Shopping Outside Switzerland - VAT return
Albert Bushnell Hart: "Taxation is the price which civilized communities pay for the opportunity of remaining civilized."
In my first year in Switzerland, I’ve spent a lot of time travelling back to the UK and Latvia. Every time I was travelling I was trying to do my shopping there, as it was more familiar as well as much cheaper. There is quite a lot of official information about tax-free, but at the same time, it still wasn’t absolutely clear. Only recently I’ve understood the rules completely and I am willing to share it with you.
At the moment of shopping overseas.
First of all, you need to be aware that you need to ask for a Tax-Free Form to reclaim the VAT. In most of the shops, you will need to present your Swiss ID or ID and Permit Card. Important, last time in the shop they took my Permit Card as ID and it was wrong. So if you are not Swiss present your ID and Residency permit.
Then, there is a minimum purchase you need to make in one shop to be able to ask for a Tax-Free Form. The best are Germany and the UK, the minimum is around CHF 20. In Italy, for example, the minimum purchase is around CHF180. So, it is worth double-checking in advance what are the requirements in the country you’re planning to shop.
Before crossing the border.
You need to fill in your Tax-Free form, hence on my last trip to Italy the shop assistant did everything and I had to only sign it. Then, you need to declare your goods if you are bringing more than CHF 300 / person or exceeding the amount of allowed import for food and beverage. And here the fun begins.
First of all, when you calculate the value of your goods, you need to calculate the amount without foreign VAT and then don’t forget to convert to CHF. Example: you bought a dress in Germany for CHF 45, so 45-19% of German VAT = EUR 36.45 =>CHF 40 Remember that for food every country has reduced rates, which are usually around 2-3%.
Secondly, you need to be aware what are the limits for food and beverage imports. You can find the full list here.
And finally, the point, which I’ve understood only now. Even if you are travelling with someone and together you can bring goods, which value is CHF 600 (CHF 300 / person) without declaring, once the value of 1 item is more than CHF 300, you have to declare it and pay Swiss VAT, even if the total you are under CHF 600.
You can check all rules in QuickZoll App and there you can make all calculations and payments. Very convenient and well explained.
