Switzerland Opens Consultation for Applying OECD GIR Provisions

General

On April 30, 2025, the Swiss Federal Council issued a proposal to amend the Minimum Tax Ordinance to provide for the procedure for submitting the GloBE Information Return (‘GIR’) to the Federal Tax Administration (FTA), the international exchange of the GIR by the  FTA, and its use by the cantons. 

Other changes and clarifications include the tax liability for the IIR and the  allocation of supplementary taxes when changing cantons during a fiscal year. Entry into force is  scheduled for January 1, 2026. The consultation runs until August 20, 2025.

The current Minimum Tax Ordinance does not provide for detailed provisions for the submission of the GIR. It provides that the filing deadline for the GloBE Top-Up Tax Return will be the standard 15 months following the end of the fiscal year (18 months in the first year).

As the GloBE rules apply a jurisdictional blending approach, one entity per group of companies is taxable in Switzerland and one canton will undertake the assessment for the entire group of companies. It refers to this as the ‘one-stop shop’.

That canton then collects the top-up tax and distributes it to both the federal agency and other cantons. This brings considerable administrative simplification. In order to minimize the collection risk, the Federal Council introduces joint liability for all entities of a group of companies in Switzerland. An electronic portal is to be used for the one-stop shop procedure.  This amendment to the Minimum Tax Ordinance therefore includes the requirements for the submission of the GIR based on the OECD Model Rules. 

The main changes are:

Article 2(2)

The current ordinance excludes Articles 4.3.2 letters a and c–e of the OECD Model Rules for QDMTT purposes.  This relates to the pushdown restriction for QDMTT purposes. However, as the Minimum Tax Ordinance transposes the OECD Model Rules and Commentary this is already provides by the definition of QDMTT  in the February and July 2023 OECD Administrative Guidance. Therefore, this is to be removed.

Article 2(4)

The amended Ordinance provides for the automatic exchange of GIRs between Switzerland and its partner states:

1. under the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Exchange of GloBE Information;
2. under other international agreements providing for the automatic exchange of country-by-country  reports

Article 5(1)

This includes a small amendment to the application of the IIR to provide that the tax under the IIR compared to the OECD Model GloBE rules is limited to those constituent entities of an MNE group located in Switzerland.

Article 9(3)

This includes a small drafting change relating to the use of another accounting standard under Articles 3.1.2  and 3.1.3 of the OECD Model GloBE Rules. In particular, it provides that where the requirements are met the IIR tax will be calculated on the basis of the annual profit or loss calculated  in accordance with Articles 3.1.2 and 3.1.3 of OECD Model GloBE Rules (as opposed to the basis of  the annual financial statements prepared in accordance with Articles 3.1.2 and 3.1.3 of the OECD Model GloBE Rules).

Article 16(2)

Article 16 regulates the canton’s local jurisdiction for the assessment and collection of the top-up tax. The tax affiliation of this entity at the beginning of the financial year is decisive.

For the purpose of determining the subject to top-up tax, all entities held by the group at any time during the relevant financial year must be included. Therefore, the wording of paragraph 2 has been amended.

Article 17

This has been amended to provide that there are to be two information systems: one at a cantonal level (the ‘supplementary tax information system) and one based on the OECD GIR (the GIR information  system).

Article 18a

A new Article 18a provides details of the legal basis for the GIR information system.

Article 28a 

This provides that the GIR includes the information required under Articles 8.1.4  to  8.1.6  of the OECD Model Rules.

Article 28b 

This provides that the GIR must be completed in an official language of Switzerland or English.

Article 28c 

The GIR is to be completed based on the local currency or in the currency material to the business activities of the multinational group.

Article 28d

This provides for the obligation to submit the GIR which is based on the standard rules in Articles 8.1.4 to 8.1.6 of the OECD Model GloBE Rules and other OECD Guidance. This includes the January 2025 OECD GIR Guidance and exchange of information provisions, including the XML Schema.

The approach is that every Constituent Entity located in Switzerland will have an obligation to file a GIR in Switzerland. However, this obligation can be discharged if the GIR is filed by:

-The Ultimate Parent Entity,

-A Local Filing Entity; or

-The Designated Filing Entity.

Where the GIR is being filed by either the Ultimate Parent Entity or the Designated Filing Entity, the Constituent Entity, must file a notification with the Revenue.

The notification must contain:

-Details of the entity that is filing the GIR, and

-The jurisdiction in which such an entity is located.

Where the GIR is filed by the Designated Local Entity it needs to outline the Constituent Entities that it is filing on behalf of.

Both the GIR and associated notifications must be filed no later than 15 months after the end of the fiscal year (with an 18-month deadline for the Transition Year).

Other

As the OECD GIR Guidance is to be transposed this will also include the Transitional Simplified Reporting Election.

It provides for a simplified jurisdictional reporting mechanism for Fiscal Years beginning on or before December 31, 2028 but not including a Fiscal Year that ends after June 30, 2030.

Other provisions in the amended Minimum Tax Ordinance include related aspects of the GIR including the duty of confidentiality, penalty provisions and limitation periods.