I have searched this topic and read that there is a limit of 300 CHF and one kilo meat/butter/cream. Now I'm not sure if these limits are per person or car? Per adult person or when I'm grocery shopping with my kids I can go over the limit of 1 kgs as they get an extra kg. clarification from shopping veterans appreciated.

Per person. Here's everything well explained.
http://www.ezv.admin.ch/zollinfo_pri...x.html?lang=en

It's per person so if you go with your husband and 2 kids you can bring 4kgs of meat.
The 300 chf limit is cumulative provided that one single item is not more than 300 chf.
For example you could but two single beds at 300 chf each ( two persons allowance) but you can't buy a double bed for 600 chf as it can't be seperated.

Wow. That is an excellent news! Triple fun then!!!

You CAN buy it, but you are obliged to declare it and pay Swiss VAT (8%) when you cross the border.

Now which supermarkets are your favourite? I'm a bit picky about our meat and would like to also visit a nice gourmet butcher there. Thx in advance

And duty is on the full 600CHF. No deduction. Note that you can however buy (travelling on your own) for example 2kg of meat and you only pay duty on the extra 1kg.

You can also, in my experience and from information given to me by customs, have joints of meat that are over 1kg, so long as your group doesn't exceed the overall allowance. Some people on this site dispute this, but I can't help that.

That's good to know as I assumed each meat bag can't be over one kg (following the same concept of 300 CHF per item).

DAVID in Mulhouse - award winning butcher - incredibly good quality product. Then Henner for Wine.

We just played dumb and threw a pile of receipts at the customs guy. He gave us far more than our allowance and then under-charged us the import duty. IMHO there is no point trying to cheat them.

Yes I should have made that clear although given that she asking about duty free allowances I assumed she would understand that forgetting that not everyone is used yo tax free shopping.

It's also worth pointing out that there is a minimum spend in France before you can claim the tax back ( 175€ I think unless it's changed recently) whereas in Germany there is no limit so you can claim it for every purchase however small ( if you can be bothered)

It depends where you'll be living. The options in France or Germany for people living in Basel are completely different from the ones available in Vaud or Geneva.

Since you'll be living in Vaud I don't really think Mulhouse is a viable option but depending on your exact location there are different possibiliies available to you.

Bizarrely the meat can be added together so you can buy 1.5 kg of steak plus a 1.5 kg chicken and as long as the total doesn't exceed your allowance that's fine. I think because it could be divided up and still be useable unlike a double bed for example.

I didn't know I could claim the tax back and it's worth it for bigger items. Very useful thanks.

We will be in Vaud. Our temp housing, where hubby at mo is, is in Morges. I'm going back and forth every couple of weeks till we find a place and move. We are looking at houses between St-Sulpice and Nyon (unfortunately we expanded the area of our search again but that is a separate topic). I was planning to go to the shops behind Geneva airport; however, am all ears for other/better options.

The ones behind Geneva airport are not awfully nice supermarkets although the large LeClerc has been done up recently and is supposed to be much better now.

The Intermarche at St Genis ( a bit further on from Fernay Voltaire)is not bad and there is Jim's British store near there if you like British food. ( bacon, sausages etc).

Otherwise based on that location i's say that Divonne les Bains would be your nearest place. I don't know what the shops there are like at all but there's a Carrrefour and another supermarket ( I forget the name now).

Never been in the Supermarkets there but the Sunday market is superb. The spice stall, nougat stall and fish section are the stand out ones to visit.

Thx. Which city has the market?

There's a large Migros in Thoiry, part of a small shopping centre that has quite a few other shops (H&M, le Halle, ETAM, etc.).... and a Picard just across the road if you're looking for decent frozen stuff.

Divonne les Bains has the excellent Sunday market.
There are often mobile customs patrols in that area trying to catch people on the way back from Divonne so make sure you stick you the limits or declare any extra.

Oh god, I love going to crowded markets on Sundays and I thought I can only hike and bike on Sundays in Switzerland! Sunday shopping sorted!

You guys are awesome source of information! Thank you!

Carrefour in Divonne is fantastic, great selection, delicious sushi counter, have a whole area at the back of the store selling other countries products

To me the best one is the Carrefour in Segny. It's probably the biggest around and it gives a wide variety of choices. For a smaller one you should go to the Carrefour in Divonne which is only a few years old and pretty well done.