Under customs law, vehicles are regarded as goods (like clothing, foodstuffs or machinery). This also applies to trailers, containers and the like. A distinction must be made between domestic (duty paid) and foreign (duty unpaid) vehicles.
In principle, a vehicle's number plate shows whether it is duty paid or duty unpaid:
- Vehicles with Swiss number plates = duty paid (cleared)
- Vehicles with foreign number plates = duty unpaid (uncleared)
You must spontaneously declare any vehicle(s) on which duty has not been paid to Swiss Customs.
The regulations and formalities depend on whether you are:
We are not able to provide you with any information on foreign regulations. Please direct your query to the foreign customs authorities.
