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Importing gold into Switzerland: precious metals control, melter's licences and what a refiner will ask
Switzerland places its duties on the Swiss side of the transaction: the refiner or trader who receives the gold must hold the right licence, establish that the melt material was lawfully acquired, and clear it through customs and precious metals control. This is a summary of official texts read on 2 November 2026, not legal advice. Rules change, so confirm each point with a Swiss adviser or customs declarant.
Who the rules bind
The Precious Metals Control Act (PMCA, SR 941.31) requires authorisation for the commercial manufacture of melt products, defined as ingots, slabs, bars and granules produced by melting. Melt material includes precious metals obtained through the extraction of raw materials or refining, so mine doré falls within it. Only individuals entered in the Swiss Commercial Register and resident in Switzerland, or enterprises entered in that register, may apply for a melter's licence, which the Central Office for Precious Metals Control grants for four years. Only Assay Offices or trade assayers may determine the fineness of melt products, and trade assayers need an assayer licence from the Central Office.
The texts we read place no duty on a foreign seller. That is absence, not permission: the Swiss refiner must prove lawful acquisition for everything it melts and will ask the seller for the documents.
What to have in place before a shipment
| Item | What the text says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Customs declaration and declarant | Melt products are declared with the precious metals control authorisation requirement (Passar regulation code 991; e-dec authority 089 FOCBS-PMCM), the country of origin and the mark carried, or "without". Controls are risk-based; a blocked consignment goes to a Precious Metals Control Office with its documents | FOCBS melt products factsheet (as of 1 September 2026); FOCBS registration process, 17 November 2025 |
| The receiving refiner's melter's licence | Commercial melting needs a licence from the Central Office; each melt product carries the holder's mark | PMCA Art. 24, 26 and 31 |
| Trade assayer status for unmarked bars | Melt products arriving without a Swiss or recognised foreign assayer-melter mark, "for example doré bars from mining", may be accepted only by trade assayers, who are subject to the PMCA and the Anti-Money Laundering Act and must clarify the lawful origin of the material | Central Office letter of 4 December 2019 on rules from 1 January 2020; guideline R-247, section 3.4.2 |
| Origin verification on melt material | The licence holder may accept melt material only from persons who can prove lawful acquisition, must verify identity with a passport or identity card, and must clarify the origin in detail where there is doubt or the offer comes from unknown parties | PMCO Art. 168a |
| VAT position | Turnover in gold in the listed forms, including raw gold destined for refining, is exempt with credit, and its import is exempt from import tax | VAT Act Art. 23 para. 2 no. 12 and Art. 53 para. 1 let. m, in force 1 January 2025 |
| Due-diligence file | Know your customer and know your product: identification and checking of the customer and of the origin of the melt material; records kept for ten years | R-247 section 3.3; PMCO Art. 168b and 168c |
Why gold declared as Ugandan gets a closer look
The Swiss texts do not list countries. The guideline for licence holders names signs that call for especially careful clarification, among them doubts about the authenticity of documents, material that does not match what was agreed, volumes that rise sharply without an evident reason, and a customer publicly linked with illegal practices. Its tools include database checks, on-site controls, supply-chain risk assessment using information from authorities, international organisations and civil society, and export documents from the country of dispatch.
Gold declared as Ugandan has to be weighed against that method: Uganda recorded about 62 tonnes of gold exports in 2025, and United Nations experts assessed that the rise was largely attributable to gold originating in the Congo. See Uganda's production and export figures. Expect specific questions on mine-level origin, and expect the material to be held unaltered until they are answered, as the ordinance requires.
