Amazon Collects Swiss VAT on Sales to Switzerland From 2025

In brief: from 1 January 2025, Switzerland treats online marketplaces as the seller for VAT on e-commerce sales to Swiss customers. For orders delivered to Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the German enclave of Büsingen, Amazon charges Swiss VAT and pays it to the Swiss authorities itself — whatever your own VAT registration. It covers goods imported into Switzerland and goods already there.

Swiss VAT on Amazon from 2025: FBA and FBM

How you fulfil	What happens
Fulfilled by Amazon	Amazon arranges import clearance, import VAT and duty — nothing to do
Seller-fulfilled	You give your carrier Amazon's import details for the customs declaration

Why it matters to a UK seller

It's the Swiss equivalent of the marketplace rules Amazon already applies in the UK and EU. For an order shipped from the UK to a Swiss customer, the Swiss VAT is Amazon's responsibility. From a UK VAT point of view, sending goods to Switzerland is an export, which is normally zero-rated.

What it means for your bookkeeping

• Record the sale without Swiss VAT. The Swiss VAT is collected and paid by Amazon, so your sale is the amount before that VAT. In your settlement it works like other marketplace-collected VAT: the tax is charged and then withheld — see Marketplace Facilitator VAT explained.
• Zero-rated export in the UK. Goods shipped from the UK to Switzerland are usually zero-rated exports on your UK VAT return; keep proof of export — see zero-rated vs standard-rated sales.
• Check whether you still need a Swiss registration. If you previously registered for Swiss VAT only for Amazon sales, ask your adviser whether you can deregister — don't assume.
• FBM duty paperwork. Keep carrier documents showing Amazon's import details were used, in case customs charges are wrongly billed to you.

How TrueBooks helps

TrueBooks detects orders where Amazon collected the VAT and orders shipped outside the UK, and posts them as zero-rated sales in Xero, so marketplace-collected VAT doesn't end up in your VAT return. See the Amazon Xero integration.