Setting up a manufacturing company in Geneva comes down to three steps that incorporation does not cover: finding land or premises in an industrial zone, having the plans approved by the cantonal labour inspectorate (OCIRT), and obtaining the operating permit after an entry-into-service visit. No production licence exists, but a plant that starts without those steps risks being shut down.
Geneva counts 68 industrial zones and écoParcs, overseen by the foundation for industrial land. RISTER® sets out the order in which these steps follow one another, and what they imply for staff, the Swiss made claim and taxation.
Contents
- Finding where to produce: the Geneva industrial zones
- Industrial or not: the canton decides
- Having your plans approved by the OCIRT
- The operating permit after the visit
- Working time and workforce in Geneva
- Producing in Geneva to sell Swiss made
- Customs, VAT and Geneva taxation
- The mistakes that delay a plant
Finding where to produce: the Geneva industrial zones
In Geneva, production activity belongs in an industrial or mixed activity zone, and the foundation for industrial land of Geneva (FTI) supports companies in those zones. According to the FTI, the canton has 68 industrial zones and écoParcs, covering 712 hectares, with 3,449 companies and 61,724 jobs; industry and crafts generate 16% of cantonal GDP.
- The regulatory framework: the regulation on industrial and mixed activity zones came into force on 31 May 2023 and governs the activities admitted in those zones.
- Finding space: the FTI receives property requests from companies that set out their surface needs in an industrial zone.
- Building lease: the FTI makes land available under a building right, which allows construction without acquiring the land itself.
The choice of premises comes before everything else, because it is those plans that the OCIRT procedure will examine. Premises signed for before checking their compatibility with your production become a risk, not an asset.
Industrial or not: the canton decides
An undertaking is industrial within the meaning of the Labour Act where it uses fixed installations to produce, process or treat goods and one of three conditions is met: machines or serial operations determine the work with at least six workers on those activities, automated processes have a decisive influence, or the life and health of workers are exposed to particular hazards (Art. 5 LA). The special provisions apply only after a classification decision by the cantonal authority.
Counting those six workers follows its own rules: commercial and technical office staff, apprentices, volunteers, trainees and temporary staff do not count, nor do people mainly working outside the undertaking (Art. 29 Ordinance 4). The employer completes a questionnaire for the authority, and Suva may itself propose classification (Art. 32 Ordinance 4).
Important
Even without industrial status, your business may be subject to plan approval. Ordinance 4 to the Labour Act covers, among others, chemical and technical production plants, foundries, iron processing, surface treatment (galvanising, anodising, hardening), wood impregnation, waste recycling and the storage of chemicals above the thresholds of the Major Accidents Ordinance (Art. 1(2)). Have your activity classified before designing the premises.
Having your plans approved by the OCIRT
In Geneva, plan review is carried out by the OCIRT, applying the federal obligation: anyone intending to build or convert an industrial undertaking must submit the plans to the cantonal authority for approval, and that authority requests Suva’s report (Art. 7 LA). The canton runs two tracks.
| Item | Small non-industrial projects | Large projects and industrial undertakings |
|---|---|---|
| Filing | Online form, appointment optional | Appointment mandatory at the OCIRT offices |
| Copies | Two | Three |
| Specific documents | Plans of the rooms at 1:100 with their intended use | Same plans, plus descriptive statement and acoustic calculation |
| OCIRT response | Preliminary opinion | Fit-out decision, with Suva’s opinion |
| Operating permit | Not applicable | Granted after an entry-into-service visit |
The file includes a site plan at 1:2500, a cadastral extract showing the location, plans of all rooms at 1:100 with their intended use (canteens, washrooms, first aid, changing rooms, toilets, exits, stairs), elevations and sections. For industrial undertakings the OCIRT also requires an acoustic calculation. Appointments are in principle granted within two weeks, and the fee depends on the surface area concerned.
At federal level, the ordinance requires the plans to show the location of workstations, machines and technical installations: pressure vessels, ventilation, conveying systems, storage of flammable or explosive substances, silos, spray booths (Art. 38 Ordinance 4).
The operating permit after the visit
Production starts only with the operating permit. Once the fit-out is complete, the application for an operating permit for an industrial or equivalent undertaking must be sent to the office, under the cantonal implementing regulation (Art. 15 RIRT). The OCIRT grants the permit after an entry-into-service visit, checking that the construction and layout match the approved plans.
Where sufficient reasons require early start-up, the authority may grant a provisional permit if the measures necessary to protect the life and health of workers have been taken. If the visit reveals defects that could not be foreseen at the plan stage, it may attach additional conditions to the permit (Art. 43 Ordinance 4).
Your production in Geneva
The company is set up at the pace of the OCIRT file, not the reverse
Incorporation and drafting of the corporate purpose, coordinating the timetable between lease or building right, plans and operating permit, payroll for production staff and cross-border workers, cost accounting for the Swiss made threshold, import VAT: RISTER® handles the administrative and financial side of your project.
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RISTER – Fiduciary in Geneva, reply within one business day.
Working time and workforce in Geneva
Industrial status changes working time for production staff: a maximum of 45 hours a week instead of 50, the 45 hours also applying to office and technical staff (Art. 9 LA). Overtime is capped at 170 hours per calendar year for workers on 45 hours (Art. 12 LA).
- Night and Sunday shifts: regular or periodic night or Sunday work requires SECO authorisation; temporary work requires cantonal authorisation. The worker’s consent is required (Art. 17 and 19 LA).
- Accident insurance: workers of industrial undertakings are compulsorily insured with Suva, as are those of undertakings working metal, wood, plastics, stone or glass with machines (Art. 66 AIA).
