Do you provide potential buyers with commercial samples in order to help generate new business? These samples can be imported free of customs duties and VAT, provided that:
- they have no intrinsic value (items that have been rendered unusable, for example)
- or they are being imported in order to be presented, analysed and tested, and their value does not exceed CHF 100 per product type (a wood sample, for example).
Commercial samples may not be sold! Otherwise the applicable taxes and duties will be levied.
Specimens are products which are imported solely for the purpose of testing their quality, their composition or some of their properties. In order to qualify for tax- and duty-free importation, specimens may not be intended for consumption.
For more detailed information about the specific characteristics of these two duty-free product categories, consult:
Preliminary remarks on the customs tariff or contact the relevant District Directorate of Customs.