Duty, VAT and reporting
| Point | What we read | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Customs duty, heading 7108 | Raw gold is classified under 7108.1200 in Swiss statistics. The working tariff is published in Tares | Tares sits behind an entry page we did not pass; the rate is not confirmed |
| VAT on import | Gold and gold alloys covered by Art. 23 para. 2 no. 12 are exempt from import tax: state-minted coins; investment gold of at least 995 fineness bearing a recognised assayer-melter's stamp; sealed granules of 995 or more; raw or semi-finished gold destined for refining or recovery, waste and scrap; alloys of two per cent or more gold | German text read; the English page was not open. VAT Ordinance Art. 44 was repealed from 1 January 2025, so older summaries cite a dead provision |
| Cash and anti-money-laundering duties | Dealers accepting cash above a threshold must identify the customer and beneficial owner and keep records; for commercial transactions in precious metals the threshold is CHF 15,000 (in force 1 October 2026). Trade assayers and professional precious-metal traders are financial intermediaries | AMLA Art. 8a para. 1 and 2bis, Art. 2 para. 2 let. g and para. 3 let. c. The English translation has no legal force |
| Gold of Russian origin | Buying, importing, transiting or transporting gold of Russian origin exported from Russia after 4 August 2022 is prohibited, as is gold processed in a third country from such gold, and related services | Ordinance SR 946.231.176.72 Art. 14d, inserted 3 August 2022, wording of 1 February 2024. Lists of goods are in Annexes 26 and 27, not read |
| Precious metals control at import | Imported melt products must carry the stamp of a melter's licence holder, a control office or a trade assayer, a fineness mark and the name of the metal | FOCBS factsheet; the trade assayer exception for unmarked products is in the 2019 letter and R-247 |
The melt-material origin duty in practice
The ordinance sets out what the refiner must record for each purchase: the customer's name and address, the identity document, the date of acceptance, a precise description and composition, any marking, the weight at acceptance, the weight after melting, and completion of the transaction. The licence holder must organise its firm to prevent the melting of material of unlawful origin, keep the documents for ten years, and inform the police where unlawful acquisition is suspected.
The guideline's matrix adds, for material of foreign origin, export proof in line with OECD guidance, and reserves doré bars from abroad to trade assayers. So a Swiss refiner considering Ugandan material will ask for the identity of the seller and its owners, the export permit and the documents behind it, mine-level origin records, weights and an assay as supplied, and the chain of custody from mine to aircraft. See what each export document should prove and gold chain of custody.
Are bars refined in Uganda recognised in Switzerland?
Fineness determinations made abroad are recognised only if made by recognised assayer-melters, or if the melt products are banking precious metals: gold ingots or granules of at least 995 fineness in market-standard form carrying a recognised assayer-melter's stamp. The Central Office currently recognises producers on the LBMA and LPPM good delivery lists. On 2 November 2026 the LBMA gold list showed 67 refiners, five of them in Switzerland and none in Uganda, so a bar from a Ugandan refinery enters as an unmarked melt product and is assayed again by the receiving trade assayer. See gold bar specifications, gold refining in Uganda and how gold is refined.
The Ugandan side of the shipment
Under Uganda's Act, each consignment needs an export permit. The copy of Uganda's 2024 export regulations we reviewed states a minimum of 99.9% gold for exports (S.I. 30 of 2024, regulation 3). We have not confirmed that it is currently in force, and we found no exemption for doré. This is a regulatory requirement, not a product specification, and a buyer's acceptance of any material is a separate matter. Qualified Ugandan legal advice is still needed on how it applies today. See how gold is lawfully exported from Uganda and how to check a Ugandan gold supplier.
See also shipping gold internationally and importing gold into the UAE.
What we could not confirm
- The customs duty rate for heading 7108: Tares sits behind an entry page we did not pass
- Swiss import statistics for gold by country of origin, including any figure for Uganda: the dashboard and open-data pages did not open
- The content of Annexes 26 and 27 to the Ukraine ordinance
- Whether a private individual may import gold for refining; the texts we read concern commercial melting and trade
- Any rule specific to Ugandan gold: we found none
Where Uganda Gold Report stands
Uganda Gold Report is developing documented gold-sourcing routes and welcomes enquiries from qualified international buyers. Product availability, specifications, seller authority and export eligibility are subject to independent verification and applicable regulatory approvals. We do not supply Switzerland, have no relationship with any Swiss refiner and have made no shipment; we hold no stock and no Ugandan licence. If you are a buyer with a genuine requirement, send us your specification and delivery point; we reply with what can and cannot be quoted at this stage.
Questions buyers ask
Can a foreign seller ship doré to Switzerland?