- Collective agreement: the MEM agreement, valid until 30 June 2028, is optional and reserved for Swissmem members; it has no general binding force.
If you recruit cross-border workers, their employment requires a permit, withholding tax at source and compliant payroll, all of which belong in the launch budget.
Producing in Geneva to sell Swiss made
Manufacturing in Geneva is not enough to use “Swiss made”: the law requires at least 60% of the manufacturing cost of an industrial product to be generated in Switzerland and a significant manufacturing step to take place there (Art. 48c TmPA). The calculation includes manufacturing and assembly, research and development, quality assurance and certification; it excludes packaging, transport and marketing.
For a Geneva company sourcing components across the nearby border, the threshold is decided line by line: a component bought in France does not count towards the Swiss share, while assembly and testing carried out in Geneva do. We set out the criteria in our article on the Swiss made label.
RISTER advice
Organise cost accounting per product from the first financial year, with a clear split between costs generated in Switzerland and imported costs. Demonstrating the 60% threshold afterwards, from invoices that were never broken down, is slow and fragile; the same breakdown then serves for cost prices and, where applicable, for the patent box.
Customs, VAT and Geneva taxation
Since 1 January 2024, Switzerland no longer levies customs duties on industrial products of chapters 25 to 97 of the Harmonised System, whatever their origin; agricultural products remain excluded. For a Geneva plant, imported materials, components and machines therefore enter free of duty, but import VAT remains due at the standard rate of 8.1% for most goods.
Proof of origin is no longer required for products intended to remain in Switzerland, but it is still needed for re-export and origin cumulation: a Geneva company exporting to the European Union continues to trace the origin of its inputs.
On tax, Geneva grants an additional deduction of 50% of research and development expenditure, but only 10% relief on profit from patents, against 60% in the canton of Vaud and 90% in Zurich or Zug. For a company whose value rests on patents, the question of the seat deserves examination before incorporation, as we explain in our article on setting up a SaaS startup in Geneva.
The mistakes that delay a plant
The first is signing a lease or a building right before checking that the zone admits the activity and that the premises can meet the OCIRT requirements.
The second is arriving at the OCIRT appointment without an acoustic calculation or descriptive statement, or with plans that show neither workstations nor technical installations.
The third is starting production between the end of the works and the entry-into-service visit, without a provisional permit.
The fourth is underestimating industrial status: 45 hours instead of 50, SECO authorisations for night shifts, compulsory insurance with Suva.
The fifth is claiming Swiss made without cost accounting able to demonstrate the 60% threshold.
FAQ: setting up a manufacturing company in Geneva
Who issues the operating permit for an industrial undertaking in Geneva?
The cantonal office for labour inspection and relations (OCIRT). It first issues a fit-out decision on the plans, with Suva’s opinion, then grants the operating permit after an entry-into-service visit once the fit-out is complete. Production may not start before that permit, except under a provisional permit.
How do you find industrial land or premises in Geneva?
The foundation for industrial land of Geneva (FTI) oversees the canton’s industrial zones, which according to it comprise 68 zones and écoParcs covering 712 hectares. It receives companies’ surface requests and makes land available, notably under a building right. The regulation on industrial and mixed activity zones, in force since 31 May 2023, governs the activities admitted.
How long does OCIRT plan review take?
The OCIRT states that filing appointments are in principle granted within two weeks, and that files are in principle reviewed within a similar period. For industrial undertakings, filing is by appointment only, in three copies, with a descriptive statement and an acoustic calculation. The fee depends on the surface area of the premises concerned.
From how many employees does a Geneva business become industrial?
The statutory threshold is six workers employed on activities determined by machines or serial operations, excluding office staff, apprentices, trainees and temporary workers. A decisive automated process or particular hazards are nonetheless enough to classify the undertaking below that number. The status applies after a cantonal classification decision.
Does a Geneva plant pay customs duty on its components?
No, since 1 January 2024 Switzerland has abolished customs duties on all industrial products, whatever their origin. Import VAT remains due at the standard rate of 8.1% for most goods, and proof of origin is still needed for re-export and origin cumulation.
Is Geneva attractive for an industrial company investing in research?
Geneva grants an additional deduction of 50% of research and development expenditure, but patent box relief there is only 10%, against 60% in the canton of Vaud and 90% in Zurich or Zug. The benefit therefore depends on how much of the value rests on patents and on where research and production actually take place.
Sources
- Foundation for industrial land of Geneva (FTI)
- Canton of Geneva, having plans reviewed and approved by the OCIRT
- Implementing regulation of the Act on labour inspection and relations (RIRT, J 1 05.01), Art. 12 and 15
- Labour Act (SR 822.11), Art. 5, 7, 9, 12, 17 and 19
- Ordinance 4 to the Labour Act (SR 822.114), Art. 1, 29, 32, 38 and 43
- Accident Insurance Act (SR 832.20), Art. 66
- Trade Mark Protection Act (SR 232.11), Art. 48c
- SECO, abolition of customs duties on industrial products
Conclusion
Setting up a manufacturing company in Geneva means taking land, plans and permit in order: space in an industrial zone, a file approved by the OCIRT with Suva’s opinion, then an operating permit granted after the entry-into-service visit. The industrial status decided by the canton then governs working time and the accident insurer, while zero industrial customs duty and the 60% Swiss made rule shape the business model.
RISTER – Fiduciary in Geneva incorporates your company through our company incorporation service, aligns its timetable with the plant project, then handles accounting, payroll and tax administration. To discuss it, contact us.
