Spain → Switzerland customs: how an import clears

Our team in Castellar del Vallès gets the Spanish export declaration filed before the truck departs. The declaration itself is lodged by a licensed customs agent we instruct; we coordinate it end to end, so you deal with one company and one file.

The commercial invoice, packing list, HS codes, and origin documents you supply feed into the declaration. The output is an MRN (Movement Reference Number) that tracks the load across the EU border.

Typical routing is Barcelona → Lyon → Geneva or Barcelona → Milan → Chiasso, depending on destination. The truck is in transit-mode across France or Italy (depending on routing); no additional customs stops until the Swiss border.

Switzerland is not in the EU customs union, so every Spain → Switzerland shipment needs a Swiss import declaration lodged with the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (BAZG/OFDF), the authority that receives goods declarations on import into Switzerland. At the Swiss border (Chiasso, Geneva, or Basel depending on route) that declaration is filed by our authorized Swiss broker partner — not by SAVA directly. They hold the Swiss EORI equivalent and are registered with Swiss customs.

On a Spain → Switzerland import, Swiss import VAT (MwSt/TVA/IVA) is declared at the standard rate of 8.1% published by the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (ESTV/AFC) — rate checked on 17 September 2026 — together with any applicable duties. If your Swiss consignee is VAT-registered, they typically reclaim the MwSt; the mechanics of that are between them and the Swiss authorities.

Most packaged goods clear without physical inspection. SPS goods, ADR, and flagged high-value loads can be pulled for checks.

Once cleared, the truck delivers to the Swiss consignee. Zurich, Geneva, Basel, and Bern are our primary destinations; other Swiss cantons available on request.

The closed customs file — MRN cleared, Swiss import declared — is filed back with you for your records.

Since 1 January 2024 Switzerland has abolished import duty on industrial goods — chapters 25 to 97 of the customs tariff, with narrow exceptions in chapters 35 and 38 that are classified as agricultural. For most palletised industrial freight the Swiss import duty is now zero, whatever the origin of the goods.

That changes which paperwork still earns its keep. Swiss customs states that a proof of preferential origin is not required when it is already known at the import stage that the goods will stay in Switzerland. It is still required when your consignee intends to re-export them to a free-trade partner and needs the proof issued on export. So the question is not “Switzerland or not” — it is what your customer will do with the goods afterwards.

What has not changed: the Spanish export declaration is still mandatory, and Swiss import VAT still applies at the standard rate of 8.1% on the customs value. Several Spanish-language guides still quote 7.7%, which has been out of date since 2024.