Quality Inspection in India for Swiss Importers

Key takeaways

Clothing was US$36m of Switzerland's US$65m basket from India in 2025, and leather goods and shoes another US$17m (UN Comtrade).
Switzerland is in neither the EU nor the EEA. Its own product safety ordinance asks for instructions in the official language of the region where a product is used and text warnings in German, French and Italian.
Swiss rules for textiles and leather in skin contact limit azo dyes and nickel release, and set safety requirements for cords and drawstrings on children's clothing.
A new Swiss packaging ordinance applies from 1 January 2027; from 2031, larger importers report the weight of their packaging by material each year.

What Switzerland buys from India

India's exports to Switzerland in the categories we inspect were US$65 million in calendar year 2025, about 7% lower than in 2024. Clothing is more than half of it, and knitwear leads. Home goods are small: US$12 million in all.

Source: UN Comtrade, India's reported exports to Switzerland, calendar year 2025, FOB, rounded.
Category (HS)	2025, US$ million
Knitted apparel (61)	21
Woven apparel (62)	15
Leather goods and bags (42)	11, of which bags and cases (4202) 7
Footwear (64)	6
Home textiles (6301–6304)	4
Rugs and carpets (57)	2
Furniture (94)	2

EPCH, the handicrafts export council, records US$6.41 million of Indian handicraft exports to Switzerland in the year April 2024 to March 2025 (EPCH Annual Report 2024-25).

Where those goods are made in India

Knitwear: Tirupur, the Town of Export Excellence for hosiery (DGFT Appendix 1B). See T-shirts and knit tops.
Woven garments: Gurgaon and Noida (apparel, Appendix 1B) and Faridabad (apparel, Foreign Trade Policy 2023), all in Delhi NCR. See denim jeans and children's clothing.
Leather goods and shoes: Agra, Kanpur and Ambur, each listed for leather products. See leather handbags, leather belts and leather shoes.

Delhi NCR is one of our inspector bases. Tirupur, Agra, Kanpur and Ambur are reached by travel.

Swiss rules, not EU rules

Switzerland is in neither the EU nor the EEA, so the GPSR and REACH do not apply there as such. Its own laws do, and they often follow the EU closely. Since a Federal Council decision of 1993, Swiss chemicals law has been adapted to EU law, and the chemical risk reduction ordinance (ChemRRV) is updated as REACH Annex XVII changes (Federal Office for the Environment, 2025). Three Swiss texts shape a factory inspection:

Product Safety Ordinance (PrSV), Art. 8 and 11. Operating and use instructions must be in the official language of the region where the product is likely to be used. Text warnings and safety notices in them must be in all three official languages, German, French and Italian, or replaced by symbols that inform well enough.
Product Safety Act (PrSG), Art. 8. A manufacturer or importer placing a consumer product on the market must be able to trace it.
Ordinance on articles for human contact (HKV). Listed textiles and leather goods in long skin contact must not release more than 30 mg/kg of the listed aromatic amines from azo dyes. Rivets, buttons, zips and belt buckles in long skin contact may release no more than 0.5 µg of nickel per cm² per week. Cords and drawstrings on clothing for children up to 14 must keep the risk of catching or strangulation as low as possible.

For background, see azo dyes and restricted substances and REACH. If your range also sells in the EU, the EU checklist covers that side.

What a Swiss order adds at the factory

Trilingual warnings. Where a product comes with instructions that contain text warnings, such as a safety or use insert, those warnings must be in German, French and Italian unless symbols are used. We check the printed inserts against your approved file in all three languages. Our pages for Germany, France and Italy describe each language's own rules there.
Drawstrings on children's clothing. We check cords and drawstrings against the specification in your order, including length and fixing, on every sampled children's style.
Metal trims and dyes. Nickel release and azo amines need a lab. We pull and seal samples of jeans buttons, rivets and buckles, and of dyed leather and fabric, through lab testing coordination.
Traceability. Batch or order codes on the goods or cartons that match the packing list, so a product can be traced as the PrSG requires.
Packaging weights. The Swiss Packaging Ordinance (VerpV), adopted on 24 June 2026, replaces the beverage-container ordinance and covers all packaging from 1 January 2027. From 1 January 2030, businesses supplying packaged goods must keep packaging to the minimum needed and make it suitable for recycling, where technically possible and economically viable. From 1 January 2031, importers of goods in single-use packaging with over CHF 1 million turnover and more than 500 kg of packaging in two consecutive years report the packaging weight by material to the Federal Office for the Environment by the end of February each year. On request, our inspector weighs each packaging component of a sample unit and records it in the report.

Trade agreement, timing and booking

Trade agreement. The India–EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement entered into force on 1 October 2025 for Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland (EFTA joint communiqué). Origin rules decide whether goods qualify; ask your customs broker. We can check that origin marks and cartons match the factory's records.

Timing. India Standard Time is UTC+5:30, with no daylight saving. Zurich is 4 hours 30 minutes behind in winter and 3 hours 30 minutes behind in summer, so our office day (9:30 am to 6:30 pm IST, Monday to Saturday) ends in your early afternoon. The report follows within 24 hours of the inspection, after supervisor review, with a verdict of Cleared to load, Hold or Not cleared.

Booking. One man-day costs US$249, report included. Travel is free in Jodhpur, US$99 per man-day from Jaipur, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Delhi NCR and Kolkata, and at actual cost elsewhere, quoted before you book. A pre-shipment inspection suits most Swiss clothing orders. See pricing or book an inspection.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Do warnings on goods for Switzerland need three languages?

Text warnings and safety notices in instructions must be in German, French and Italian under the Swiss Product Safety Ordinance, or replaced by symbols that inform well enough. The instructions themselves need the official language of the region where the product will be used.

Does the EU GPSR apply in Switzerland?

No. Switzerland is in neither the EU nor the EEA. Its Product Safety Act and ordinance apply instead, with the ordinance on articles for human contact covering textiles and leather in skin contact.

Does Switzerland have packaging producer responsibility?

A new Packaging Ordinance applies from 1 January 2027. Its design requirements start in 2030, and from 2031 importers above CHF 1 million turnover and 500 kg of packaging report packaging weights by material each year. We can weigh packaging during the inspection.

Can you test for nickel or azo dyes at the factory?

No. Both need an accredited laboratory. We pull and seal the samples during the inspection, send them to the lab you choose or we suggest, and check the lab report against the goods.

Is the India–EFTA agreement in force for Switzerland?

Yes, since 1 October 2025. Whether a shipment qualifies depends on the agreement's rules of origin. Ask your customs broker about rates and paperwork.

Know before it ships

Tell us the product, the factory's city and your ready date. We confirm the inspector, the notice time and the price before you book.

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Quality inspection in India for importers in Switzerland