Foreign taxable persons
Foreign taxable persons without a domicile or place of business on Swiss territory must appoint a representative to perform their procedural obligations who has his domicile or place of business on Swiss territory. A natural person or legal entity with a place of residence or business in Switzerland is recognised as a tax representative. As such, the representative does not necessarily need to be a fiduciary, a lawyer or a member of a specific occupational group; it can also be a private individual. An online registration without the appointment of a Swiss tax representative is not possible.
- As of 1 January 2018, all companies that are domiciled in Switzerland or that provide supply of goods or supply of services in Switzerland will become liable to VAT, if they generate a worldwide turnover of at least CHF 100 000 p. a. resulting from taxable or zero-rated supplies.
- Whoever carries on a business, i.e. independently performs a professional or commercial activity with the aim of sustainable income from supplies and acts vis-à-vis other persons under his own name is in principle liable to tax. This also applies to companies based abroad which operate in Switzerland.
- Whoever generates an annual turnover of less than CHF 100 000 from taxable or zero-rated supplies is exempted from tax unless he or she waives exemption from tax liability and enters voluntary in the register of taxable persons.
- More detailed information on tax liability in the case of value added tax can be found in this downloadable PDF-file.
- Companies domiciled abroad which exclusively provide supplies that are tax exempted or supplies of services subject to reverse charge on Swiss territory are – among others – exempt from tax liability.
- For any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.
- VAT and mail-order trade
Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS)