Declaration requirement for consignors of dangerous goods

The FOCA has taken the recent partial revision of the Air Transport Ordinance (ATO; SR 748.411) as an opportunity to adapt the structure of dangerous goods supervision to actual circumstances and, in particular, to overhaul the supervision of entities listed as shipper on the dangerous goods transport document.

Entities listed as shipper on the dangerous goods transport document in accordance with Part 5, Chapter 4 of the TIs to ICAO Annex 18 are required from 1 April 2023 to submit a one-time declaration to the FOCA before delivering their first dangerous goods consignment at the cargo acceptance point.

With this declaration, the company required to submit a declaration confirms to the FOCA that it complies with all Swiss and international regulations on dangerous goods.

When does the declaration requirement come into effect? (sec. III No 2 ATO)

The declaration requirement for shippers of dangerous goods comes into effect on 1 April 2023. However, under section III paragraph 2 of the revised Air Transport Ordinance (ATO; SR 748.411), a transitional period of seven months will be in place until 31 October 2023.

Who is required to submit a declaration? (Art. 16d para. 1 ATO)

All companies registered or operating a branch in Switzerland that are listed as shipper on the dangerous goods transport document in accordance with Part 5, Chapter 4.1.4 of the TIs to ICAO (=“Dangerous Goods Shipper's Declaration”) must submit a declaration.

Who is not required to submit a declaration? (Art. 16d para. 1 ATO)

There is no declaration requirement for entities that only ship dangerous goods by air for which no dangerous goods transport document must be issued.

How and where must the declaration be made?

As of 1 April 2023, the FOCA will provide a digital service on the DETEC eGovernment portal (www.uvek.egov.swiss) that can be used to submit and manage the declaration free of charge. Declarations can only be submitted using this online portal.

Related instructions can be found on the detailed information page of the service "Record and manage declaration" on the eGovernment DETEC platform.

Who submits the declaration? (Art. 16d para. 2 ATO)

The dangerous goods consignor declaration must be submitted by an authorised signatory of the company. This person serves as the FOCA's liaison and point of contact for the time being.

What information does the declaration contain? (Art. 16d para. 2 ATO)

The declaration contains information on the company (name, address, UID number, shipment addresses), the authorised signatory (name, position in the company) and the classes of dangerous goods to be transported.

For how long is the declaration valid? (Art. 16d paras 3 and 4 ATO)

Companies required to submit a declaration must keep their details up to date at all times. They will therefore be requested by the FOCA to confirm their information on file at regular intervals (365 days after their initial declaration or last update). If no such confirmation is given, the declaration submitted will automatically expire after the prescribed period.

Who checks whether a company required to submit a declaration has actually done so? (Art. 16d para. 5 ATO)

As part of the cargo acceptance procedure, all cargo acceptance points on Swiss territory are obliged to check whether the company subject to declaration has submitted a declaration. To this end, the cargo acceptance points will have access to the online database provided by the FOCA on the DETEC eGovernment portal from 1 April 2023.

Related instructions can be found on the detailed information page of the service "Check declarations" on the eGovernment DETEC platform.

What happens if no declaration is submitted? (Art. 16d para. 5 ATO)

If the FOCA has not received a declaration by 1 November 2023, any dangerous goods consignments from the company in question will be rejected by the cargo acceptance staff during the cargo acceptance procedure.