According to the Swiss Value Added Tax (VAT) Ordinance, an electronically transmitted invoice (electronic invoice) has the same evidentiary value as an invoice sent in paper format if the authenticity and integrity of the invoice can be verified. According to the Ordinance of the Federal Department of Finance on Electronic Data and Information (OElDI), the authenticity and integrity of an electronic invoice can be verified when advanced or qualified digital signatures are used to safeguard the transmission and storage of the invoice. As no further guidance had been provided by the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (SFTA), the OEIDI has until recently been the only regulation explicitly addressing the requirements with respect to maintaining the evidentiary value of electronic invoices. As a result, electronic invoices have only been considered fully accepted by the SFTA for input VAT deduction purposes if the invoices are electronically signed.

A Tax Alert prepared by Ernst & Young Switzerland, and attached below, provides additional details.

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ATTACHMENT

Full text of Tax Alert 2016-1728