The so-called ‘shopping tourism’ is very popular among people living in one of Switzerland’s border regions, as food and many other goods are cheaper in neighbouring countries — especially when the franc-euro exchange rate is favourable to the Swiss, as it is currently.
But this long-standing practice will soon become less profitable for Swiss shoppers.
Why is that?
Currently, if you shop abroad, you are allowed to bring back products for up to 300 francs per person, which are exempt from tax.
But this will change from January 1st.
After the parliament approved the move in 2024, the Federal Council decided on October 16th to cut the tax-free allowance by half — that is, down to 150 francs per person and per day.
The government explained that this measure was driven by the wish of border cantons to make shopping abroad less attractive financially, so that residents will be more willing to spend their money locally.
READ ALSO: Switzerland set to toughen rules on cross-border shopping
Faced with a potential loss of a profitable shopper segment, retailers in German border regions want to make shopping there remains as lucrative for the Swiss consumers as possible.
What exactly are Germans doing to retain Swiss customers?
Since German authorities can’t influence Switzerland’s decision to cut the tax-free allowance for cross-border shopping, they are trying to make their own laws more favourable for Swiss customers.
For instance, right now, to be eligible for a Value Added Tax (VAT) refund in Germany, purchases need to total at least 50 euros in a single transaction.
However, a number of MPs in the German parliament, the Bundestag, want to scrap the 50-euro limit, a move which, according to MP Felix Schreiner, would mean that the Haut-Rhin — the region which borders Switzerland — “will remain attractive to the Swiss shoppers.”
Therefore, if the measure is accepted in Berlin, Swiss shoppers will be able to get their German VAT refunded on every purchase, no matter how small.
Easier declarations
German deputies are trying not only to eliminate the 50-euro threshold, but also to make the actual process of declaring one’s purchases for a VAT refund simpler.
Today, paper forms have to be stamped by hand at customs, which often causes traffic jams at borders.
But from mid-2026, the export declaration, which allows Swiss residents to reclaim German VAT, is to become digital via a mobile phone app.
“The introduction of the digital export declaration is a simpler and more convenient procedure for Swiss customers who shop in Germany," Social Democratic Party MP Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter pointed out.
Have Switzerland's other neighbours also proposed ways to retain Swiss customers?
To date, neither France nor Italy, both of which have been popular destinations for Swiss shoppers from Geneva and Vaud, as well as Ticino, respectively, have not said whether any special measures will be put in place.
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