Assessment of merchandise for final import
Merchandise refers to goods whiche are intended for trade or business use (even in the one-man business of the traveller or of the receiver).
Goods intended for final import into Swiss customs territory must be delivered to a Swiss customs office and declared for customs clearance. The accompanying documents listed below must be presented along with the duly completed import customs declaration.
The party liable to declare and thus to pay customs duty is primarily the party taking the goods across the border (carrier) or arranging for them to be taken across the border (importer, recipient, shipper, client).
Merchandise can be cleared for customs at specific customs offices only, during office hours (see below under "Opening hours and addresses of Swiss customs offices").
Carriers provide their clearance services according to the delivery terms (Incoterms).
For postal and courier traffic, transport companies (Swisspost, TNT, DHL, UPS, Fedex, etc.) produce the customs declaration for a fee and then issue an invoice to the recipient (in accordance with the respective agreement) (see also Receipt of letters and parcels in Switzerland).