ClassicGuide

Import and customs clearance

Registration and law

What importing a classic really costs: VAT 8.1%, automobile tax 4%, customs duty, CO2 exemption, plus the process with form 13.20 A and the MFK.

Editorial overview, not customs or legal advice. Customs clearance is clarified by the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (BAZG), registration by the road traffic office, the CO2 certificate by BFE/ASTRA. Charges depend on origin, value and the type of import. As of September 2026.

The two hurdles

An import is finished only when both are in place:

  1. In free circulation under customs law – the proof is the assessment decision, form 13.20 A, with the Zollstammnummer (BAZG). Without this paper, the road traffic office will not accept the car.
  2. Technically admitted – cantonal inspection, electronic insurance certificate (eVn), foreign original papers.

A car « freshly restored » abroad, without a 13.20 A and without a Swiss inspection history, is not a bargain. It is a project with an open bill.

What it costs at the border

Many guides still calculate with 7.7% VAT. Since the increase, 8.1% applies to vehicles. As a rule, the following are added:

The customs office can estimate the value if the particulars are doubtful. Prices in euro are converted into francs at the selling rate.

CO2 sanction: irrelevant for most Oldtimer

Private and small-scale importers must have passenger cars certified by the CO2 enforcement body before first registration – unless the vehicle counts as a used vehicle:

That covers practically every classic that was properly registered in its country of origin. Transit plates or trade plates do not count as ordinary registration. The sanction is not collected at customs, but through BFE/ASTRA; for exempt used vehicles it does not apply.

Sample calculation: BMW E30 from Germany

A calculation aid only, not an offer. Assumptions: purchase price CHF 18'000, transport to the place of destination CHF 800, EU preferential origin (customs duty 0%), not removal goods.

  1. Automobile tax 4% of CHF 18'000 = CHF 720
  2. VAT base: 18'000 + 800 + 720 = CHF 19'520
  3. VAT 8.1% = CHF 1'581
  4. Form 13.20 A = CHF 20
  5. Import charges, roughly: about CHF 2'320

Outside the customs office, add: the first MFK, an emissions test if required, conversions (lights, belts), plates and the registration fee – often a further hundred to several thousand francs, depending on condition and origin. Removal goods, household-establishment goods or inherited goods can be exempt from duty and tax (forms 18.44 / 18.45 / 18.46): their own conditions, not an automatic rule for every Oldtimer purchase.

The process in practice

  1. Before buying, clarify whether the car can meet the Swiss rules (lights, emissions, belts, identity). The buying-advice guides name the typical traps of the model line.
  2. Declare the car at a customs office competent for goods traffic. Bring: the foreign registration document (even if cancelled), the purchase contract or invoice, and an identity document. For an Oldtimer without a 17-character VIN, customs often also require the make in the declaration.
  3. Collect and pay form 13.20 A and the assessment decisions (customs duty, VAT, automobile tax).
  4. Take out Swiss third-party liability insurance and have the eVn sent to the road traffic office.
  5. Appointment for the technical inspection in the canton of residence. Submit the file beforehand: incomplete papers delay the slot.
  6. Only after a passed inspection: Swiss vehicle registration certificate and plates.

Origin changes the traps

EU: usually the simplest route, if the history holds up. Still insist on the complete customs clearance certificate and the original papers. Italian imports « freshly restored » without photo documentation of the metalwork are a classic among expensive disappointments.

United Kingdom: right-hand-drive cars can be registered in Switzerland, but they often trade at a discount. Check previous salt damage. Entries and modifications (left-hand-drive conversion) must suit the MFK. Without proof of preferential origin, duty by weight can apply.

USA: cars from dry states can be solid in the metal. With that come a US title, a mile odometer and often different lighting (red rear indicators, sealed-beam). The mile odometer may in principle stay; the km/h figure must be legible. Amber indicators and tested headlamps save arguments at the inspection. A fresh auction car with no Swiss history needs a budget for the first presentation – and often duty by weight.

After registration

Anyone who meets the 30-year threshold can apply for veteran status. That is a second, separate step. Modifications from the country of origin must be entered or reversed, otherwise the car fails the inspection or the veteran application.

Sources