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Swiss VAT Law Novelties 2017

February 17, 2017 | Legal Alert

Swiss VAT Law Novelties 2017

Last year, the Swiss Parliament introduced some amendments to the VAT Law. The revised Swiss Value Added Tax (VAT) Law shall enter in force on January 1st, 2018 and is expected to affect around 30,000 foreign businesses that will have to register as VAT payers in Switzerland.

The CHF 100,000 threshold will remain unchanged, but will now apply to global turnover along with turnover generated in Switzerland.

Thus, any non-Swiss established businesses with the registered global turnover exceeding CHF 100,000 will have to register for Swiss VAT and will have to pay Swiss VAT on the first taxable turnover generated in Switzerland.

The turnover threshold for businesses established in Switzerland will be calculated including their global turnover. Therefore, Swiss businesses mostly generating income abroad but having a total turnover of over CHF 100,000 will be obliged to register for Swiss VAT.
Swiss VAT Law Novelties 2017
Vendors supplying low-value goods to the Swiss territory from outside Switzerland will be subject to Swiss VAT registration and payment, if their revenue generated in Switzerland exceeds the annual CHF 100.000 threshold. The purpose of this measure is to ensure equal competitiveness with local suppliers. It should also be noted that suppliers with global revenues exceeding CHF 100,000 will be subject to Swiss VAT starting January 2017.
Considering the major changes in the Swiss VAT Law, foreign suppliers and companies domiciled in Switzerland as well as branches with foreign activity will have to take some precautions, in particular:
– to verify whether they are obliged to register for Swiss VAT under the new regulations.
– if so, to adjust their internal processes, in particular IT, customer/supplier master data and end-consumer prices (if necessary).

Experts say that the revised Swiss VAT Law will increase the number of registrations, primarily for foreign non-established companies as well as for some established entities.

If you are not sure whether your company in Switzerland is subject to VAT starting next year, do not hesitate to send us an inquiry to [email protected]


Legal disclaimer. This article does not constitute legal advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. The article should be used for informational purposes only.
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