E-Invoicing in Switzerland

Although Switzerland is not part of the European Union, it’s still important to mention their regulations as lots of EU countries do business with Switzerland. In fact, according to the European Commission, the EU is Switzerland’s third biggest trading partner.

Overview

In 2015, the EU accounted for 65% of Switzerland’s imports and 44% of its exports of goods. Switzerland is a well-structured country where standardization of information is crucial, and as of 2016 they had already created a well-established set of e-invoicing requirements. So, despite not being part of the EU, the country’s e-invoicing standards do frequently come into play for our purposes. In fact, in 2017, more than 25% of invoices in Switzerland were issued electronically.

B2G E-Invoicing

Since 2016, business-to-government (B2G) electronic invoicing has been mandatory in Switzerland.  In Switzerland, any B2G transaction with a value higher than 5,000CHF must be submitted to the Federal Administration. Switzerland officially recommends the hybrid invoice format, ZUGFeRD/Factur-X (German/French standards). Nevertheless, it is not intended to replace existing EDI procedures at this time. All invoices must be archived for a period of 10 years, according to Article 958f of the Swiss Code of Obligations.

Digital signatures, which were mandatory in Switzerland until 2016 to link invoice data in a way that could track any subsequent changes, are no longer mandatory. Today, Swiss law acknowledges advancements in technology security and allows the use of electronic signatures to validate invoices.

B2B & B2C E-Invoicing

In Switzerland, for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions, e-invoicing is optional, but all invoices are subject to the 10-year archiving period. While there are no immediate plans for Switzerland to make B2B e-invoicing mandatory, it is always possible, especially considering the number of countries that are implementing e-invoicing legislation.

Conclusion

We know that the future of e-invoicing in Europe is 100% electronic. Though Switzerland is not part of the EU, the EU is certainly a large trading partner for many Swiss businesses. Therefore, it is not unlikely that Switzerland may eventually make all e-invoicing mandatory, especially since B2G transactions already require a digital form of processing. And, with the way that paper-based invoicing is rapidly becoming less popular, it seems likely that this could happen sooner than later.

For more details regarding the regulations and situation of Switzerland click here.

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Aleksandra Vovchenko

Marketing Specialist at SPS Commerce

Aleksandra is a Marketing Specialist at SPS Commerce, responsible for marketing strategies for the DACH region. She has a special interest in product marketing and marketing analysis, and is an active contributor to the SPS Commerce blog. Her inspiration is to encourage organizations to go paperless and promote sustainable business practices.

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