Overview of the tax-related decisions of the Swiss Federal Administrative Court published between September 14 and 20, 2026:
- Judgment of August 27, 2026 (A-3635/2024, A-3644/2024, and A-3645/2024): Customs; Retroactive Collection: The Federal Administrative Court had to determine whether the petitioners were rightly required to pay retroactive customs duties, import tax, and late-payment interest. The additional assessment related to food products that had been imported into Switzerland by their supplier D without a customs declaration. In earlier proceedings, it had been established that supplier D was involved in an extensive food smuggling operation. The Federal Administrative Court confirmed that the scope of customs debtors under Art. 70 of the Customs Act is broad. A customs debtor is not only the actual importer but also anyone who economically initiates the import, such as by regularly ordering imported goods. It should be emphasized that good faith generally plays no decisive role in proceedings for the collection of back duties. Anyone who qualifies as a direct beneficiary of an undeclared import is liable regardless of whether fault or knowledge of the smuggling can be proven. The sole determining factor is that the import duties owed were objectively not paid. Therefore, the taxpayers’ argument that they had acted in good faith and were unaware of supplier D’s schemes was not persuasive. Dismissal of the taxpayers’ appeal.
Scheduled for publication:
- 2025 III/4 (Judgment of August 13, 2026, A-620/2024): See our article dated March 1, 2026, on this subject.
Decisions are listed chronologically by publication date.
