Do you pay Swiss import VAT and customs charges when ordering from dm.de?
dm.de delivers only to addresses in Germany, so a Swiss address cannot be entered at checkout. Swiss buyers who route an order through a forwarding address pay the import VAT and the forwarder's fee themselves.
The no-Switzerland rule is stated in dm's own terms text, which I read on dm's content server, and it is repeated in a reproduction of the main dm.de terms. The residual doubt is that the main dm.de shipping page renders through JavaScript and could not be read directly.
The terms for dm's German online shop state that delivery is only to Germany, with Helgoland and Büsingen excluded, and they list five delivery methods that are all domestic. The same clause appears in dm's own dm-med terms document hosted on dm's content domain. The available delivery options are a German billing address, a German address of choice, a dm store, a DHL Packstation or a Hermes PaketShop. None of these reaches Switzerland, and dm operates no Swiss stores or Swiss webshop.
Swiss shoppers reach dm through parcel forwarders such as MeinEinkauf.ch or ColisExpat, which take delivery in Germany and then import the goods. In that case the import charge is set by the forwarder, not by dm, and dm's checkout shows German VAT on a German delivery. Cosmetics and household goods carry no Swiss customs duty since January 2024, so the charge on import is the 8.1 percent VAT plus whatever the forwarder bills. Because dm is not the importer, no DDP or DAP verdict can be assigned to dm itself.
A forwarding service changes the picture. Goods bought at dm.de and imported by MeinEinkauf.ch or a similar agent carry 8.1 percent Swiss import VAT plus the agent's fee, starting around CHF 17.90 per parcel.
“Die Lieferung erfolgt nur nach Deutschland (mit Ausnahme von Helgoland und Büsingen).”
“5.1 Die Lieferung erfolgt nur nach Deutschland (mit Ausnahme von Helgoland und Büsingen).”
“Eine Lieferung der Ware von dm.de ins Ausland ist nicht möglich.”
“MeinEinkauf.ch übernimmt hierfür die Verzollung der Ware sowie die anschliessende Weiterleitung zu Ihnen in die Schweiz”
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