VAT registration in Switzerland for your online store
VAT registration in Switzerland, returns filed in Switzerland and reconciliation with your accounts in Spain. Fiscal representative, EORI and EPR when needed.
In short
To sell from stock in Switzerland you need a VAT number in Switzerland and you must file your returns there. The service includes registration and tax compliance in Switzerland: periodic returns, EC sales lists, Intrastat and whatever its authority requires.
Standard VAT rate in Switzerland: 8,1% (reduced: 3.8% and 2.6%). A foreign business must register in Switzerland as soon as it sells there if its worldwide turnover exceeds 100,000 francs, and since 2025 platforms are liable for the VAT on the sales they facilitate.
When you need a VAT number in Switzerland
If you are in any of these situations, you need to register before the first sale:
- You hold goods in Switzerland and sell from there to its customers: no OSS applies there.
- You import in Switzerland in your own name and want to recover the import VAT.
- You sell to consumers in Switzerland above the thresholds or outside the simplified schemes.
- You sell through your own Shopify store, not only through a marketplace that declares on your behalf.
VAT in Switzerland at a glance
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
|---|---|
| Standard VAT rate | 8,1 % |
| Reduced rates | 3.8% and 2.6% |
| Where you register | With the Federal Tax Administration (FTA/ESTV), necessarily through a fiscal representative domiciled in Switzerland and with a bank guarantee. |
| What number you get | Swiss VAT number (CHE, with the MWST/TVA suffix) |
| What you file | Quarterly VAT return. |
| Transactions with other countries | No intra-EU transactions: goods enter as imports, with import VAT and customs duties. |
| Fiscal representative | Mandatory for every foreign business; included in the service. |
| Packaging and EPR | Switzerland has no general packaging EPR; electrical equipment and batteries carry advance recycling fees. Ask us about your case. |
Data as of September 2026. Rates and deadlines are confirmed for your case before anything is filed.
What's included
VAT registration in Switzerland
With the Federal Tax Administration (FTA/ESTV), necessarily through a fiscal representative domiciled in Switzerland and with a bank guarantee. File preparation, submission and follow-up until you have the number.
Returns on time
Quarterly VAT return. Filed on time, with the amount notified before each payment.
Import and customs
Goods enter in Switzerland as imports: EORI, import VAT and their booking in Spain.
Fiscal representative and EORI
Mandatory for every foreign business; included in the service. If you import, also the EORI and Intrastat.
Packaging and EPR
Switzerland has no general packaging EPR; electrical equipment and batteries carry advance recycling fees. Ask us about your case. More about EPR.
Tax demands and regularisations
If letters arrive from the authority in Switzerland, they are handled in its language. If you have been selling for a while without registering, the late returns are filed.
How we start
You write to us or book a call
What you sell, how your stock gets in Switzerland and which channels you sell through there.
Registration
VAT registration in Switzerland and, where applicable, fiscal representative, EORI and EPR registrations.
Compliance
Every return on time, reconciled with your accounts in Spain, and a heads-up on whatever is needed.
Other countries with VAT registration
How VAT registration in another country works · OSS and IOSS
Frequently asked questions
When do I have to register for Swiss VAT?
From the first taxable sale in Switzerland if your worldwide turnover exceeds 100,000 francs a year. For small shipments there are special rules based on import VAT.
Do I need a fiscal representative in Switzerland?
Yes, always: a foreign business registers through a representative domiciled in Switzerland and provides a guarantee. Both are included.
Can I declare sales from my stock in Switzerland through OSS?
No. OSS is an EU scheme and Switzerland is not part of it.
I've been selling in Switzerland for a while without a VAT number. What do I do?
Regularise it as soon as possible: the registration, the late returns and the replies to tax demands are filed. The longer you wait, the higher the surcharges; and marketplaces end up pulling your stock.
Do you also keep the accounts in Spain?
Yes. Your store's accounting and taxes in Spain and the tax compliance in Switzerland go through the same point of contact, so what is declared in both countries reconciles.
Tell us about your store
Book a 15-minute call or write to us. We'll tell you what you need: VAT registration in whichever country, OSS and IOSS, EPR, US sales tax or your store's accounting. No obligation.