Swiss companies are, by distance and language, the most natural non-EU suppliers to the German, Austrian and wider EU market. A Swiss online shop with a .de domain, a Swiss SaaS provider with EUR pricing, a Swiss hotel group with German-language online booking: all of them process data of people in the EU and, if they have no EU establishment, must appoint an EU representative under Art. 27 GDPR. Kanzlei Matutis acts as EU representative for Swiss companies for 350 EUR per year. Our firm also has a branch office in Felsberg (Graubünden) and advises on Swiss data protection law; the EU representative function itself is performed from our main office in Potsdam, Germany, because the representative must be established in the EU (Art. 27(3) GDPR).
Does a company from Switzerland need an EU representative?
Yes, if it has no establishment in the EU and its processing of personal data relates to offering goods or services to people in the EU or to monitoring their behaviour there (Art. 3(2) in conjunction with Art. 27(1) GDPR). Examples: a Zurich online shop delivering to Germany with prices in EUR; a Basel software company selling subscriptions to EU customers; a Swiss hotel group with a German booking site that tracks visitors for marketing. A Swiss AG or GmbH with a German subsidiary does not need a representative; the subsidiary is the EU contact point. A Swiss company that already has a subsidiary, branch or office in an EU Member State does not need a representative; that EU entity is the point of contact. The exceptions of Art. 27(2) GDPR (occasional, low-risk processing without large-scale sensitive data; public authorities) are narrow and rarely apply to a business that actively markets to the EU. The full criteria are explained on the page What is the legal situation?.
Swiss FADP, the mirror obligation and the EU adequacy decision
Switzerland’s revised Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP, in force since 1 September 2023) is closely aligned with the GDPR and is supervised by the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC). It contains a mirror obligation in Art. 14 FADP: foreign companies that process data of persons in Switzerland on a large scale must appoint a representative in Switzerland. Many Swiss companies know this rule and assume that the EU adequacy decision for Switzerland (Decision 2000/518/EC under what is now Art. 45 GDPR) spares them the EU equivalent. It does not. The adequacy decision governs transfers of personal data from the EU to Switzerland; it does not alter the territorial scope of the GDPR under Art. 3(2) GDPR. A Swiss company that offers goods or services to people in the EU needs an EU representative under Art. 27 GDPR, just as a German company that addresses the Swiss market may need a Swiss representative under Art. 14 FADP.
What we do as EU representative for Swiss companies
Rechtsanwaltskanzlei Matutis is a German law firm in Potsdam, near Berlin, specialised in data protection law. Under a written mandate pursuant to Art. 27(1) GDPR we act as your point of contact in the EU for all supervisory authorities of the Member States and for data subjects. Letters and emails addressed to us are checked, scanned and forwarded to your contact person without undue delay; we point out deadlines, such as the one-month period for data subject requests under Art. 12(3) GDPR. We are in the same time zone and speak the same language; most Swiss clients prefer to correspond in German. We communicate in English and German. We do not replace your Data Protection Officer and do not take over your compliance decisions; the difference is explained on the page EU representative vs. Data Protection Officer.
Cost for companies from Switzerland
The annual flat fee is 350 EUR. Because the service is provided by a German law firm to a business customer outside Germany, German VAT is not charged (reverse charge), so net equals gross. We invoice in EUR. If you transfer from a CHF account, please instruct your bank so that the full EUR amount on the invoice is credited to us; PayPal is also available. Forwarding of scanned mail by email is included; postal forwarding of originals is charged at 2 EUR per item plus postage. Full details: What does it cost and what is included?
Next step
Send us your company name, website and a short description of your activities in the EU via the inquiry form. We confirm whether a representative is required in your case and send you the contract and written mandate. The complete process is described on the page How to appoint an EU GDPR representative. Other countries: EU representative by country.