Ordering skincare from Germany to Switzerland: customs, VAT and return costs

SWISS BUYING GUIDE

Is there customs duty on cosmetics from Germany?

No, there has been no customs duty on cosmetics from Germany since 1 January 2024. On that date, Switzerland abolished its tariffs on industrial goods. According to the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS, known in German as BAZG), this applies to goods in chapters 25 to 97 of the customs tariff, except for some products in chapters 35 and 38 that are classed as agricultural products. Cosmetics, perfume and personal care products fall under chapter 33 and are therefore duty-free. That does not mean a parcel from Germany comes free of charges, though. When it comes to facial skincare, what many people loosely call ‘customs’ now consists of two other items: import VAT, which is Swiss value added tax on imported goods, and the fee that Swiss Post or a courier charges for customs clearance. Together, these two can come to more than you might expect.

The country of origin makes no difference to import VAT. A parcel from Germany, France or Austria is taxed in exactly the same way. Swiss Post’s fee is a different matter: parcels from the EU are cheaper to clear than parcels from other countries. That is also why the sums look different if you want to know what gets added when you import Korean skincare to Switzerland directly.

How much VAT do you pay when ordering from Germany, and from what amount?

When you order from Germany, you pay 8.1 per cent import VAT as soon as that tax exceeds 5 francs. This is the standard rate of Swiss VAT; cosmetics do not qualify for the reduced rate. The tax is not calculated on the product price alone, but on the value of the goods including shipping costs and services. Swiss Post turns this into a simple threshold: from a value of 63 francs including shipping, a parcel is liable to charges at the 8.1 per cent rate. If the charges come to less than that, Swiss Post says it will not bill you anything, which means no customs clearance fee either. The legal basis is an ordinance issued by the Federal Department of Finance: goods are exempt if the tax due per assessment notice is no more than 5 francs.

The words ‘per assessment notice’ matter. The limit applies to each parcel cleared through customs, not to each product. If you order three creams in one parcel, the total value is what counts. If an order arrives in several parcels and Swiss Post recognises that they belong together, it says it will clear them on the total value, provided that value is taxable. Splitting an order artificially is therefore not a reliable way to stay under the threshold.

What do Swiss Post, DHL or DPD charge for customs clearance?

At Swiss Post, customs clearance for a parcel from the EU costs 13 francs for the clearance service plus a surcharge of 3 per cent of the value of the goods. That is what Swiss Post’s price list says as of October 2026, and the amounts are quoted excluding VAT. If you pay the import costs online, Swiss Post takes 1.50 francs off this basic fee. If information about the parcel is missing and you only reply to the request to confirm its value after three working days, a further 20 francs is added. The fee is not a government charge but the price of a service: the carrier handles the customs formalities for you and charges for its work. That is why every carrier has its own price list. DHL, DPD, UPS and other couriers charge their own rates, which you can look up with the carrier in question before you order. Which service will deliver your parcel is usually stated in the shop’s shipping information.

One detail makes the bill higher than it looks: the customs clearance fee itself forms part of the amount on which import VAT is calculated. So you also pay the 8.1 per cent on the fee. Swiss Post cites Article 54 of the Swiss VAT Act for this. The table below shows what this means for typical order values.

These figures are an example for a parcel from the EU, cleared by Swiss Post and paid by invoice, without the online discount and without any additional services. Import VAT is calculated on the value of the goods plus the fee. The jump at the threshold is striking: an order worth 60 francs costs you nothing extra, while one worth 64 francs costs you more than 20 francs on top.

Why is the German price not what you end up paying?

The German price is not your final price because it includes German VAT, which may not apply to a delivery to Switzerland, and because the Swiss charges are only added after checkout. The standard rate of German VAT is 19 per cent. If a shop sends the goods to Switzerland itself, German VAT law treats this as a tax-exempt export delivery. That is why some shops show a lower price as soon as you enter a Swiss delivery address. Whether and how a shop passes this saving on is up to the shop, so it is worth looking at the amount in the final step of checkout rather than the price tag in the product listing.

On top of that amount come shipping costs to Switzerland, import VAT, the customs clearance fee and possibly a foreign currency fee charged by your card provider. Also check whether the shop’s free shipping threshold applies to deliveries abroad at all. Only the total of all these items can be compared fairly with a price in francs. And even then, the price tells you little about what you’re really paying for in a face cream. A fairer comparison than price per tube is price per month, because how long 50 ml of face cream lasts depends heavily on how much you use. A cheap cream that runs out after four weeks can end up costing more than a pricier one that lasts twice as long.

What does it cost to send cosmetics back to Germany?

Sending cosmetics back to Germany costs you the postage for an international parcel, some effort with the export and often part of the import costs you have already paid. The parcel leaves Switzerland as an export and is declared to Swiss customs by the carrier. Who pays the return postage is set out in the shop’s terms. The import VAT you paid does not come back automatically. Under Article 60 of the Swiss VAT Act, it is refunded on application if the goods are re-exported unchanged and unused. If you have already used the product and the purchase is reversed, the law reduces the refund to reflect that use. The application should, as a rule, be made when the export is declared; after that, you can only submit it in writing to the FOCBS within a short period of the export document being issued. The law covers the refund of the tax, not of the customs clearance fee, because that fee is the price of a service.

Whether you can return opened cosmetics at all depends on the shop’s terms. It is worth knowing your real rights when returning skincare bought online. In practice, this is how to go about it:

1. Read the terms: who pays the return postage, and does the deadline run from the order date or from delivery?
2. Save the customs documents: Swiss Post keeps the assessment notice and the customs clearance invoice available to download online for three months.
3. Raise the refund when you send the parcel: when you hand it in, ask how the application for a refund of the import VAT can go with it.
4. Keep the receipts: hold on to the proof of postage for the return and the tracking number until your money is back.

When is ordering from Germany worth it, and when does it not add up?

Ordering from Germany is mainly worth it if a particular product is only available there or if the price difference remains significant after all charges. Below 63 francs including shipping, you only pay for delivery, which makes this the cheapest range. Just above that threshold is the most expensive, because the basic fee of 13 francs falls on a small order value. On larger orders, the fee is spread more thinly, but it remains a fixed cost. Once you factor in import VAT, the customs clearance fee and any return postage across the border, the price advantage often shrinks considerably. With a shop based in Switzerland, these items disappear, and a return is simply a domestic parcel. If you want to compare retailers, you will find pointers on buying vegan cosmetics in Switzerland.

For our own product, this has a very practical side: The Duo, our serum and face cream, is developed and made in Switzerland, sold only in Switzerland and Liechtenstein and paid for in francs. If you want to return it, our 100-day return policy applies: you let us know by email within 100 days and get the full amount back, including the shipping costs you paid, to your original payment method. The return postage is on you.

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