Compulsory stocks system

National Economic Supply Act (NESA) Article 7 paras 1 and 2

“The Federal Council may require stocks of certain essential goods to be held.”

“The FONES concludes agreements with the companies concerned on the holding of such stocks.”

The Federal Council prescribes which compulsory stocks of essential goods are necessary. The individual products and the quantities to be stockpiled are laid down in legislation subsidiary to the National Economic Supply Act.

The FONES concludes compulsory stock agreements with the companies concerned. In these contracts, the companies undertake to store a certain quantity of a certain good of a particular quality at a given place. The goods are regularly exchanged and sold via the companies’ normal sales channels. The FONES or a FONES-appointed control centre periodically checks the compulsory stocks.

Additional information

Loans for compulsory stocks

Loans for compulsory stocks

The Confederation makes it easier for companies to maintain compulsory stocks by guaranteeing bank loans to finance stocks. Thanks to this federal guarantee, banks are prepared to lend to the companies at the SARON interest rates (Swiss Average Rate Overnight) . If SARON is negative, a rate of 0% is applied. There are also preferential federal tax conditions that apply to compulsory stocks.

Supplementary compulsory stocks

Supplementary compulsory stocks

Essential goods for which the Federal Council does not prescribe compulsory stocks may be subject to supplementary compulsory storage. To this end, FONES concludes compulsory stock agreements with the companies concerned by mutual agreement. Supplementary compulsory stockpiling affects some essential goods for which there is normally only small demand or which are offered by only a few suppliers on the market. These include various pharmaceutical products, medical products and plastic granules for the packaging industry. The supplementary compulsory stocks account for less than 10% of total compulsory storage.

Last modification 05.09.2022