For a Swiss company, compliance plays out on two levels at once: federal law, which has just gained a new register, and EU law, which does not apply automatically but quickly catches up with any company active in the Union.
The transparency register: a deadline already running
The Federal Act on the Transparency of Legal Persons (TLPA) has been in force since 1 October 2026. Companies limited by shares, limited liability companies and cooperatives must identify their beneficial owners (25% threshold of capital or votes) and notify them to the transparency register. For existing companies, notification is due within one month of the first change in the commercial register, and at the latest three to six months after entry into force depending on the type of company, i.e. between January and April 2027. Intentionally breaching the notification obligation is punishable by a fine of up to CHF 500,000.
EU law: it all depends on your activity in the EU
A Swiss company with no activity in the Union is subject to no EU text. As soon as it sells or operates there, things change: texts with extraterritorial reach (GDPR, AI Act, product regulations) concern it directly, while the others may affect it through a subsidiary in the EU or through the requirements of its European customers. This text-by-text distinction is often poorly made: companies apply everything, or nothing.
The FADP and financial services
Alongside this, the new Data Protection Act applies to any company processing personal data: duty to inform, impact assessment, notification of breaches to the FDPIC, record of processing activities from 250 employees, and a fine of up to CHF 250,000 targeting the responsible individuals. For the financial sector, the AMLA (reporting to MROS), the FinSA (rules of conduct) and the FinIA (FINMA authorisation) also apply.
Normivia now assesses these texts for any Swiss company, and applies EU texts according to the declared activity in the EU, in French or English. The details are on our Switzerland page, and the free diagnostic now accepts a head office in Switzerland.
Source: TLPA (AS 2026 323), art. 4, 9, 43 and 51; FADP (SR 235.1), art. 12, 19, 22, 24 and 60 to 64; AMLA (SR 955.0); FinSA (SR 950.1); FinIA (SR 954.1) — Fedlex, verified on 26/10/2026.