GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – It will soon be easier and cheaper for individuals to bring wine into Switzerland after spending a weekend in neighbouring wine-producing countries.
New customs allowances approved by the Federal Council Wednesday go into effect 1 July. The change in regulations will allow you to bring in CHF300 total in goods, tax-free, with limits on some products considered “sensitive”, one of which is alcohol.
This might fall short of your hopes of a duty-free border, but it doubles the general wine allowance we have today.
The tax-free allowance for wine starting in July is 5 litres plus 1 litre of beverages with over 18% alcohol. The makes Switzerland’s rules just a shade more generous than France‘s, where anyone coming from outside the European Union may bring in 4 litres of wine and 1 litre of stronger alcohol, duty-free.
And while the duty on excess wine will increase by 40 centimes per litre for most wine, consider this: an additional two cartons or 12 bottles will boost your bill for the 18 wines by only CHF18. Keep this in mind when paying CHF30 and up for your favourite Bordeaux and Barolos; it’s not an amount that will break the bank.
Background: Why we still have Swiss wine tariffs, Ellen’s Wine World, 3 April 2014
Ed McGaugh says
Hi Ellen,
Thanks, great article and even better news!
Just one small note. The Swiss Customs site says 1 liter of alcohol over 18% not 20% as you mentioned above. It might make a difference if you bring in things likePort, Madeira and Marsala.
See: http://www.ezv.admin.ch/zollinfo_privat/04342/04343/05761/index.html?lang=en
All the best,
Ed
Ellen Wallace says
Ed, thanks very much for spotting this, my mistake. Too many numbers in one text! You’re right, 18% is basically the cutoff point for most wines, so over that you’re usually into fortified wines and those are taxed differently. I’ve corrected the text; I love careful readers 🙂