Platform Taxation: The End of Privacy and VAT on Private Sales?
How the new platform taxation is changing the second-hand trade in Switzerland
Private individuals in Switzerland are keen users of second-hand platforms and flea markets. After all, selling goods you no longer need directly to other private individuals is good for the environment and for your wallet. It’s a positive exchange between citizens. However, since the introduction of Swiss platform taxation, the digital second-hand landscape has been undergoing a major transformation. Many marketplaces have had to restructure their systems so that private transactions can be fully recorded and reported to the Federal Tax Administration (FTA).
In the case of precious metal trading, however, the implications go much further. Due to a flaw in the legislation, VAT must now also be paid on private sales of white precious metals such as silver. To protect our users’ privacy and money in a legally compliant manner, we radically changed our business model in June 2026. This report examines the legal background to Art. 20a of the VAT Act and explains why privacy protection when buying precious metals is not a luxury, but a fundamental right.
What exactly is platform taxation?
The original intention behind the introduction of platform taxation was to protect domestic trade from the ‘flood of parcels’ from abroad. International trading platforms such as Temu, AliExpress and Amazon offered Swiss users direct access to retailers of low-cost goods, primarily from the Far East. To prevent this from resulting in massive quantities of goods being imported into Switzerland without the VAT due on them being paid, platform taxation was introduced.
However, according to PreMeSec’s practical experience and opinion, this system has significant technical shortcomings. Unnecessarily, it covers not only sales by foreign retailers but also Swiss companies and the private, domestic second-hand trade.
The legal pitfall: what is ‘fictitious supplier status’?
The crux of the legislative amendment lies in what is known as fictitious supplier status (Art. 20a of the VAT Act). If an internet platform actively brokers the sales contract, processes the payment or technically finalises the sale on its website, it is no longer legally regarded as a mere intermediary.
Instead, the law treats the transaction as comprising two separate supplies:
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The private seller fictitiously supplies the precious metal to the platform.
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The platform fictitiously supplies the product to the end buyer.
The devastating impact on silver and white metals
Whilst investment gold is exempt from VAT in Switzerland, silver, platinum and palladium are subject to the standard 8.1% VAT rate in commercial trade. As a result of the ‘fictitious supplier’ rule, a private transaction on a traditional auction platform is suddenly treated as a commercial sale. This is where the problem lies with precious metals: whilst platforms can ‘write off’ VAT on second-hand goods through a notional input tax deduction, this is not possible with white precious metals because they are explicitly exempt (Article 62 of the VAT Ordinance).
The platform therefore becomes liable for the tax and must pay the VAT. It is inevitably forced to recover this money from the user – either through a direct deduction from the private seller’s proceeds or through massively increased platform commissions. The price advantage of P2P trading is thus effectively taxed away by the state. And this indirectly results in a VAT liability for private individuals that is alien to the system.
The brothers’ example: Anton vs. Bernhard
This is particularly jarring when illustrated using a concrete real-life example involving two brothers: Anton and Bernhard.
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Anton sells an old silver bar from his private collection at a traditional flea market and receives 100 francs in cash. The full 100 francs belong to him.
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Bernhard sells his identical silver bar at the same time on a conventional second-hand platform on the internet. The price he receives is also 100 francs.
However, the digital platform is now legally obliged to pay 8.10 francs in VAT to the state for this sale. As this money does not come out of thin air, the platform must either officially deduct this amount as 8.1% VAT from the proceeds, or it must charge Bernhard at least 8.1% in additional commission to cover the tax liability. Bernhard loses out on cash simply because he chose the digital route.
The transparent customer: Obligation to report to the FTA
In addition to tax deductions, platform taxation constitutes a massive encroachment on data protection. According to the FTA’s enforcement guidelines (regulated, amongst other things, in VAT Info 27, section 3.5), operators of transaction platforms are obliged to collect extensive data sets on their users, store them for years and hand them over to the authorities upon request.
This includes:
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The full name and verified address of the seller and buyer.
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A detailed list of the products sold (coins, bars, denominations).
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The exact transaction volumes and monetary amounts involved.
In a nation that has historically defended domestic banking secrecy, this leads to an absurd situation: Anyone selling a few private silver bars or gold vreneli online to raise cash is treated for tax purposes as a commercial wholesaler.
The PreMeSec approach: A consistent shift to the classifieds model
As Swiss entrepreneurs, one thing is clear to us: PreMeSec will not become an extension of the tax authorities. Our platform was founded to enable private individuals to trade securely, affordably and discreetly.
To protect our customers’ privacy in a legally compliant manner, we have removed all transaction mechanisms (auctions, ‘Buy Now’ buttons, platform-internal payment processing) from the platform with effect from June 2026. With immediate effect, PreMeSec operates as a pure, legally compliant classifieds platform.
Why the classifieds model protects both privacy and your wallet:
As no digital sales contract is concluded on PreMeSec and no payment flows pass through our servers, the ‘supplier fiction’ provision of Article 20a of the Swiss Value Added Tax Act (MWSTG) does not apply. We merely facilitate the initial contact between verified profiles. The actual transaction – the physical handover of goods in exchange for cash – takes place outside the platform. This removes the obligation to pass on data to the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (ESTV) on a blanket basis.
Greater freedom and better prices thanks to a 31-day listing period
The shift to a pure classifieds model is not a step backwards, but a strategic advantage for our users. In traditional auctions, there was ultimately just one bidder who won the lot – often at a price distorted by the short auction period.
Our classified adverts run for 31 days as standard. During this period, the listing is viewed by hundreds of qualified Swiss buyers. This gives sellers the freedom to compare offers and choose the best trading partner themselves. The listing fees remain fixed, linked to the value of the precious metal, transparent and predictable, and independent of the final sale price.
Conclusion: Security does not require surveillance
Protection against criminal elements in the precious metals market is essential. That is why PreMeSec adheres to its strict, manual identity verification process (Swiss ID/passport, SMS verification, residence check). We know who is advertising on our platform.
However, we draw a clear line between security to protect against fraud and the unwarranted disclosure of private financial data. With the new advertising model, we are proving that secure, transparent trading in physical gold and silver is possible in Switzerland – without turning citizens into ‘transparent citizens’.