Determining the customs value: what Switzerland treats as your vehicle's value
By Anna Katharina Finsler, Managing Director, Finsler Customs GmbH · Last updated:
In short: The customs value is the price actually paid, converted at the BAZG rate of the day. If the foreign VAT is shown on the invoice and refunded on export, the net price counts. Transport costs up to the border are added; from that sum come 4 % vehicle tax and 8.1 % import VAT.
What the customs value is
Every charge on import hangs on a single figure: the customs value. It is the transaction value — what you actually pay the seller, not the list price, not a valuation guide figure and not what an appraiser considers reasonable. A car advertised at EUR 30,000 that changes hands for EUR 27,500 is cleared at EUR 27,500. The purchase contract or the invoice proves it.
From the customs value follow:
| Charge | Rate | On what |
|---|---|---|
| Customs duty | CHF 0 | industrial tariffs abolished on 1 January 2024 |
| Automobilsteuer (vehicle tax) | 4 % | customs value plus transport to the border |
| Import VAT | 8.1 % | customs value plus transport plus vehicle tax |
| Fee for inspection report 13.20 A | CHF 5 to 30 | CHF 20 normally (point 9.12 GebV-BAZG); CHF 5 if the declarant enters the Stammnummer themselves (point 9.22) — that is how it runs on an order through us; CHF 30 outside customs assessment (point 9.15) |
That import VAT is charged on top of the vehicle tax is set out in article 54 paragraph 3 of the Swiss VAT act: the taxable base includes the taxes, duties and other charges owed outside the country and by reason of the import. Letter b of the same provision pulls in the transport costs — which is why a long haul raises not only the transport bill but the charges levied on it.
What is deducted — and what is not
If you buy from a dealer who shows the VAT and the vehicle is properly exported, that tax falls away. The net price is then the customs value. Three cases have to be kept apart:
| Type of sale | What the advert says | Customs value |
|---|---|---|
| Dealer, VAT shown | «VAT deductible», or a net price | price without the foreign VAT |
| Dealer, margin scheme | «differenzbesteuert», «§ 25a UStG» | the whole price — there is nothing to deduct |
| Private sale | seller: private | the whole price |
The difference is not small change. On a EUR 30,000 car from Germany, «VAT deductible» and «margin scheme» are about CHF 4,800 of customs value apart, and a good CHF 580 in charges. Tick the wrong box in the calculator and you find out at the border. More on this in the guide VAT refund on car exports.
The exchange rate: not your bank's
The purchase price is in euros, zloty or krona — the customs value in francs. The conversion does not use your bank's rate or a comparison site's, but the official BAZG exchange rate. The Swiss Federal Office for Customs and Border Security publishes it every morning at 07:00; a day's rate applies to the following day's clearances, and across a weekend to several days.
Two things are easy to miss:
- The unit. Not every currency is quoted per unit. The BAZG lists «100 PLN», «100 CZK» and «1000 HUF». Take the rate at face value and you are out by a factor of a hundred.
- The date. What counts is the rate on the day of the customs declaration, not the day of the purchase contract. Three to six weeks usually pass between quote and clearance — the rate moves in that time, and the charges with it.
Our import calculator works with exactly these rates and updates them daily. Next to the customs value it shows which rate, from which day, was used — so you can check the quote yourself.
When there is no purchase price
Not every import has a purchase contract. An inherited vehicle, a gift or a car from your own fleet has no transaction value. The BAZG then sets the value at what a comparable vehicle costs in Switzerland, less the import charges. In practice: prepare valuation-guide or market-value evidence. With household removal goods the charges fall away entirely if every condition is met — the value then only matters for the paperwork.
A worked example
Estate car from Munich, dealer, VAT deductible, EUR 30,000 gross, driven across under its own power:
| Step | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Gross price | — | EUR 30,000 |
| less 19 % German VAT | 30,000 ÷ 1.19 | EUR 25,210 |
| Customs value, rate 0.95 | 25,210 × 0.95 | CHF 23,950 |
| Transport to the border | — | CHF 850 |
| Base for the vehicle tax | 23,950 + 850 | CHF 24,800 |
| Vehicle tax 4 % | 24,800 × 0.04 | CHF 992 |
| Base for import VAT | 24,800 + 992 + 5 | CHF 25,797 |
| Import VAT 8.1 % | 25,797 × 0.081 | CHF 2,090 |
The figures are rounded and serve as an illustration; the BAZG assessment is what counts. The calculator applies the actual rate and the actual distance for your vehicle.
More information
- Import calculator — duty, vehicle tax, VAT and CO₂
- Guides on importing a car into Switzerland
- Frequently asked questions
- About Finsler Customs
- Contact and advice
- Car import Switzerland — start here
Import by country of origin
- Importing a car from Germany into Switzerland
- Importing a car from Austria into Switzerland
- Import a car from France into Switzerland
- Import a car from Italy to Switzerland
- Import a car from the Netherlands into Switzerland
- Import a car from Belgium to Switzerland
- Importing a car from Luxembourg into Switzerland
- Importing a car from Czechia into Switzerland
- Importing a car from Poland into Switzerland
- Import a car from Sweden into Switzerland
- Import a car from Norway to Switzerland