Dear members,

I work for a company that imports organic honey packed in jars into Switzerland. I couldn't find any info on the VAT regulations regarding imported food, and my employer is sure that it should be taxed at the regular (7.7%) rate.
Should imported honey be taxed at 2.5% on import, and should the sales tax on it be 2.5% as well?

Thanks in advance.

2,5% all the way.

(I do not know if there is an extra tax on importing large quantities)

Thank you for the quick reply. I would assume as well. Is there any way I can find info on this regulation online, to show him as proof?

AFAIK, there is no separate 'Import VAT'. You pay the regular VAT applicable for the particular product PLUS import (Customs) Duty based on weight.

You can find customs duties based on weight at www.tares.ch

The results page also displays VAT applicable.

VAT is probably the smallest of your problems.

Since Montenegro isn't part of the EU (yet) you may well be out of luck as by default, import of animal products from outside of the EU is forbidden. So at the very least you'll probably need satisfy additional requirements, including tests for lack of certain pesticides and antibiotics in the honey.

Contact the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office for more detailed and reliable info. They should have no problem understanding your English.

Besides, there's no sales tax in Switzerland.

Show him my reply as proof..... you will pay 2.5% MwsT on imported food goods, I know, I import a lot of food.

There may be import duties to pay on some goods from within and without the EU (eg potato, apple and cream products), I'm not sure about honey. But this site is a good place to enquire.

The honey is imported from a different country, and all permits have been acquired. But I've only recently become their accountant, and want to check, check, check everything.
Thank you all for the quick replies. This has been very helpful.
Cheers!

He means VAT at point of sale.

Tom

Already called them, the gentleman on the phone was helpful, and saying "sorry, my English isn't good", while speaking perfect English.

Cheers, sir!

Just make sure you label the honey correctly. There was a famous case of a guy who sold imported honey as Swiss one and got into a lot of legal trouble:
http://www.20min.ch/schweiz/zuerich/...ueger-27545185

It's not forbidden, it is regulated

"Animals and goods containing materials of animal origin may only be imported from third countries if those countries, regions and establishments have been licensed for the import of the goods and animals in question. Furthermore, in the case of foods containing ingredients of animal origin, the country must also operate an EU-recognised residue monitoring plan. Depending on the type of shipment, further aspects may also have to be taken into consideration in addition to veterinary health and species protection provisions, e.g. customs and agricultural aspects."

In short:
Import is forbidden by default.

Besides, regulation means just that, aka "forbidden unless conditions are met".

Look, I'll keep this simple: Any visit to an ethnic store will show you that you can get loads of animal products from a lot of countries outside the EU. It's not forbidden, but regulated - your stuff needs to meet certain criteria to ensure they are healthy. I've seen frozen meat products from China. If they meet the legal bar anything which has some sort of quality system in place will.

It is regulated and not forbidden, what abracadabra you want to pull later to wring yourself out of things is of no interested to me and does not change your previous wrong statement.

What part of it is not forbidden but regulated do you not understand?

This is regulation:

And do you really want a whole discussion about this? You said it was forbidden, turns out that you did not mean to say it was forbidden, but that you ment that it was forbidden if you do not comply with the rules. (Making it regulated...)

EDIT: People who remove their postings within minutes.......

Lacking any additional info, which of the following do you need to assume?
a) you're allowed to import a given piece of meat that originates from a 3rd country
b) you're not allowed to import a given piece of meat that originates from a 3rd country

Nope, I always said it's forbidden by default, which of course means there are exceptions. In your quote in #14, focking notice the two words preceding the part you bolded.

I would assume it would be regulated and thus answer C.

c) I might be allowed to import but have to look up the rules so I can comply with regulations if needed. I am trying to explain to you that by default it is not forbidden, regulation is the default when it comes to animal products from 3rd countries.

Do you know the first rule of holes? If you are in one, stop digging.


You made a simple yet wrong statement. Instead of having the balls to say that you stand corrected do you continuously try to defend your statements by trying to explain to us your personal definition of "forbidden". It's just too stupid to take you seriously, sorry.

Vets at war! That's soooooooo EF

I am considering importing a rare sort of honey from a third country. Could you advise a process of import:
1. Food safety registration / certification : which documents are required for this procedure? Will the procedure be different, if the product is imported from a 3rd country via EU country (for filling and labeling purpose)?
2. Import tax calculation: does it depend on quality, invoice value or other parameters.
3. Which company would provide reasonable terms for logistics and import clearance process.

On the other note:
has anyone experience with buying jars and filling honey in Switzerland?