Only through a Swiss trade assayer. The Central Office's rules from 1 January 2020 and guideline R-247 say melt products without a Swiss or recognised foreign assayer-melter mark, such as doré bars from mining, may be accepted only by trade assayers, because they must clarify the lawful origin of the material. The seller does not import; the licensed Swiss recipient does, and it will ask for the documents it needs.
Is there Swiss VAT on imported gold?
Not on the forms listed in the VAT Act since 1 January 2025: state-minted coins, investment gold of at least 995 fineness bearing a recognised assayer-melter's stamp, sealed granules, raw or semi-finished gold destined for refining or recovery, waste and scrap, and alloys of two per cent or more gold. Their import is exempt from import tax under Art. 53 para. 1 let. m. We did not confirm the customs duty rate.
Is gold of Russian origin banned in Switzerland?
Yes. Art. 14d of the Ukraine ordinance, inserted on 3 August 2022, prohibits buying, importing, transiting or transporting gold of Russian origin exported from Russia after 4 August 2022, gold processed in a third country from such gold, and related services. Separately, the FOCBS said in June 2022 that bars made by Russian refineries before 7 March 2022 may in principle still be traded.
Does a Swiss refiner need to know the mine the gold came from?
It must establish lawful acquisition. The ordinance lets a licence holder accept melt material only from persons who can prove lawful acquisition, requires identity checks, and requires detailed clarification of origin where there is doubt. Guideline R-247 describes this as know your customer and know your product, with export proof for material of foreign origin. Mine-level records are the practical way to answer those questions for Ugandan material.
Does Uganda Gold Report supply Swiss refiners?
No. We have no relationship with any refinery in Switzerland or elsewhere, hold no stock and no Ugandan licence, and have made no shipment. We do not recommend any refiner. This page describes the rules a Swiss recipient works under so that a buyer can judge what documentation a Ugandan consignment would need.
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Send the gold form, fineness, quantity, delivery point and the documents you require. We reply by email with what can and cannot be quoted at this stage, and on what basis.
Sources for the figures and rules on this page
Evidence for this page
Each statement is labelled by the strength of its evidence and dated. How we label evidence.
| Statement | Evidence | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 1: precious metals are gold, silver, platinum and palladium; melt products are ingots, slabs, bars and granules produced by melting; melt material includes precious metals obtained through the extraction of raw materials or refining. Art. 24: authorisation is required for the commercial manufacture of melt products. Art. 25: individuals must be entered in the Swiss Commercial Register and resident in Switzerland; enterprises must be entered in the register. Art. 26: the Central Office grants the melter's licence for four years. Art. 31: each melt product carries the licence holder's mark. Art. 32: only Assay Offices or trade assayers may determine the fineness of melt products. Art. 41: trade assayers hold an assayer licence from the Central Office. Art. 36 and 37: the Central Office is affiliated to the Federal Department of Finance and supervises the trade under the PMCA and the AMLA. | Official | Precious Metals Control Act (PMCA), SR 941.31, status 1 July 2023; English translation marked as having no legal force; read in the browser 2 Nov 2026 | |
| Art. 168a: the holder of a melter's licence may accept melt material only from persons who can prove lawful acquisition; must verify identity by passport or identity card; must clarify the origin in detail where there is doubt or the offer comes from unknown parties; must inform the police where unlawful acquisition is suspected. Art. 168b: organisational measures to prevent melting material of unlawful origin, with internal supervision and staff training (wording in force 1 Jan 2023); goods stored unaltered while origin is clarified; documents kept ten years. Art. 168c: records of customer name and address, identity document, acceptance date, description and composition, marking, weight at acceptance, weight after melting, completion. Art. 178: foreign fineness determinations recognised only if made by recognised assayer-melters or if the products are banking precious metals (gold ingots and granules of at least 995 fineness, ingots following international market practice with a fineness mark and a recognised assayer-melter's stamp); the Central Office publishes the list of recognised foreign assayer-melters. | Official | Precious Metals Control Ordinance (PMCO), SR 941.311, status 1 January 2024; English translation marked as having no legal force; read in the browser 2 Nov 2026 | |
