Relationship dossier
India
Switzerland
Relationship assessment
Trade cooperation is substantial, alongside a dispute over tax-treaty treatment.
India toward Switzerland
+30India negotiated and signed the trade and economic partnership agreement with the EFTA states, including Switzerland, in 2024. India’s Supreme Court ruling on the interpretation of the India–Switzerland tax agreement prompted Switzerland to suspend most-favoured-nation treatment.
Switzerland toward India
+30Switzerland negotiated and signed the trade and economic partnership agreement with India as part of EFTA in 2024. It also announced a suspension of most-favoured-nation treatment for India under their tax agreement, citing an Indian Supreme Court ruling.
Overall relationship
+30The relationship has a durable economic dimension, reflected in the 2024 India–EFTA trade and economic partnership agreement, but is not free of substantive friction. Switzerland’s tax-treatment decision following an Indian court ruling is a notable bilateral dispute. The combination supports a cooperative but qualified overall assessment.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
India and Switzerland maintain cooperative economic ties, including through the 2024 trade and economic partnership agreement negotiated with the EFTA states. Taxation has also generated friction: Switzerland announced that it would suspend most-favoured-nation treatment for India under their double-taxation agreement, citing an Indian Supreme Court ruling. The relationship combines concrete trade cooperation with a specific, significant tax dispute.
Areas of tension
- Switzerland's suspension of most-favoured-nation treatment for India under their double-taxation agreement following an Indian Supreme Court ruling.
Key developments
India and the EFTA states, including Switzerland, signed the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement.
Switzerland announced that it would suspend most-favoured-nation treatment for India under their double-taxation agreement.
Major uncertainties
- The extent of implementation of the India–EFTA trade and economic partnership agreement is unclear.
- The longer-term effects of Switzerland's change to most-favoured-nation treatment under the tax agreement are uncertain.