Duty Free Border Downtown | Cross Border Shopping - Switzerland

Switzerland

Cross Border Shopping - Switzerland

Cross Border Shopping around Switzerland is a common practice, both into Switzerland and also for Swiss residents, who travel out of the country to the EU States of France, Germany and Italy, looking for bargains.

Switzerland is not a member state of the EU, so in theory, the full international duty free allowances are available to all those travelling in and out of the country. But, duty free shops in the traditional sense, can only be found by air travellers in the airports, when arriving or departing. Please see our Swiss airport search pages for details related to these outlets.

Certain goods can be purchased at retail locations near the land borders and for most of these purchases there is likely to be an entitlement to the tax-free refund shopping system. Prices for some products can be very competitive.

A similar tax-refund rule applies to non-residents of the EU travelling in or out of Switzerland by land or air, very few visitors arrive by water transport, but it is possible. The rules relevant to your specific residence status and travel itinerary can make the interpretation very complicated, so we recommend that you first search our specific travel point pages and then contact the local retailer for advice.