Overview of the tax law decisions of the Swiss Federal Administrative Court published between August 24 and 30, 2026:
- Judgment of August 17, 2026 (A-8507/2025): Decision on the obligation to pay; since, in the present case, the import tax on the imported diesel fuel for trucks is not related to customs duties but rather to the mineral oil tax, the special statutory provision of Art. 34(1) of the Mineral Oil Tax Act (MinöStG) must be observed, as it takes precedence. The record before this Court does not contain any letter that could be recognized as a directive within the meaning of Article 47(2) of the Administrative Procedure Act (VwVG), which would permit a direct appeal. The requirements for a direct appeal under Article 47(2) of the Administrative Procedure Act (VwVG) are therefore not met. The Court declines to hear the appeal filed by the taxpayer.
- Judgment of August 11, 2026 (A-5704/2025): Retroactive assessment of a CO2 penalty for the year 2022; Order of August 15, 2024; The issue at hand was who qualifies as the importer in this specific case. Consequently, the issue at hand is how the importer is identified pursuant to Art. 13(1) of the CO2 Act. No violation of the principle of legality or the principle of “no penalty without a law” is apparent. The taxpayer’s appeal is dismissed.
- Judgment of August 19, 2026 (A-4130/2025): Value-Added Tax 2019–2022; Input Tax Adjustment for Holding Equity Interests. At the end of 2018, the petitioner had received a dividend of over CHF 1.5 billion and initially invested most of it in cash and securities, whereupon the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) estimated the input tax adjustment at its discretion and demanded an additional payment of CHF 863,151. The Federal Administrative Court (BVGer) confirmed that, as of 2020, the appellant was no longer considered a holding company, and therefore the flat-rate adjustment of 0.02% of exempt financial income no longer applied. It is reasonable to assume that the additional expenses incurred by an affiliated management company following the receipt of dividends are attributable to the newly established securities management and, to that extent, do not qualify for an input tax deduction. The appellant was unable to prove the obvious inaccuracy of the estimate. The appeal was dismissed.
- Judgment of August 17, 2026 (A-2099/2026): Value-Added Tax (2018–2022); The issue in this case was whether the appellant—a ground handling company at Zurich Airport—was entitled to deduct the input tax attributable to airport fees. The Federal Administrative Court distinguished between flight operations fees, where the airlines are considered the recipients of the services, and usage fees for airport infrastructure, where the ground handling company itself is the recipient of the services or is integrated into the service chain. The Federal Administrative Court denied the input tax deduction for flight operation fees, while it approved an input tax deduction of approximately CHF 21,800 for the usage fees. The complainant based its claim to input tax deduction regarding the flight operation fees on a 2005 directive from the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) to the airport operator, invoking the principle of good faith. In the directive in question, the ESTV classified the appellant as the recipient of the service. The Federal Administrative Court rejected this, reasoning that the directive had not been addressed to the appellant itself and therefore did not constitute a sufficient basis of trust for her. The appeal was upheld with regard to the input tax deduction on the usage fees; the appeal was dismissed in all other respects.
- Judgment of August 18, 2026 (A-1923/2026): Value-Added Tax 2018–2022; Input Tax Deduction; The issue in dispute was whether the lower court had correctly reversed the appellant’s input tax deduction in the amount of CHF 8,900 for 2018–2022, and it had to be clarified whether the city had invoiced the appellant for the value-added tax and passed it on to the appellant. In the present case, Art. 59(2) of the VAT Ordinance does not apply, as the appellant did not pay any VAT and the Finance Department did not pass on the VAT to the appellant; the taxpayer’s appeal is dismissed.
- Judgment of August 19, 2026 (A-2045/2026): Value-Added Tax 2019–2022; Benefits to Employees. At issue was an additional assessment of CHF 1,551 for meal benefits provided to the staff of a restaurant, which, according to the appellant, had been purchased at a 50% discount and recorded using cash register discount codes. The Federal Administrative Court held that, in the absence of payroll declarations, written regulations, and reliable records, this evidence had not been provided; therefore, the tax base was to be estimated at the Court’s discretion in accordance with the flat rates set forth in Circular N2/2007. In the absence of evidence of organizational measures to separate takeout and on-premises consumption, the standard rate was applicable. The appeal was dismissed.
- Judgment of August 19, 2026 (A-2042/2026): Value-Added Tax 2019–2022; Benefits to Employees. This judgment is based essentially on the same facts as Judgment A-2045/2026 of August 19, 2026, with the additional tax assessment amounting to CHF 1,917. Reference is therefore made to the summary above.
- Judgment of August 19, 2026 (A-2061/2026): Value-Added Tax (2019–2022); Employee Benefits. This judgment is based essentially on the same facts as Judgment A-2045/2026 of August 19, 2026, with the additional tax assessment amounting to CHF 2,594. Reference should therefore be made to the corresponding summary.
- Judgment of August 19, 2026 (A-2047/2026): Value-Added Tax (2019–2022); Employee Benefits. This judgment is based essentially on the same facts as Judgment A-2045/2026 of August 19, 2026, with the additional tax assessed amounting to CHF 5,849. Reference should therefore be made to the corresponding summary.
Administrative Assistance:
Update:
- A-8605/2025: VAT 2019–2021 (Decision appealed to the Federal Supreme Court)
- A-760/2024: VAT—Timing of the Right to Deduct Input Tax in 2020 (Decision overturned by the Federal Supreme Court in its judgment of July 13, 2026 (9C_502/2025))
- A-5117/2023: VAT on Brokerage Services 2021 (Decision upheld by the Federal Supreme Court in its judgment of August 4, 2026 (9C_698/2024))
Decisions are listed chronologically by publication date.
