Switzerland: Swiss Tax Authority adopted guidance for VAT platform taxation obligations under Swiss VAT Act

On 28 January 2025, the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (ESTV) published its guidance on platform taxation under Article 20a of the Value Added Tax Act (MWSTG). The VAT obligation entered into force on 1 January 2025. The guidance establishes that where an electronic platform brings together a seller and a buyer and the contract is concluded on the platform, the platform operator is deemed to be the supplier for VAT purposes. This creates two distinct supplies. The first is from the seller to the platform operator (exempt under Article 23(2)(13) MWSTG). The second is a taxable supply from the platform operator to the buyer. The guidance provides clarification on the reporting obligations for domestic and foreign platforms, including options for voluntary taxation and switching to annual VAT accounting. It also confirms that, contrary to the original draft, platform operators will not be subject to automatic information-sharing obligations nor will reconciliation of declared sales and import VAT be required at the time of import. The tax will apply to contracts entered into on or after 1 January 2025. For platform operators delivering low-value goods into Switzerland, the obligation to register for VAT begins from that date if they exceeded CHF 100’000 in such deliveries during the preceding 12 months and are expected to continue doing so.