T-CH Transit Procedure: How Swiss Customs Transit Works

Anyone shipping goods through Switzerland that are not destined for the Swiss market needs a specific customs procedure: transit. In Switzerland this procedure is called T-CH, and it is one of the tools used most often every day at the Chiasso border by companies moving goods between the European Union and third countries across Swiss territory.

In this article we explain what the T-CH transit procedure is, how it works, when it is used and how it differs from the common transit procedures T1 and T2.

What is the T-CH transit procedure?

T-CH is the Swiss national transit procedure. It allows goods to be transported across Swiss territory without immediately paying import duties and VAT, because the goods are due to leave the country for another destination.

In practice, the goods cross Switzerland under customs duty suspension: the duties are secured by a guarantee in the form of a deposit or surety bond, but are not actually paid, because the goods are not released for free circulation on the Swiss market.

T-CH is managed through the NCTS (New Computerised Transit System), an electronic platform shared by European and Swiss customs authorities that allows every transit operation to be tracked in real time.

When is T-CH used?

The T-CH transit procedure is used in a number of operational scenarios:

Goods in transit between two third countries crossing Switzerland (example: a shipment from Germany to Italy via the Gotthard)
Internal movement of uncleared goods from one Swiss customs office to another (example: from the Chiasso terminal to a customs warehouse in Zurich)
Transfers to customs warehouses or free zones within Switzerland
Exports departing from Switzerland when the goods must be accompanied by a transit document to the port of loading or the exit border
Indirect imports where the goods arrive in Switzerland but are cleared at a later stage at an inland customs office

In all these cases, T-CH ensures that the goods remain under customs control throughout the entire movement, until final release.

T-CH, T1 and T2: what are the differences?

The terms T1, T2 and T-CH are often confused. The distinction matters because it changes the applicable regulatory framework.

T1: external Community transit procedure. It applies to non-EU goods (or goods not in free circulation in the EU) crossing the customs territory of the Union
T2: internal Community transit procedure. It applies to EU-origin goods or goods in free circulation that, for operational reasons, must remain under customs control during a journey through third countries (typical example: EU goods crossing Switzerland between Italy and Germany)
T-CH: the Swiss national transit procedure, managed by the FOCBS and valid on Swiss territory

In many practical cases the three procedures are complementary: a shipment can leave the EU under T1, cross Switzerland under T-CH and continue under a new T1 when it re-enters the EU. Continuity of documentation is essential to avoid disputes.

How the T-CH procedure works, step by step

The operational process of a T-CH transit involves the following steps:

Opening the transit at the customs office of departure, with an electronic declaration via NCTS
Providing the guarantee (deposit, surety bond or comprehensive guarantee for regular operators)
Affixing customs seals to the means of transport, where required
Transporting the goods along the authorised route, with the transit accompanying document (TAD)
Presenting the goods at the customs office of destination within the set time limit
Closing the transit after checking the goods and seals, with discharge in the NCTS system
Releasing the guarantee once the operation has been confirmed as compliant

If the transit is not closed within the set time, the guarantee is called in and the duties must be paid as if the goods had been released for free circulation.

The guarantee under the T-CH procedure

One of the central aspects of T-CH is the financial guarantee required by the customs authorities. There are several options:

Individual guarantee: provided for each individual transit operation
Comprehensive guarantee: an overall guarantee facility covering multiple simultaneous operations, typically used by regular operators and freight forwarders
Guarantee waiver: available to AEO-certified operators or those meeting other reliability requirements

Companies that operate regularly entrust the management of the guarantee to their customs broker, who holds a comprehensive guarantee and takes care of all the formalities.

Common risks and mistakes in T-CH transit

In day-to-day practice, the situations that cause problems are often the same:

Failure to close the transit within the time limit, due to delivery delays or procedural errors
Discrepancies between the goods declared and the goods transported (weight, packages, description)
Broken customs seals during transport
Errors in the authorised route or in the customs offices of transit indicated
Incomplete documentation when the goods are presented to customs

Every mistake can result in the guarantee being called in, administrative penalties and operational disruption. That is why transit management is generally entrusted to specialist operators.

The role of the customs broker in T-CH transit

An experienced customs broker manages the entire transit operation on the company’s behalf:

Opening and closing the transit in the NCTS system
Providing and managing the guarantee (including through its own comprehensive guarantee)
Checking documentation and seals
Coordinating with carriers and with the customs offices of departure, transit and destination
Monitoring time limits and handling any issues

Spedimar SAGL has operated at the Chiasso border since 1993 and handles T-CH, T1 and T2 transit operations every day along the axis between Switzerland, Italy and northern Europe. Our comprehensive guarantee allows us to open and close transits quickly, sparing companies the burden of providing an individual guarantee for each shipment.

Do you have a shipment in transit through Switzerland?

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📞 +41 91 682 95 79 📧 info@spedimar.ch