National Economic Supply Act (NESA)
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
Section 1 General Provisions
Art. 5 Mandate
1 The Federal Council shall mandate the organisation responsible for the national economic supply (National Economic Supply) to take preparatory measures to guarantee the national economic supply in the event of imminent or already existing serious shortages. 2 The preparatory measures must not distort competition. 3 The Federal Council is responsible for coordination between the departments. The Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER) has overall responsibility. 4 If the voluntary measures taken by the private sector are insufficient, the Federal Council may require companies that are of particular importance to the national economic supply to ensure that they are in a position to continue production, processing and delivery, and in particular to have technical and administrative measures in place. 5 The foregoing applies without prejudice to the activities of other public authorities to ensure the supply of essential goods and services.
Para. 1 — Amended by No I of the FA of 20 June 2025, in force since 1 Nov. 2025 (AS 2025 618; BBl 2025 812). Para. 2 — Amended by No I of the FA of 20 June 2025, in force since 1 Nov. 2025 (AS 2025 618; BBl 2025 812).
Art. 6 Industry agreements
The Federal Council may decree that industry agreements on guaranteeing the national economic supply in times of severe shortages shall be generally binding provided: a. a qualified majority of the businesses in the industry concerned has approved them; b. they are in accordance with the federal supply targets; c. they guarantee equality of rights, do not violate any mandatory federal or cantonal provisions and do not permanently affect the interests of other economic sectors; and d. they are expected to generate significant macroeconomic benefits.
Section 2 Stockpiling
Art. 7 Principles
1 The Federal Council may require stockpiling of certain essential goods. 2 The Federal Office for National Economic Supply (FONES) shall conclude agreements with the companies concerned on the stockpiling of such goods. 3 If an agreement is not concluded within a reasonable period of time, the FONES shall order an agreement to be concluded. In addition, the Federal Council may impose authorisation requirements for the import of goods which must be stockpiled.
Art. 8 Duty to conclude an agreement
1 Any person who imports, manufactures, processes or places essential goods on the market for the first time is required to conclude an agreement. 2 The Federal Council determines which companies are required to conclude an agreement. 3 The FONES may exempt from the obligation to conclude an agreement those companies that would only make a minor contribution to the security of supply.
Art. 9 Minimum demand, quantity and quality
The EAER shall determine for a specific period of time the minimum demand, quantity and quality of each essential commodity which the Federal Council has decreed shall be stockpiled.
Art. 10 Compulsory stocks agreement
The compulsory stocks agreement regulates in particular the following: a. the nature and volume of the goods; b. the storage, handling, supervision, control and replacement of the stockpiled goods; c. the storage location; d. funding and insurance; e. payments to cover storage costs as well as any reduction in the value, weight and quality of the goods that may result from storage; f. any transfer of the storage obligation to third parties; g. any obligation to participate in the creation of the guarantee fund (Art. 16); h. any contractual penalty (Art. 43).
Art. 11 Compulsory stocks
1 Companies that are contractually obliged to maintain stocks must do so. 2 If the obligation to maintain stocks is transferred partially or entirely to a suitable third party, the FONES shall conclude a separate compulsory stocks agreement with the third party on the amounts to be maintained. 3 The EAER may issue a compulsory purchase order if this is necessary in order to exploit existing capacity or to construct warehouses or storage facilities for compulsory stocks. This shall be done in accordance with the Compulsory Purchase Act of 20 June 1930.
Para. 3 — SR 711
Art. 12 Compulsory stocks ownership
1 Goods held as compulsory stocks shall be the property of the holder. 2 Goods to which third parties claim ownership rights can only be held as compulsory stocks if all entitled parties undertake jointly to operate at the service of the Confederation and if necessary of the loan provider.
