On 1 July 2018, Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL (“AWS Europe”), our Luxembourg-based AWS entity, started to sell our services. AWS Europe provides all AWS cloud services for your accounts based in these countries and territories in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Please read the AWS Europe FAQs for more detail.
Overview
In addition to its headquarters (“HQ”) in Luxembourg, AWS Europe has branches in several countries in EMEA, including Switzerland. The branches are not subsidiaries: they are the same legal entity as AWS Europe HQ in Luxembourg. In Switzerland, the branch has the relevant resources to be a registered establishment and is, therefore, treated as a local vendor for purposes of Value Added Tax (“VAT”).
If you have accounts located in Switzerland or Liechtenstein, AWS Europe Switzerland branch is required to charge local VAT [“Mehrwertsteuer” (“MWST”) in German; “Taxe sur la valeur ajoutée” (“TVA”) in French or “Imposta sul valore aggiunto” (“IVA”) in Italian] on all service charges incurred from 1 July 2018. If applicable, AWS Europe Switzerland Branch also issues valid VAT Invoices, available in the Bills section of the console under the header “Tax Invoices”. All VAT collected from customers in Switzerland will be paid to the Swiss Federal Tax Administration.
If you have a valid Tax Registration Number (“TRN”) associated with VAT, please visit the Tax Settings page of the AWS Billing Console and confirm or update your details, including your Business Legal Address for all of your account(s). This will ensure that your TRN is displayed on the AWS Europe Switzerland Branch VAT invoice, to enable you to claim a credit for VAT charged by AWS Europe Switzerland Branch, in accordance with your own circumstances, as well as local laws and regulations.
Telecommunications Services
Certain telecommunications services are sold by AMCS LLC, an Amazon entity. For further information, please click here.
AMCS LLC is required to charge Swiss VAT (MWST / TVA / IVA) on sales of telecommunications services to non-business customers (B2C) in Switzerland or Liechtenstein.
If you have accounts located in Switzerland or Liechtenstein, AMCS LLC charges local VAT on all service charges incurred from 1 July 2018, unless you have a valid TRN associated with VAT.
If you have a TRN, please visit the Tax Settings page of the AWS Billing Console and confirm or update your details, including your Business Legal Address for all of your account(s). Once you have added a valid TRN on your account(s), no VAT will be applied on your purchases of telecommunications services from AMCS LLC. Please note that you may have to self-assess VAT in your local VAT return.
For additional information on TRN, please click here.
AMCS LLC is registered for VAT in Switzerland. All VAT collected from customers will be reported to the Swiss Federal Tax Administration.
If applicable, AMCS LLC also issues valid VAT Invoices, available on the Bills section of the console.
How does AWS determine if your account is located in Switzerland and Liechtenstein?
At the moment of invoicing, AWS determines the location of each individual account, based on certain information, including your TRN, your Billing address and your Contact address. The result of AWS’ determination is shown as the “Tax Address” on the Tax Settings page of each account.
If you have a consolidated billing family, please note that each account is assessed individually: linked accounts do not inherit the Tax Address or the TRN of the payer account. The payer account can view the Tax Address of all their linked accounts on their own Tax Settings page.
Please click here for additional information.
Additional Information
For additional information on the application of VAT in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, please visit the website of the Swiss Federal Tax Administration.