ProLitteris: must your Swiss company pay the invoice?

What does the ProLitteris invoice cover?

The ProLitteris levy pays authors and publishers for copying that Swiss law already permits inside your organisation. Art. 19 para. 1 lit. c URG allows companies and administrations to reproduce extracts of published works (photocopies, scans, printouts, articles stored on a server or intranet) for internal information and documentation, without asking each rights holder. Art. 20 para. 2 URG attaches remuneration to that statutory licence, and only federally authorised collecting societies may claim it (Art. 40 ff. URG). ProLitteris, supervised by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI), collects the company levy on behalf of all five Swiss societies, including SUISA, SUISSIMAGE, SSA and SWISSPERFORM.

Until 31 December 2022 two separate tariffs ran side by side: GT 8 covered reprography (paper copies) and GT 9 covered digital copies on internal networks. On 1 January 2023 they merged into a single Common Tariff 8 (2023–2027), approved by the Federal Arbitration Commission for the Exploitation of Copyrights and Related Rights (ESchK). One invoice now covers paper and digital copying; access to press reviews ("media mirrors") adds a surcharge of CHF 4.50 per position with access.

Who must pay ProLitteris in 2026

Whether your company owes the GT 8 levy turns on two figures: its sector classification and its full-time headcount. The tariff assigns each industry one of three rates (CHF 3.20, 5.20 or 8.20 per full-time position per year, as of June 2026) and grants an exemption of up to 14 positions in industry, commerce and several trade sectors. Most service professions have no exemption: lawyers, notaries, fiduciaries, auditors, banks, insurers and consultancies pay from the first position, and a sole proprietor working without staff counts as one position. The previous year's headcount at 31 December is decisive, part-time roles are converted to full-time equivalents, and the minimum levy is CHF 32.

From the 1,001st position the rate falls to CHF 3.20 in every sector, and once a company crosses its exemption limit it pays for all positions, not only those above 14. Paying the invoice buys a one-year licence for the covered uses and an indemnity against individual rights-holder claims. The exact sector list is published at prolitteris.ch; if your classification looks wrong, that is a ground for objection, not for silence.

Who does not have to pay

A company escapes the ProLitteris base levy in three situations. First, businesses in industry, construction, hospitality, transport and comparable trade sectors with up to 14 full-time positions owe nothing. Second, an organisation with no access to devices suitable for paper or digital copies (no printer, photocopier, computer or mobile device) can have the base levy waived or halved. Third, a company with no working positions in Switzerland or Liechtenstein falls outside the tariff's territorial scope.

None of these exemptions is automatic. The "no copying device" exception must be claimed truthfully on ProLitteris's separate form, with a legally valid signature, before the declaration deadline; once that deadline passes, the exception is excluded for the year. Ignoring the declaration request is the worst response: ProLitteris then estimates your data, may classify the company under "other service companies" and adds an assessment surcharge of 10%, at least CHF 100. An invoice that does not apply is answered with the declaration form, not with the bin.

Is the invoice legitimate, and how do you check?

A genuine invoice comes from ProLitteris, the Swiss Cooperative for Copyright in Literature and Art, Universitätstrasse 100, P.O. Box 205, 8024 Zurich — a cooperative founded in 1974 and supervised by the IPI, which confirms on its own website that ProLitteris post is legitimate. Fraudsters do imitate Swiss levy correspondence, typically demanding payment for directory entries or quoting amounts that match no published tariff. Before paying, check three things: the sender's address against the commercial register, the amount against the GT 8 rates above, and the payment details against your ProLitteris portal account. Anything that fails those checks belongs on our fraud alert page, not in accounts payable. ProLitteris never bills for register entries or trademark renewals.

How the levy fits into company administration

The ProLitteris levy is one of several small recurring obligations a Swiss company settles each year, best tracked in an annual compliance calendar. Invoices are payable within 30 days, exclusive of VAT, and a missed payment adds a CHF 10 reminder fee before ordinary debt enforcement. Its cousins are billed separately: SUISA collects remuneration where a business plays background music or radio on its premises, and Serafe collects the household broadcasting fee, with companies above a turnover threshold paying a corporate broadcasting levy through the Federal Tax Administration. Most of our clients hand the declaration, the sector check and the payment to their accounting and bookkeeping provider together with the rest of the supplier ledger; our tax and accounting guides cover the neighbouring obligations.