Fees for small parcels in EU puts pressure on Switzerland

This year the European Union will introduce handling charges for small parcels imported into the EU. The Swiss Retail Federation is calling on Switzerland to follow suit.

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In a statement issued on Friday, the Swiss Retail Federation welcomed the EU’s recent announcement of a handling fee for small parcels. This measure is due to be implemented from November 1.

The tax will apply to all products ordered online and imported into the EU. It is intended to cover the growing costs associated with the increase in the number of small consignments resulting from online commerce, in particular sorting and import control operations. The amount of the tax has yet to be set by the European Commission.

In the past, the Swiss Retail Federation has repeatedly called for the introduction of such a tax on imports of small parcels into Switzerland.

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Pressure on Switzerland

Brussels’ decision increases the pressure on Switzerland, the federation told the Swiss News Agency Keystone-ATS. Switzerland must now follow the EU’s lead, or risk seeing “evasive manoeuvres in the logistics of online sales platforms”. Switzerland must not become a “hub for importing parcels for the whole of Europe”.

Switzerland must therefore rapidly introduce a similar tax, it said. The association is convinced that the necessary political will exists.

Several parliamentary interventions on this subject are being examined by parliament. They concern the responsibility of international online platforms in terms of product safety, and the disposal and control of parcels sent from East Asia.

Adapted from French by AI/ts