Swiss VAT refund procedure
Under certain conditions, companies based abroad can apply for a refund of value-added tax (VAT) on expenses incurred in Switzerland for business purposes in the so-called “VAT refund procedure”. The following conditions must be met:
- The company is domiciled abroad
- The company does not make any taxable supplies in Switzerland and is not entered in the Swiss VAT register
- The country in which the company is domiciled grants Switzerland reciprocal rights
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
Attention: Refundable taxes are only reimbursed if they amount to at least CHF 500 in a calendar year.
The application must be submitted between January and December of the following year in which the expenses were incurred (the invoice date is generally decisive).
Example: For expenses incurred in year n, the application for reimbursement of value added tax (VAT) can be submitted from January 1 to June 30 n+1. This period cannot be extended.
There is no entitlement to reimbursement for invoices for advance payments and payments on account. A definitive final invoice is required after the service has been received.
Example
A foreign company exhibits at a trade fair in Switzerland. This takes place in June 2016. The trade fair organizer sent the foreign company an invoice on account in November 2015.
As the trade fair does not take place until June 2016, the service has not yet been received. Once the trade fair has been held, the taxes paid on the invoice on account can also be claimed in the 2016 remuneration period (to be submitted in the following year 2017) when the final invoice is submitted.
1. send us the following documents by post:
- Original signed application form 1222 (Link to form)
- Certificate from your local tax authority proving the entrepreneurial status of your company (most tax authorities have their own pre-printed forms with the relevant details)
- Original invoices (correct invoices stating the recipient of the service, service provider and type of service must be provided, mere receipts do not authorize a refund)
- Bank details of your company for the refund of VAT
2. we check the documents provided to us for conformity and legal validity. We will contact you if there are any uncertainties or queries. If the documents are complete and correct, we will prepare the VAT refund application on the basis of your documents and submit it to the Federal Tax Administration, FTA, VAT department by the deadline.
3. The processing time by the FTA, HA VAT can vary greatly. While some applications are confirmed and paid out after just a few weeks, in other cases it can take up to six months. However, the FTA, HA is obliged to pay interest on arrears from the 181st day since the application was submitted. For this reason, applications are generally processed within six months (180 days).
4. as soon as we have received the decision from the FTA, HA MWST, we will review it. If the refund amount has not been approved in full, we will check whether this was justified and take the necessary measures. If the application is approved in full, no further measures are necessary.
After receipt of the decision, it usually takes no longer than 10 days for the amount accepted by the FTA, HA MWST to be paid out. As soon as the money is credited to our account, we draw up the statement and deduct our fee directly from the refund amount. We will then immediately transfer the remaining balance to the bank account you have 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 formal accuracy
- We support you in correcting formally incorrect receipts as far as possible
- We check the refund decision of the Federal Tax Administration (FTA)
- We forward the refund amount transferred to us by the FTA to you without delay
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