Art. 13 Alterations to and liquidation of compulsory stocks
1 Compulsory stocks may only be altered or liquidated with the written permission of the FONES; the foregoing applies without prejudice to the release of stocks under Article 31 paragraph 2 letter f. 2 Before compulsory stocks are reduced or liquidated, the holder must repay the loan guaranteed by the Confederation pro rata and meet all obligations towards the guarantee fund (Art. 16). 3 If the holder of compulsory stocks is unable to repay the loan or to meet its obligations towards the guarantee fund, the FONES may demand an appropriate guarantee as an alternative.
Art. 14 Supplementary compulsory stockpiling
1 Companies may make an arrangement with the FONES to stockpile certain amounts of essential goods of a certain quality, even though the Federal Council does not require stocks of them to be held. 2 Articles 10, 11 paragraphs 1 and 2, 12 and 13 apply by analogy. 3 In the case of economic intervention, the companies may use at least half of these stocks for their own needs or to supply customers.
Art. 15 Stockpiling by the Confederation
If companies are unable to stockpile essential goods or can only do so to a limited degree, the Confederation may hold its own stocks.
Section 3 Guarantee Funds
Art. 16 Formation of guarantee funds
1 If economic sectors create special private funds (guarantee funds) earmarked to cover storage costs and counteract price volatility, these must be administered by a private entity and separately from its own assets. 2 The EAER is required to authorise the formation, administration, changes to and closure of a guarantee fund and the statutes of the administering private entity. 3 If, pursuant to the compulsory stockpiling contract, a stockpiling company is required to participate in the establishment of a guarantee fund and become a member of the administering entity, the latter is obliged to admit the stockpiling company as a member. 4 Companies that are exempt from the obligation to hold compulsory stocks under Article 8 paragraph 3 must participate in the establishment of a guarantee fund similar to the other companies. 5 It is not permitted to levy guarantee fund contributions on domestically produced foodstuffs, feedstuffs, seeds or plants.
Art. 17 Oversight
1 The FONES is responsible for overseeing the guarantee funds and their administering entities. 2 If the monies in a guarantee fund are not used for the purpose for which they are intended or if there is a disparity between the amounts collected and the funds required, the FONES shall prescribe appropriate modifications.
Art. 18 Compliance with international obligations
In order to comply with international obligations, the Federal Council may set a ceiling for contributions to the guarantee funds incurred on import.
Art. 19 Border charges
If border charges are reduced as a result of international agreements or of current market regulations, customs duties are first reduced before any reduction to guarantee fund contributions.
Section 4 Funding of Compulsory Stocks Maintenance
Art. 20 Funding of goods
The Confederation shall guarantee bank loans for funding the goods held as compulsory stocks and as supplementary compulsory stocks.
Art. 21 Assumption of costs by the Confederation
1 If the monies in the guarantee funds are insufficient to cover the costs of storage and price losses on compulsory stocks, the private administering entities (Art. 16) shall take the necessary measures. They may not levy guarantee fund contributions on domestically produced foodstuffs, feedstuffs, seeds or plants. 2 If it can be shown that the costs of compulsory storage cannot be covered by the measures referred to in paragraph 1 nor by the measures prescribed by the FONES in accordance with Article 17 paragraph 2, the Confederation shall bear all or part of the uncovered costs. In the case of foodstuffs, feedstuffs, seeds and plants, the Confederation shall assume all uncovered costs. 3 The Federal Council shall set the criteria according to which it shall assume costs.
Art. 22 Taxes and other public charges
1 In the assessment of direct federal and cantonal taxation, the following value adjustment may be calculated for goods held as compulsory stocks: a. compulsory stocks (Art. 11): maximum 50 per cent of the basic price; b. supplementary compulsory stocks (Art. 14): maximum 80 per cent of the purchase or cost price; if the actual value of the goods is less, this shall provide the basis for calculating the value adjustment. 2 Undisclosed reserves arising from the value adjustment under paragraph 1 shall be taxed at the time the value adjustment is cancelled. 3 If stocks are no longer subject to compulsory holding as a result of an amendment made to the compulsory stockpiling agreement by the FONES, the cancellation of the value adjustment that is no longer admissible can be apportioned lineally over a maximum of three tax periods. If the compulsory stockholder voluntarily cancels the value adjustment, this apportionment is not permitted. 4 Compulsory stocks are not subject to stamp duty.
