Do you pay Swiss import VAT and customs charges when ordering from Aquatuning?
Aquatuning ships from Germany, and its terms say Swiss import charges are not included in the price or the shipping fee. The parcel arrives unpaid, and the carrier collects. On request they will strip German VAT from the order before you pay, so you only pay Swiss import VAT of 8.1% plus the carrier's clearance fee on delivery.
The terms are explicit and repeated in three clauses. I could not run a checkout with a Swiss delivery address to confirm that no Swiss VAT line appears, and Aquatuning publishes no Switzerland-specific shipping page listing the cost or the clearing carrier.
Aquatuning GmbH is a German retailer in Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock, and the .de and .com shops share one set of terms. Clause 5.1 of the AGB describes deliveries outside the EU such as Switzerland as net deliveries, and states that customs and VAT are not covered by the shipping fee. It points buyers to the Swiss customs administration. Clause 5.6 repeats that these charges are not levied by Aquatuning and are not contained in the shipping cost, and offers to remove German VAT from the invoice before payment. Clause 6.6 states plainly that import duties, taxes or other fees on deliveries outside the EU are borne by the recipient. Nothing on the site indicates a Swiss VAT registration or a DDP option. Prices are shown in EUR inclusive of German VAT, and a CHF currency switch exists, but it is a display conversion.
A confirmed Swiss shipping cost per carrier could not be read. The free-shipping-from-EUR-200 claim on the homepage is generic and may not apply to Switzerland.
“Diese Gebühren werden NICHT von Aquatuning erhoben und sind auch NICHT bereits in den Versandgebühren enthalten.”
“Bei Lieferungen in Länder außerhalb der Europäischen Union können Einfuhrabgaben (z. B. Zölle, Steuern oder sonstige Gebühren) anfallen, die vom Empfänger zu tragen sind.”
“Bitte informieren Sie sich bei Ihrem zuständigen Zollamt über die anfallenden Kosten (Schweiz: www.ezv.admin.ch)”
“können Sie vor Überweisung die deutsche Mehrwertsteuer aus Ihrer Bestellung entfernen lassen”
“unterschiedliche Versandarten, unter anderem DHL, UPS oder GLS”
“Profitieren Sie vom kostenlosen Versand bei Aquatuning ab einem Bestellwert von 200,- €.”
“Was die Zollgebühren angeht, haben Sie nicht zu befürchten da wir die zahlen.”
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