Switzerland from the Paris region: two natural corridors
No Swiss warehouse, no local branch — DirectPAL ships from its 3 depots in the Paris region, France, and Switzerland happens to sit at the end of two corridors we know well. The Basel corridor: A5/A31 through Burgundy and the A36 to the Basel crossings — about 500 km, the gateway to Basel's chemical and pharmaceutical cluster, the Aargau logistics belt and the Mittelland towards Zurich (≈ 600 km). The Geneva corridor: A6 to Mâcon then A40 through the Alps — about 540 km — serving Geneva, the Vaud arc and French-speaking Switzerland. The truck is loaded once at our depot and unloaded once at your dock; a border crossing sits in between, and we plan for it instead of pretending it is not there.
Customs since 2024: simpler than its reputation
Two facts do most of the work. First, Switzerland abolished customs duties on industrial goods on 1 January 2024 — wood products included — so the tariff question for pallets is gone. Second, a France-to-Switzerland shipment is an export outside the EU: our invoice is issued without French VAT, subject to proof of export, and Swiss import VAT is handled at import by the importer. What remains is the declaration itself: export on the French side (which we prepare — commercial invoice, packing list, CMR in English or French), import clearance on the Swiss side by your forwarder or a broker we work with. The quoted lead time includes the customs slot — it is not discovered afterwards.
ISPM 15: usually not needed — but check before you re-export
Switzerland is an ISPM 15 signatory, but in practice packaging manufactured in the EU is exempt under a bilateral agreement with the EU — our French-made pallets cross without treatment formalities. The real question is what happens after Switzerland: if your goods later leave the EU/Swiss area (overseas exports out of Basel or Zurich, for instance), heat-treated, ISPM 15-marked pallets are the safe choice from the start. We supply them on request and confirm the requirement at quote — see the ISPM 15 guide and the country list 2026.
Pallets available for the Swiss market
The complete catalogue ships to Switzerland, at the same published price ranges:
- EPAL Euro pallets — 1200×800 mm, grade 1 and grade 2, from €10.50 excl. VAT (grade 1)
- One-way pallets — 80×120 and 100×120, light to heavy, from €3.80 excl. VAT
- CP chemical pallets CP1 to CP9 — ECTA/VCI standard, the formats the Basel chemical and pharma cluster expects
- Half & quarter pallets — 800×600 and 600×400 mm, display and retail
- VMF pallets D 3071 — 1000×1200 mm, glass and bottling
- Heavy-duty pallets — dynamic loads from 750 to 1,500 kg
- Custom pallets — specific dimensions and load ratings, ISPM 15 treatment available
Who we supply in Switzerland
The corridors define the customers: chemical and pharmaceutical logistics around Basel — where CP pallets to the ECTA/VCI standard are the working language — food processing and beverages in the Mittelland, distribution and 3PL platforms in Aargau and around Zurich, watchmaking and microtechnics suppliers along the Jura arc, and trading companies in Geneva moving goods through the EU. We name sectors, not clients. Full truckload only: a border crossing makes half-empty trucks even less defensible than usual.
