic beverages, books and medicines, 3.8 % for accommodation.

Its base is not limited to the invoice: it comprises the consideration, the costs of carriage to the place of destination in Switzerland — transport, insurance, clearance — and any customs duties. A registered business recovers this VAT as input tax and can, under conditions, defer its payment. The general regime, rates and registration are covered in our guide to VAT in Switzerland.

A foreign company that acts as importer of record and supplies goods on Swiss territory becomes liable to Swiss VAT once its worldwide turnover reaches CHF 100,000, and must then appoint a tax representative in Switzerland.

Goods that leave again: temporary importation

Goods meant to leave Swiss territory after a limited stay — trade fair material, machines on trial, professional equipment, rented goods — fall under the temporary admission regime. Charges are then not collected definitively but secured, and the goods must be re-exported within the allotted period.

This regime follows its own rules on security, deadlines and discharge, detailed in our guide to temporary importation into Switzerland.

FAQ: Swiss customs duties

Are there still customs duties in Switzerland?

Yes, but only on agricultural products. Since 1 January 2024, import duties are zero on all industrial products — HS chapters 25 to 97, whatever their origin. Goods in chapters 1 to 24 — animals, meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables, cereals, beverages, tobacco — plus certain agricultural headings in chapters 35 and 38 remain subject to duties levied by weight.

How much is import duty in Switzerland?

For industrial products, nothing: the rate is zero since 2024. For agricultural products, the duty is set in francs per 100 kg gross for each tariff heading and depends on whether a tariff quota share covers the import — the out-of-quota rate is markedly higher than the in-quota rate. Import VAT at 8.1 % remains due in all cases, on a base that includes the duty itself.

What is a Swiss tariff quota?

A defined volume of agricultural goods that can be imported at a reduced rate. Beyond that volume, the same goods bear the substantially higher out-of-quota rate. Quota shares are administered by the Federal Office for Agriculture and allocated differently by product. For a food importer, this mechanism often weighs more on the margin than the rate itself.

What can you bring into Switzerland duty-free?

A traveller benefits from quantitative allowances of 1 kg of meat and meat preparations, 5 litres of alcoholic beverages up to 18 % vol. or 1 litre above, and 250 cigarettes or 250 g of other manufactured tobacco, once per person and per day, plus a value allowance of CHF 150 per person per day. Businesses have no value allowance: only tax amounts below CHF 5 are not collected.

What are the prohibited items to import into Switzerland?

The strictest rule concerns products of animal origin: their importation is only permitted from EU member states, Iceland, Northern Ireland and Norway, and is prohibited from any other country regardless of quantity. Other goods — medicines, weapons, dual-use goods, protected species, certain plants — are not prohibited but require specific authorisations attached to their tariff heading.

Do I need a permit to import food into Switzerland?

Commercial imports of most agricultural products under tariff quota require a general import permit (GIP/PGI), without which the in-quota rate is inaccessible. Products of animal origin additionally require veterinary control and an authorised provenance; plants require phytosanitary control. These obligations exist independently of the customs duty and survive even where the duty is zero.

Sources

• FOCBS — Customs duties: assessment bases
• FOCBS — Abolition of industrial tariffs, 1 January 2024
• SECO — Abolition of industrial tariffs
• FOCBS — Duty-free allowances: foodstuffs, alcohol and tobacco
• FOCBS — CHF 150 tax-free limit
• Tares — Swiss customs tariff online
• Federal Office for Agriculture — Customs tariff and tariff quotas