Refund procedure for Swiss VAT
Under certain conditions, companies based abroad can claim a VAT refund on business-related expenses incurred in Switzerland through the so-called "VAT refund procedure." The following conditions must be met:
- The company is based abroad
- The company does not provide any taxable services in Switzerland and is not registered in the Swiss VAT register
- The country in which the company is domiciled grants Switzerland reciprocity
In principle, input tax on expenses used for business purposes can be refunded. Typically, input tax is refunded on the following expenses, among others:
- Travel expenses such as hotel, meals and car rental
- Conferences
Please note: Refundable taxes will only be refunded if the amount reaches at least CHF 500 in a calendar year.
The application must be submitted between January and December of the year following the year in which the expenses were incurred (the invoice date is generally decisive).
Example: For expenses incurred in year n, a VAT refund application can be submitted from January 1 to June 30, n 1. This deadline cannot be extended. No entitlement to reimbursement exists for invoices for advance or on-account payments. A definitive final invoice is required after the service has been provided. Example: A foreign company exhibits at a trade fair in Switzerland. The trade fair takes place in June 2016. The trade fair organizer sent the foreign company an on-account invoice in November 2015. Since the trade fair does not take place until June 2016, the service has not yet been provided. After the trade fair has taken place, the taxes paid on the on-account invoice can also be claimed upon submission of the final invoice in the 2016 reimbursement period (to be submitted in the following year, 2017).
1. Please send us the following documents by post:
- Original signed application form 1222 (link to form included)
- Certificate from your local tax authority proving your company's entrepreneurial status (most tax authorities have their own pre-printed forms with the relevant information)
- Original invoices (correct invoices must be presented, stating the recipient of the service, the service provider, and the type of service; mere receipts do not authorize reimbursement)
- Your company's bank details for VAT refund
2. We will review the documents submitted to us for compliance and legal validity. If there are any ambiguities or further questions, we will contact you. If the documents are complete and correct, we will prepare the VAT refund application based on your documents and submit it to the Federal Tax Administration (FTA), VAT Office (HA VAT) by the deadline.
3. The processing time by the Federal Tax Administration (FTA, HA VAT) can vary greatly. While some applications are approved and paid out within just a few weeks, in others it can take up to six months. However, the Federal Tax Administration (FTA, HA) is obligated to pay late payment interest starting from the 181st day after the application is submitted. For this reason, applications are generally processed within six months (180 days).
4. As soon as we receive the decision from the Federal Tax Administration (FTA, HA VAT), we will review it. If the refund amount has not been fully approved, we will review whether this was justified and take the necessary steps. If the application is fully approved, no further action is necessary. After receiving the decision, it usually takes no longer than 10 days for the amount accepted by the Federal Tax Administration (FTA, HA VAT) to be paid out. As soon as the money is credited to our account, we will prepare the invoice and deduct our fee directly from the refund amount. We will then immediately transfer the remaining balance to the bank account you specified.
As your tax representative, we offer the following services:
- We compile the relevant documents for you and submit them to the authorities
- We check the relevant invoices for their formal correctness
- We support you in correcting formally incorrect documents as far as possible
- We are reviewing the refund decision of the Federal Tax Administration (FTA)
- We will forward the refund amount transferred to us by the FTA immediately
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