EORI registration in Switzerland

What an EORI number is and who needs one

The Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number is the identifier EU customs authorities use to recognise businesses in customs procedures. It has applied since 1 July 2009 and rests on Art. 9 of the Union Customs Code (Regulation (EU) No 952/2013). Every operator established in the EU needs one; a non-EU operator, including a Swiss company, needs one as soon as it lodges customs declarations, applies for customs decisions or acts as a carrier in the EU.

The format is a two-letter code of the issuing member state followed by up to 15 alphanumeric characters. A single EORI is valid across the whole EU, and any customs office can check it against the central EORI database.

How a Swiss company gets an EU EORI number

A Swiss company applies for its EORI in the member state where it intends to carry out its first customs operation — in practice, the country through which its EU imports enter. Because so much Swiss trade crosses the German border, the typical route is Germany: the application goes to the Generalzolldirektion (DO Dresden, Stammdatenmanagement), either online through the Zoll customs portal or on form 0870 by post or e-mail.

The application is free of charge in every member state as of June 2026. Expect to provide a commercial-register extract for the Swiss entity, the identity document of the signing representative and the completed national form; some member states also ask for proof of the planned customs activity. German online filings are usually processed within a few working days; paper filings take up to ten working days, longer in peak periods.

Two qualifications matter. First, under Art. 170(2) UCC a declarant must normally be established in the EU, so a Swiss company without an EU establishment usually clears goods through an indirect representative even once it holds an EORI. Second, the EORI is a customs identifier only: importing into the EU still triggers import VAT, which requires an EU VAT registration or fiscal representation, the subject of our VAT compliance service.

What Switzerland uses instead of EORI

Switzerland identifies operators through the UID (enterprise identification number, format CHE-123.456.789), assigned by the Federal Statistical Office under the UID Act (SR 431.03). The number is created automatically at Swiss company formation and has been mandatory in Swiss customs declarations since 1 January 2016. For digital customs services the company additionally registers as a business partner in the BAZG ePortal; the business-partner ID is replacing the older CSP accounts in the course of 2026.

Declarations themselves run through Passar, the system replacing e-dec. As of June 2026 the rollout is split: exports have been mandatory in Passar since 1 January 2026, after e-dec Export was retired on 31 December 2025. For imports, Passar 2.0 entered pilot operation in March 2026 with the wider rollout starting June 2026; e-dec Import remains accepted in parallel until 31 March 2027.

How importing and exporting works for a Swiss company

A Swiss trading company deals with BAZG on the Swiss side of the border and with EU customs on the other; the steps below cover the Swiss side as of June 2026. The customs documents feed directly into the annual accounts, so import VAT assessments and origin proofs belong in the company's accounting and bookkeeping from day one. Related duties and levies are covered in our other tax and accounting guides.

EORI, UID and EU VAT number compared

Swiss exporters routinely hold all three identifiers, and they are not interchangeable. Each is issued by a different authority for a different function.

When you do not need an EORI

A Swiss company needs no EORI when it never acts as importer or exporter of record in the EU. If goods are sold DAP, FCA or EXW and the EU customer clears the import under its own EORI, the Swiss seller stays outside EU customs procedures entirely. This is the most common arrangement in B2B trade.

Indirect representation narrows the requirement but rarely removes it. A freight forwarder acting under Art. 18 UCC declares in its own name with its own EORI; the forwarder then becomes jointly liable for the customs debt, which is why many refuse the role for non-EU principals or price it accordingly, and several member states still require the represented Swiss company to hold an EORI where it is named as importer. Selling DDP through an EU fiscal representative shifts the VAT mechanics but not the customs identity: the Swiss seller remains importer of record and needs the EORI. The honest summary is that avoidance works only where the EU counterparty genuinely takes over the import.

Common mistakes with EORI registration

Four errors recur in Swiss applications, and each costs time at the border.

• Applying in several member states. Only one EU EORI may exist per operator; duplicate registrations are rejected or create database conflicts that block declarations until resolved.
• Confusing EORI with VAT or UID. An EORI does not authorise VAT-free imports or replace a VAT registration, and the Swiss UID has no validity at an EU border.
• Treating a GB EORI as an EU one. Since Brexit, Great Britain requires a separate GB EORI from HMRC; an EU number is not accepted there.
• Paying an intermediary. Registration is free in every member state; paid "EORI services" file the same form you can.