Passar 2.0: Swiss customs at the German border

Passar is the new goods traffic system of Swiss customs, the BAZG, for handling customs procedures digitally, and it replaces the e-dec freight application [1]. Export and transit have already moved to Passar (Passar 1.0); Passar 2.0 brings imports in steps from 2026, and the last import declaration through e-dec can be made on 30 September 2027 [1] [2].

What Passar 2.0 changes for imports

The move comes in four expansion steps: the first two cover standard imports, the fourth brings in the special procedures, and the switch to Passar with steps 1 to 3 is mandatory [2]. The first two steps have been ready since the second quarter of 2026 for firms that register with the BAZG in advance [1] [3]. Until the BAZG announces release for broad productive use, only those firms can record import declarations in Passar, and no company can switch without agreeing it with the BAZG; everyone else keeps declaring in e-dec Import [2] [3].

Three things work differently from e-dec Import:

• Activation. A Passar import declaration becomes legally binding when it is activated, and Passar 2.0 works with automated activation alone [3]. Every goods declaration has to be linked to a transport declaration. The BAZG recommends the Activ app as the signal at the border, and without a transport declaration the goods declaration has to be handled at the counter of the border office [4].
• GP-ID and roles. The declarant needs a business partner ID (GP-ID) from the BAZG ePortal plus the matching roles; a GP-ID alone is not enough [3]. The GP-ID replaces the ZAZ account, and from Passar 2.0 on no new ZAZ accounts are opened as a rule [6].
• Payment. Business partners without a seat or residence in Switzerland or Liechtenstein usually have to provide security. Decisions are bundled into two invoices: VAT payable within 60 days, other charges such as customs duty within 5 days [6].

Who files what at the German border

Goods crossing the border leave one customs territory and enter the other, and each side has its own declaration:

The import duty calculator estimates the German import duty and import VAT for goods coming from Switzerland, and the guide on ATLAS and DMS covers the German system.

Duty and VAT on the Swiss side

Since 1 January 2024, Switzerland charges no import duty on industrial goods of chapters 25 to 97, apart from some products in chapters 35 and 38 that count as agricultural [8]. Where duty still applies, the normal basis is per 100 kg of gross weight, and the declarant has to establish and declare that weight [7]. Import VAT follows the Swiss rates in force since 1 January 2024: 8.1 % standard and 2.6 % reduced [9].

Who may lodge a Swiss import declaration

The persons obliged to declare are those who bring the goods to customs and those instructed to declare them, such as forwarders and customs declarants [7]. Preparing declarations as a business is open to persons who are at least 18, are not under guardianship, have the necessary expertise and ensure correct representation in the procedure (Article 233 of the Swiss Customs Ordinance) [7].

What customs clearance costs in Switzerland

Two published price lists, both for parcels and courier shipments, not for truck loads:

• Swiss Post, import clearance, as published on 24 October 2026: a base price of CHF 13 for goods from the EU or CHF 16 from other countries, plus 3 % of the goods value, at most CHF 70, excluding VAT; the general processing fee is CHF 25 [13].
• DHL Express Switzerland, customs services valid from 1 January 2026: from CHF 19 for a simplified clearance to CHF 39.50 for a non-routine full clearance per shipment, and CHF 50 for a physical customs inspection [14].

Athren prepares the case from the shipment email; your declarant checks what is open and files the German import declaration in your certified ATLAS software. Athren files nothing.