Heavy vehicle charge
The performance-related heavy vehicle charge is levied on vehicles above 3.5 tonnes and is calculated from the permitted total weight, the emission class and the kilometres driven on Swiss territory.
Definition
Recording runs through a device in the vehicle; billing is periodic and addressed to the keeper. For the business the charge is therefore a variable cost block that arises per vehicle and per trip — and precisely for that reason it should be allocated per job.
Whoever does not allocate it carries it in the contribution margin of every trip. For an articulated lorry over a medium distance that is not a rounding item but a figure that decides whether a job is profitable.
The numbers
- 3.5 tonnes
- permitted total weight from which the charge is levied FOCBS
Where to read it
What the software must be able to do
Check whether the software holds kilometres per job and vehicle and calculates a share of the charge from them that reaches the invoice. Without that allocation the charge appears as a lump expense at month end, and nobody knows which job caused it.
Checked Aug 2026
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