Art. 23 Securities
1 If the Confederation has guaranteed the funding of compulsory stocks, the stocks and any indemnity rights shall serve as security. If the stocks are not available in the amount stated, all other goods owned by the holder of compulsory stocks of the same type shall be regarded as compulsory stocks. 2 Private or public law rights to such compulsory stocks and indemnity rights that are held by third parties in terms of the law or the agreement shall remain ineffective in the event that the Confederation holds a right of separation settlement or of lien. The sole exception to the foregoing is the lien held by the owner of storage depots in respect of claims under Article 485 of the Code of Obligations.
Para. 2 — SR 220
Art. 24 Right of separation
1 If the Confederation or a third-party undertaking adopts the obligations of the owner of stocks from the guaranteed loans (Art. 20), the Confederation or third party shall directly acquire the ownership of the compulsory stock and any indemnity rights, if: a. bankruptcy proceedings are commenced in respect of the owner of stocks; b. bankruptcy proceedings are stayed in accordance with Articles 725a, 764, 820 or 903 of the Code of Obligations or with Article 84a of the Swiss Civil Code; or c. the owner of stocks has been granted a debt restructuring moratorium or emergency moratorium. 2 If the value of the compulsory stock or the indemnity rights at the time of the actual takeover or the concluded sale and after deduction of all costs exceeds the value of the rights of the Confederation or the third-party undertaking following its repayment of the loans, the Confederation or the third-party undertaking shall first of all settle the liabilities of the compulsory stock owner towards the
Para. 1 let. b — SR 220 Para. 1 let. b — SR 210
Art. 25 Lien
1 If debt enforcement proceedings are commenced against the owner of compulsory stocks by seizure of assets or realisation of the compulsory stock and any indemnity rights, the Confederation shall in respect of its secured claims have the status of a pledge holder of priority ranking that is not participating in the debt enforcement proceedings. 2 Third parties with statutory or contractual rights to the compulsory stock acquire a right to be paid as creditors in respect of their claims that ranks immediately behind the Confederation and, if applicable, behind the guarantee fund. 3 Third-party claims to compulsory stocks or equivalent claims of the debtor can only be made in a debt enforcement process.
Art. 26 Avoidance actions
Avoidance claims in accordance with Articles 285–292 of the Federal Act of 11 April 1889 on Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy resulting from rulings on goods for which the Confederation or a third party have a right of separation in accordance with Article 24 of this act or a lien in accordance with Article 25 can only be assigned to a creditor once the Confederation or third party has waived the claims.
SR 281.1
Section 5 Transport and Other Services
Art. 27
The Federal Council shall take the measures required to guarantee adequate means of transport, information and communication during a period of severe shortages, to keep transport routes and information and communication channels open, and to provide storage depots.
Section 6 Use of Domestic Resources
Art. 28 Forestry
1 In order to guarantee the national economic supply, the Federal Council may order the increased exploitation of the forests. 2 If a compensation fund is created in order to cover the costs incurred thereby, the Federal Council may provide for forestry enterprises that do not participate in such a fund to be required to make financial contributions, provided the fund: a. is managed by a representative body; b. is not involved in timber production, timber processing or the sale of timber or timber products. 3 The administration of the fund may not be financed by contributions under paragraph 2.
Art. 29 Water supply
The Federal Council may issue regulations to guarantee the supply of drinking water in emergency situations.
Art. 30 Suitable agricultural land
The Federal Council shall ensure, in particular with planning measures, that sufficient and suitable agricultural land is maintained, in particular crop rotation areas, so that the country has a sufficient supply basis in times of severe shortages.