7.3 Reverse charge mechanism - supply of natural gas and electricity

According to Art. 7 para. 2 VAT Law the place of a supply of electricity or natural gas is deemed to be the place where the customer has established his business or has a fixed establishment for which the goods are supplied, or, in the absence of such a place of business or fixed establishment, the place where he performs business activities.

As regards the place of supply, the VAT Law does not differentiate between the electricity or the natural gas supplied to a taxable person or a dealer and that supplied to a non-taxable person or final consumer.

In case a non-resident taxable person supplies electricity or natural gas to a customer domiciled in Switzerland, the reverse charge mechanism does apply if the customer is a taxable person. If the customer is a non-taxable person, the reverse charge mechanism does not apply. Thus, the non-resident taxable person has to register for VAT purposes in Switzerland and issue an invoice with Swiss VAT (Art. 109 para. 2 Swiss VAT Ordinance).