Switzerland: Swiss Tax Authority announced guidance for VAT platform taxation obligations of the Swiss VAT Act

On 9 July 2024, the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (Eidgenössische Steuerverwaltung, ESTV) published a draft version of its guidance on platform taxation under Article 20a of the Value Added Tax Act (MWSTG). The amendment for the VAT Act is scheduled to enter into force on 1 January 2025. The draft guidance would establish that where an electronic platform brings together a seller and a buyer and the contract is concluded on the platform, the platform operator is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. 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.