- The yearly fee for private households is CHF 365.
Amount
Billing
- Serafe collects the fee from private households.
- The bill shows the names of all adults living in the private household. They are jointly liable for the billed amount.
- For the first year of collection of the new fee, billing took place in two phases, with a partial bill and an annual bill.
- Every private household is allocated on a random basis to one of 12 billing groups. If the private household is in the first group, it will receive an annual invoice for CHF 365 in January. If it belongs to the second group, it received a bill in January 2019 for this month only and then the annual bill in February. A private household in the third group received a bill for January and February in January and then the annual invoice in March, and so on through the year.
- If a mistake is found in the address information on the bill, this error should be reported directly to the competent authority of the municipality or canton or to Serafe.
- Bills can be paid as an annual or quarterly bill, in paper form, as an e-bill or by direct debit. A paper quarterly bill costs an additional CHF 2 because of the higher administrative costs.
- The bill will be issued in the first month of the billing period; the annual bill is due within 60 days and the partial and quarterly bills are due within 30 days. The statutory period of limitation is five years.
Joint and several liability of household members
- The joint and several liability of adult members of a household is new.
- Each bill lists all adult members of a household at the time the bill was issued.
- Serafe can demand the full amount from each of the individuals listed on the bill – though only once in total.
- The way the bill is split up internally is a matter for the adult members of the household and is subject to civil law.
- In the address block of the bill for the fee, the adults are listed individually, up to a household size of three adult members.
- In the case of households consisting of more than three adult members, the personal designation of one adult person in the address block is supplemented by the wording "other persons liable for the fee".
Collection agency
SERAFE AG (Serafe) is the Swiss collection agency for the universal radio and television fee and is a subsidiary of Secon AG, based in Fehraltorf in the canton of Zurich. SERAFE AG has been collecting the new household fee since 1 January 2019 on behalf of the Confederation. After a public tender procedure, on 10 March 2017 the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) awarded SERAFE AG the mandate for the period up to 31 December 2025.
Contact information for Serafe:
Serafe AG
Postfach
8010 Zürich
Tel. 058 201 31 67
info@serafe.ch
www.serafe.ch
Acquisition of data
- The data for private households is sent to Serafe by the cantons and the municipalities.
- Serafe receives the data which originates from the residents' registers and which is needed for collection of the households' fee directly from each resident's registration authority, via the Confederation's secure data exchange platform (Sedex).
- As far as foreign diplomatic personnel are concerned, Serafe receives the data directly from the Ordipro information system of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA).
- Legal basis: Art. 69g of the Federal Radio and Television Act (RTVA; CC 784.40), Art. 67 and 67a of the Radio and Television Ordinance (RTVO; CC 784.401).
Further information
FAQ
Billing
When do I receive an annual bill and when do I receive a quarterly bill?
Who is listed on the bill?
To whom is the bill addressed?
Why has the refund of value-added tax on the first Serafe bill not yet been implemented?
From 1 January 2021 the household fee will amount to only CHF 335. When will Serafe take the new amount into account in its invoices?
I have already paid my Serafe bill in February 2020 or March 2020. How do I get my overpaid money back?
In principle Serafe sends out annual bills. Quarterly bills can be sent on request.
Each bill lists all adult members of a household.
The address block lists all adults up to a household size of three members. In the case of households of more than three adult members, the personal denomination of one person is listed in the address block, which also contains the wording "other persons liable for the fee".
DETEC is currently preparing a legal basis for a lump-sum repayment in the form of a credit to all households, without these needing to become active. Parliament will have to finally decide on this and determine the amount of the lump sum. Serafe AG cannot yet therefore implement the deduction.
The new tariff will apply from 1 January 2021. Serafe has already proportionally reduced the fee for 2021 on its invoices as of April 2020.
The invoices issued remain valid. You are not allowed to deduct the overpaid amount yourself. Households that received their annual bill in February or March 2020 have paid the fee for January 2021, or for January and February 2021 under the old tariff. They will receive a corrected annual bill next year. The correction amounts to CHF 2.50 per month.
Payment methods
Who pays the fee for a private household?
What are the possible methods of payment?
Is there a quarterly billing option?
Can the fee be paid in instalments from 2019 onwards?
What happens if I don't pay the fee?
Is value-added tax charged on the fee?
One fee must be paid per household. All adults in this household are jointly responsible for this fee.
- E-bill
- Direct debit procedure via bank account DDP)
- Direct debit via PostFinance account (DD)
- Paying-in slip (PS)
Yes. Anyone liable to pay the fee can request quarterly bills for the household of which they are a member. If the collection agency has to provide this in paper form, the household has to pay CHF 2 in addition to the fee for each bill. If the quarterly bill is paid, for example, by e-bill, this additional amount of CHF 2 does not apply.
Yes. Payment by instalments can be granted. Interested parties should contact Serafe.
For the household fee, quarterly billing can be requested. If Serafe has to provide this in paper form, the household has to pay CHF 2 in addition to the fee for each bill.
If the fee for a household is not paid, after unsuccessful reminders a prosecution will be initiated against one of the members of the household.
No.
SERAFE AG
What is SERAFE AG?
SERAFE AG is a subsidiary of Secon AG based in Fehraltorf (ZH). Serafe AG will be collecting the household fee starting from 1 January 2019.
Data provision and data protection
Who provides Serafe with the data necessary for billing?
Do I have to do anything if there are discrepancies in the addressing of the bill for the fee?
Is data protection guaranteed?
Does Serafe pass on my data to others?
The household data for billing the household fee is supplied to Serafe from the residents' registers.
If you find any mistakes in the addressing of the bill for the fee, please contact directly the competent authority of the municipality or canton or Serafe.
The data necessary for the collection of the household fee is subject to the Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP). Serafe is responsible to the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) for the lawful management of the data.
Serafe is allowed to process data only for the collection of the fee and may pass it on to others only for these purposes. This is laid down in the Radio and Television Act (Article 69f paragraph 2 RTVA).
Further Frequently asked questions
Last modification 24.02.2020
Contact
SERAFE AG
Post office box
8010 Zürich
Tel. 058 201 31 67
OFCOM
Zukunftstrasse 44
2501 Biel
Central
Tel. 058 460 55 11
Section radio-television fee
Tel. 058 460 54 39