| Imported melt products must be marked with the stamp of a holder of a melter's licence, the stamp of a control office or a trade assayer, a fineness mark and the name of the precious metal. Goods declaration: Passar regulation code 991 "FOCBS - PMC Melt products" with country of origin; e-dec authorisation authority "089 FOCBS-PMCM"; the mark carried is indicated as CH, LBMA, LPPM, Others or Without. Document dated "As of: 1.9.2026". | Official | FOCBS, PMC Melt products factsheet (emksp_e.pdf), text extracted 2 Nov 2026 | |
| Registration process for imports at the Precious Metals Control, 17 November 2025: goods subject to authorisation are marked in Tares with FOCBS-PMCR or FOCBS-PMCM and declared with an authorisation requirement code; the decision to control is risk-based; a consignment marked blocked requires the person required to register to send documents to the Precious Metals Control Office; the process took effect on 1 December 2025. | Official | FOCBS, Registration process for imports at the Precious Metals Control (PMC), 17 Nov 2025; text extracted 2 Nov 2026 | |
| Letter of the Central Office for Precious Metals Control dated 4 December 2019 on rules from 1 January 2020: foreign fineness determinations are recognised where the producer is on the LBMA or LPPM good delivery lists (Art. 178 para. 1 PMCO); banking precious metals are freely tradable and may be imported without restriction; melt products not bearing a Swiss or recognised foreign assayer-melter mark at import ("bspw. Doré-Barren aus dem Bergbau") may be accepted for processing by trade assayers subject to the PMCA and the AMLA, since they must clarify the lawful origin of the material; therefore only trade assayers may import unmarked melt products. | Official | Federal Customs Administration, Central Office for Precious Metals Control, Vorschriften für den Import von Schmelzprodukten per 01.01.2020, letter of 4 Dec 2019; German; text extracted 2 Nov 2026 | |
| R-247 version 3 (01.01.2023): due diligence comprises comprehensive identification and checking of customers (KYC) and checking the origin of the melt material (KYP); especially careful clarification is required where there is doubt, with examples (obviously false or misleading statements, doubts about the authenticity of identity documents, material not matching what was agreed, sharply rising volumes without evident reason, a customer publicly linked with illegal practices) and tools (database checks, on-site controls, checking document authenticity, assessing supply-chain risks with information from authorities, international organisations and civil society); section 3.4.2 repeats the trade assayer rule for unmarked melt products such as doré bars from mining; the annex matrix lists "Bei ausländischer Herkunft: Exportnachweis gem. OECD" and states that doré bars from abroad may be accepted only by trade assayers. | Official | FOCBS, Richtlinie R-247 zur Anwendung des Edelmetallkontrollgesetzes für Inhaber von Schmelz- und Handelsprüferbewilligungen, V3, 4 Jan 2023; German; text extracted 2 Nov 2026 | |
| Art. 23 para. 2 no. 12 (inserted by the Federal Act of 16 June 2023, in force 1 Jan 2025): turnover in gold and gold alloys in the following forms is exempt: state-minted gold coins of tariff numbers 7118.9010, 9705.3100 and 9705.3900; investment gold of at least 995 fineness as cast bars or pressed plates with a fineness mark and the stamp of a recognised assayer-melter (or a Swiss-registered responsibility mark for plates); granules of at least 995 fineness packed and sealed by a recognised assayer-melter; gold in raw or semi-finished form destined for refining or recovery, and gold waste and scrap; alloys of such gold with two or more per cent gold by weight or, if platinum is present, more gold than platinum. Art. 53 para. 1 let. m (inserted, in force 1 Jan 2025): the import of gold and gold alloys under Art. 23 para. 2 no. 12 is exempt from import tax. | Official | Value Added Tax Act (MWSTG), SR 641.20, German text, status 31 March 2025; read in the browser 2 Nov 2026; the English page of the Act was not opened | |
