Decisions of the Swiss Federal Administrative Court (CW 18 - 2023)

Overview of tax law decisions of the Swiss Federal Administrative Court published between May 1 - 7, 2023:

Judgment of 20 April 2023 (A-4140/2021): Post-claim of import duties; post-claim of import duties; in the present case, it is disputed whether the complainant imported antique objects of obvious Roman origin - dated to the 1st century BC or AD - into Switzerland. The complainant claims that he bought these objects in Switzerland in 2007 and has stored them here since then. Furthermore, it is in dispute whether the complainant purchased another object in Germany in 1999 at a price of DM 300 (i.e. below the tax-free amount of CHF 300) and subsequently imported it into Switzerland (exempt from import tax). The lower court is of the opinion that the complainant brought all objects from abroad to Switzerland for restoration in 2016 without import declaration and therefore claims the import tax. The FAC concludes that it is not established that the disputed objects were imported into Switzerland by the complainant for restoration in 2016. Furthermore, the complainant had not violated any obligations to cooperate. Consequently, an importation is not to be assumed. Approval of the appeal.
Judgment of April 24, 2023 (A-5200/2021): Decision of October 28, 2021 not to file an appeal; restoration of the time limit; the complainant does not provide sufficient reasons in view of the (strict) case law on the restoration of the time limit that would legitimize the restoration of the time limit for filing an appeal. The complainant therefore allowed the objection period to expire unused, without there having been an obstacle through no fault of his own within the meaning of the case law. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.

Updates/re-publications published between May 1 - 7, 2023: