Do you pay Swiss import VAT and customs charges when ordering from OTTO?
OTTO's German webshop delivers only to addresses in Germany, so a Swiss address cannot be entered at checkout. The only way to get the goods is through a forwarding or parcel service in Germany, which then handles Swiss customs and charges you separately.
Confidence is high that otto.de does not deliver to Switzerland, since two current OTTO pages say so. The verdict itself has to stay UNKNOWN because there is no Swiss delivery for which import charges could be classified. What OTTO would do if it ever opened Swiss shipping cannot be inferred.
OTTO's own service pages are explicit on this point. The page on deliveries abroad states that orders placed through otto.de can only be delivered within Germany, and it refers foreign customers to Otto Group subsidiaries in Japan, the Netherlands, Austria and the UK. No Swiss company is listed. The marketplace FAQ repeats the same restriction for third-party sellers on the OTTO platform, saying that ordering and delivery are only possible within Germany. Because no Swiss delivery is offered, there is no OTTO shipping option to Switzerland, no Swiss VAT charged at checkout and no DDP or DAP arrangement to assess.
If you route the parcel through a German forwarding address or a service such as MeinEinkauf.ch, that service imports the goods rather than OTTO. You then pay its flat fee plus 8.1% import VAT, unless the fee is quoted all-inclusive. Bulky furniture also attracts surcharges.
“Bestellungen über otto.de können ausschließlich innerhalb Deutschlands geliefert werden.”
“Die Bestellung und Lieferung ist nur innerhalb Deutschlands möglich.”
“Sie zahlen keine Einfuhrabgaben oder Vorweisungstaxen.”
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