| Art. 44 of the VAT Ordinance (gold coins and fine gold) was repealed by the Ordinance of 21 August 2024 with effect from 1 January 2025 (AS 2024 485); the current ordinance contains no gold provision. | Official | Value Added Tax Ordinance (MWSTV), SR 641.201, German text, status 28 October 2026; read in the browser 2 Nov 2026 (the English current version is shown as under preparation) | |
| Art. 2 para. 2 let. g: trade assayers and group companies under Art. 42bis PMCA are financial intermediaries. Art. 2 para. 3 let. c: persons who trade on a professional basis, for their own or others' account, in precious metals are financial intermediaries. Art. 8a para. 1: dealers who accept more than 100,000 francs in cash in a commercial transaction must verify the customer's identity, establish the beneficial owner and keep records. Para. 2bis: for commercial transactions involving precious metals within Art. 1 para. 1 PMCA or precious stones the threshold is 15,000 francs (inserted by the Federal Act of 26 Sept. 2025, in force 1 Oct. 2026). Para. 2ter: financial intermediaries trading professionally in banking precious metals are not subject to paras 1 to 2bis. | Official | Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), SR 955.0; English translation marked as having no legal force; read in the browser 2 Nov 2026 | |
| Art. 14d para. 1: the purchase of gold listed in Annex 26 originating in the Russian Federation and exported from the Russian Federation after 4 August 2022, and its import, transit and transport into and through Switzerland, are prohibited. Para. 2 extends this to gold processed in a third country using such gold; para. 3 to gold-containing products in Annex 27; para. 4 prohibits related services including financial services, brokerage and technical assistance. Footnote 189: inserted by the Ordinance of 3 Aug 2022, in force 3 Aug 2022 at 18.00 (AS 2022 436); paras 1 and 3 in the wording of 31 Jan 2024, in force 1 Feb 2024 (AS 2024 51). Annexes 26 and 27 not read. | Official | Ordinance of 4 March 2022 on measures in connection with the situation in Ukraine, SR 946.231.176.72, German text, status 21 September 2026; read in the browser 2 Nov 2026 | |
| FOCBS questions and answers of 24 June 2022: about three tonnes of gold with origin designation Russia were imported from the United Kingdom in May 2022 and were being checked; bars produced by Russian refineries before 7 March 2022 may in principle still be traded; the LBMA suspended all recognised Russian refineries from 7 March 2022; for Swiss foreign trade statistics the country-of-origin principle applies (the country where the goods were wholly obtained, produced or last substantially processed). | Official | Federal Office for Customs and Border Security, Fragen und Antworten: Goldimporte russischer Herkunft, 24 June 2022; German; text extracted 2 Nov 2026 | |
| Raw gold is classified under customs tariff heading 7108.1200; since 1 January 2021 the FOCBS distinguishes mining gold (key 911), refined gold of at least 99.5% (keys 912 and 913) and refined gold below 99.5% (key 914); monthly imports by country are in the Swiss-Impex dashboard and on the I14Y platform. The page gives no trade figures. | Official | FOCBS, Swiss foreign trade statistics: gold, silver and coins; read 2 Nov 2026. The Swiss-Impex dashboard and the opendata.swiss dataset pages returned 403 the same day, so no figure by origin was read | |
| The Swiss working tariff is published in the Tares application; the Tares entry page shows no tariff data before the ENTER step, which we did not take, so the duty rate for heading 7108 is not confirmed. | Subject to verification | FOCBS, Customs tariff Tares page, and the Tares entry page, read 2 Nov 2026 | |
| On 2 November 2026 the LBMA Good Delivery List for gold showed 67 refiners; the country filter showed Switzerland (5), South Africa (1) and no entry for Uganda. | Official | LBMA Good Delivery Current List, gold; read in the browser 2 Nov 2026 | |
| Uganda recorded gold exports of about 62 tonnes in 2025; the UN experts assessed the rise as largely attributable to gold originating in the Congo. | Official | UN Group of Experts on the DRC, final report, June 2026 (S/2026/466), para. 212 | |
| Regulation 3 states: "A person shall not export gold out of Uganda unless the gold is at a minimum purity level of 99.9% Au." Made 9 May 2024; Statutory Instruments Supplement No. 15 of 24 May 2024. Current force not confirmed. | Official | Mining and Minerals (Export of Refined Gold) Regulations 2024, S.I. 30 of 2024, regulation 3; scanned copy on the mining directorate (DGSM) website, read 31 Oct 2026 | |
| Search demand for "import gold into switzerland" and related queries has not been read in SEMrush or Search Console for this page. | Subject to verification | SEMrush Keyword Overview not run on 2 Nov 2026 |