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Vehicle import

Vehicle import

When importing a vehicle to Switzerland for personal use, you will be faced with one of these situations:

  • You've owned your vehicle for less than six months. You will thus have to pay import duty.
  • You've owned your vehicle for more than six months. In this case, you will not pay import duty.

In both of the above cases, the vehicle must be registered with the customs office from the day it enters Switzerland. If you don’t have a professional removal company import your car into Switzerland, we recommend enquiring with the Customs Information Office as to what the precise procedures are, what documentation will be required, and what the opening times of the customs point are through which you are bringing your car into the country.

Useful resources:

  • Telephone number and opening hours “Customs Information Office”

    Phone:                      +41 58 467 15 15
    Opening hours:         Monday to Friday, 8am to 11.30am and 1.30pm to 5pm

 

If you wish to bring your vehicle into Switzerland before you have registered with the local authorities, you need to enter the country via a manned border crossing during opening times and request Form 15.25 for a preliminary registration. You then have 2 working days to register your vehicle at an Inland Customs Office that processes trading goods.

For the Canton and city of Zurich, please contact: 

Zollstelle Embrach
Embraport 1
8424 Embrach

Phone: +41 58 481 30 80 (Customs office)
Email: zentrale.zuerich-flughafen-zi@ezv.admin.ch

Opening times: Monday - Friday: 08.00 - 11.30 / 13.00 - 16.00

 When you register with the Inland Customs Office, you will need to bring the following documents:

  • Invoice and/or purchase contract for the vehicle
  • Vehicle registration certificate (even if cancelled already. For UK citizens: this is your V5C log book)
  • Personal identity documents (e.g. passport, ID card)
  • Registration certificate (for proof of address)
  • Copy of your work contract
  • Copy of your rental agreement
  • If applicable: Form 15.25
  • Form 18.44, which the Domestic Customs Office can issue for you (note that if you have additional items arriving at a later point for your move to Switzerland, you will need to declare your car as “partial import”)
  • If applicable, an import declaration (e-dec registration) – this can also be issued by the Inland Customs Office
  • A certificate/proof of origin from the seller of the vehicle, if available

 

Vehicle owned for less than six months

If you have owned your vehicle for less than six months, you will have to pay import duty when importing it to Switzerland. You will need to provide official documentation confirming the value of the car and its country of origin, and possibly a certificate of compliance.

You will be subject to four taxes:

Customs duties based on the weight of the vehicle and engine capacity. So be sure to remove all baggage and non-standard accessories before the vehicle is weighed. For example, the owner of a 1,500-kg car with less than a 3-litre engine capacity will pay CHF 210 Swiss in customs duties. A 2,000-kg car with more than a 3-litre engine capacity will cost 300 CHF Swiss. Motorcycles pay a set duty of CHF 37 Swiss. EFTA countries are exempt from customs duties.A consumption tax amounting to 4% of the vehicle's worth is collected on all vehicles. 7.7% VAT is also added for all vehicles.And, finally, a fee of CHF 20 is charged for Form 13.20 A - a document required for vehicle registration in Switzerland. Example: importing a BMW 540i from Germany worth CHF 100,000 (price of a new car with options and shipping to Switzerland), 4-litre capacity, 1,705 kg:

Duty to be paid on the Import of a BMW 540i

There is no custom duty since Germany is a member of EFTA

4 % consumption tax   4'000 CHF
7.7 % VAT   7'700 CHF
Total 11'700 CHF

In this example, the import costs represent approximately 12% of the vehicle's worth.

 

Vehicle owned for more than six months

If you've owned your vehicle for more than six months, it is considered to be part of your personal effects. You simply have to fill in a clearance request form for moving purposes and it will be exempt from import duty and VAT. The car is reserved for your personal use and cannot be loaned, rented or sold to a third party in Switzerland for a period of one year from the import date. If you do not comply with this condition (by selling your car, for example), customs will charge you retroactive import duty. The amount is determined on a sliding scale according to the age of your vehicle.

 

After the registration with the customs office

You have the right to drive your car with foreign plates for a maximum of one year. Make sure that you are legally insured to drive in Switzerland during this period.
About a month after you import your car, you will receive a letter from the motor registration office advising you that within a year your car will have to pass the official motor-vehicle inspection. The proper authority for this inspection is your canton of residence. Each canton has an Automobile Service that conducts technical inspections and issues vehicle registrations.

Once your car has passed the test, you will have to pay the Swiss road tax, which is anywhere from CHF 100 to 700 depending on your engine capacity. You will also have to pay for insurance and Swiss licence plates.

Useful resources: