Outsourcing web development to India from Switzerland

IST is 4h30m ahead of Switzerland, or 3h30m ahead during Central European Summer Time, from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. Agree on call times with your supplier and revisit them when the clocks change.

Under the Swiss data protection act, personal data may be disclosed abroad freely when the Federal Council has found that the recipient country’s legislation provides adequate protection. India is not on the adequate-protection list in the version of Annex 1 of the Data Protection Ordinance in force since 1 December 2025.

For countries without adequate protection, the FDPIC recognises the EU standard contractual clauses as safeguards when they are adapted or supplemented for Swiss law where needed. A controller relying on contractual safeguards must check that the recipient follows the clauses and that local law allows it to meet its obligations; technical measures may also be needed.

People must be informed when their personal data is disclosed abroad. The countries and safeguards must also be recorded in the record of processing activities.

India’s DPDP Act includes an exemption for certain processing in India of personal data of individuals outside India under a contract with a person outside India, while retaining responsibilities for compliance and reasonable security safeguards. The cross-border and exemption provisions come into force on 13 May 2027.

Swiss acquisition tax can apply to certain services bought from foreign businesses and taxed where the recipient is located, including data processing and consulting services. A VAT-registered recipient in Switzerland must declare and pay it. A recipient that is not registered for VAT becomes liable if it buys more than CHF 10,000 of such services from foreign businesses in a calendar year.

India treats an export of services as a zero-rated supply, but a service must meet the conditions in the IGST Act to qualify as an export. Those conditions cover the locations of the supplier, recipient and place of supply, the permitted receipt of payment, and the relationship between supplier and recipient.

An Indian export invoice for services must carry the applicable export endorsement and give the recipient’s name and address, the address of delivery and the country of destination.

An Indian exporter’s Authorised Dealer bank may permit a third party to pay for an export if the bank is satisfied that the transaction is bona fide. Check the payment arrangement with your supplier before using a third party.

Under India’s export regulations in force from 1 October 2026, an exporter must realise and repatriate the full value of exported services within nine months from the invoice date, or twelve months if the export is invoiced or settled in Indian rupees. Its Authorised Dealer bank may allow more time on request.

India signed the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards on 10 June 1958 and ratified it on 13 July 1960. India declared that it applies the Convention only to awards made in another contracting State and to differences considered commercial under its national law.

Consider the languages your website needs. Switzerland’s national languages are German, French, Italian and Romansh.

• Agree on call times with the Indian team.
• Check the safeguards for personal data sent to India.
• Inform people about disclosure abroad and record the countries and safeguards.
• Check whether Swiss acquisition tax applies to the services you buy.
• Give the supplier the details needed for its export invoice.
• Agree on the payment arrangement, including any third-party payer.
• Consider arbitration terms when discussing the contract.