1. Introduction

These General Terms and Conditions of Use (referred to be low as the “EasyGov Terms of Use”) govern the legal framework for using the central electronic platform (referred to below as “EasyGov”). The EasyGov Terms of Use have been translated into several languages. In the event of any contradictions between the various language versions, the German version shall take precedence.

2. Scope

2.1 Principle

The EasyGov Terms of Use apply to EasyGov, which is available on the website www.easygov.swiss (referred to below as the “website”). Any questions regarding the present EasyGov Terms of Use should be addressed to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (referred to below as “SECO”, or “we”) as the operator of EasyGov:

State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO
Promotion Activities Directorate
SME Policy Department
Holzikofenweg 36
CH-3003 Bern
admin@easygov.swiss

2.2 Boundaries: EasyGov Terms of Use / Partner Authorities Terms of Use

The place of data processing shall always determine the terms of use that apply in the case concerned. Therefore:

• If the data processing takes place within EasyGov, the EasyGov Terms of Use apply. From the time of data transmission to the partner authority responsible in the specific case, the partner authority’s terms of use apply.
• If the data is transferred from EasyGov to the partner authority’s application and the data processing takes place there, the partner authority’s terms of use apply in full.

If you have any questions about the terms of use of our partner authorities, please address them directly to the respective partner authorities.

3. Scope of the EasyGov services

EasyGov supports users who need to submit documents to partner authorities. EasyGov offers users the option to:

• collect and manage data for later use in submissions to partner authorities;
• import data from official registers (e.g. commercial register, UID[1] register), provided that the law governing the registers does not prohibit this; and
• transmit documents to or receive documents from a partner authority.

4. Consent to the EasyGov Terms of Use

By using EasyGov, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the EasyGov Terms of Use. Furthermore, you acknowledge the EasyGov Terms of Use as binding and undertake to comply with the applicable Swiss law when using EasyGov and to use the electronic services available on EasyGov as intended. You will find further obligations that apply to you as a user in Clause 6 of these EasyGov Terms of Use.

Any other use of EasyGov is prohibited unless SECO has expressly consented to such use in advance.

If you do not agree to the EasyGov terms of use, you can only use the area of EasyGov that is not open to registered users. The use of EasyGov is therefore only possible to a limited extent.

5. Registration and login

Users who wish to use the services of partner authorities via EasyGov must register on EasyGov. Registration and login on EasyGov are carried out in accordance with the technical methods recognised at the time and the authentication method provided by SECO. The access data may not be passed on to third parties. Users themselves are responsible for the use of their access data, including its use by third parties. In the event of any unauthorised use or suspicion of unauthorised use, SECO must be informed immediately. Users are also responsible for logging out of the application after each use of EasyGov.

SECO will use the e-mail address provided during registration to communicate with you.

By registering on EasyGov, you also consent to us sending you an email as part of the platform updates (this happens two to three times a year and in the event of special occurrences) to inform you about newly available government services and changes to the EasyGov Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. This service cannot be cancelled.

6. Responsibilities and duties of EasyGov users

As a user of EasyGov, in addition to the obligations set out in the other sections of these EasyGov Terms of Use, you also have the following responsibilities and duties:

• You are obliged to provide up-to-date, complete and truthful information when registering and when carrying out other acts of use, such as using the partner authorities’ services.
• You are solely responsible for the content of your registration and thus for the information you provide about yourself;
• You are responsible for ensuring the confidentiality and secure management of access data as well as any other means of legitimation (e.g. electronic identity);
• You are responsible for the use of your access data by third parties;
• You are responsible for logging out after each use of EasyGov;
• You are responsible for taking appropriate measures to protect your IT infrastructure and the digital devices used for EasyGov (e.g. computer, tablet, mobile phone) from unauthorised access and misuse by third parties;
• The administration of proxies on EasyGov is the sole responsibility of the user who has full access (referred to below as the “administrator”);
• If employees or third parties make use of EasyGov on your behalf or on behalf of your UID entity[2], the administrator is responsible for their actions on EasyGov;
• If you discover that unauthorised third parties made use of EasyGov in your name, you are obliged to report this to SECO immediately via the e-mail address given in section 2;
• You undertake to use EasyGov in a manner that does not adversely affect the availability of the services for other users (e.g. through viruses or automated requests);
• You are obliged to use EasyGov in accordance with Swiss and other laws applicable to you. You may only use the EasyGov application lawfully; any unlawful or inappropriate use is prohibited;
• If the EasyGov Terms of Use have been amended, you must accept the Terms of Use again when logging in after the amendment takes effect;
• You may not use EasyGov in any way that could damage, overburden or impair its IT infrastructure or interfere with any other user’s use of EasyGov. In particular, it is expressly forbidden to download and/or further process data from EasyGov via web robots or other automated processes from the web server.

Failure to comply with any of the obligations and responsibilities set out in the EasyGov Terms of Use may, in addition to exclusion from EasyGov, lead to users themselves being prosecuted.

7. Using EasyGov abroad

The user acknowledges that using EasyGov abroad may infringe provisions of foreign law. It is the user’s responsibility to inform himself/herself in this regard. In the event of any doubt, the user must refrain from using EasyGov abroad. SECO excludes any liability in this regard.

8. Unauthorised access to a user or business account

If the user has indications that unauthorised persons have gained or could gain access to his or her user and/or business account, he or she must report this to SECO immediately at the e-mail address given in Clause 2. SECO shall arrange for the necessary measures to be taken.

9. Deleting a user or company account

Users may delete their personal user account at any time. Business accounts may only be deleted by the user if he or she is the sole user with access to the business account.

The data in the eIAM user administration are not affected by the deletion.

10. Costs and fees

There is no fee or charge for using EasyGov itself. In the case of services provided by authorities for which a fee is charged, the costs and fees incurred are set by the partner authority responsible in the specific case. If you have any questions about the costs and fees for services provided by the partner authorities, please contact the partner authority concerned.

11. Payment via the payment function offered on EasyGov

As an EasyGov user, you have the option of paying the fees for certain public authority services via EasyGov using a payment module (Payrexx AG, Burgstrasse 20, CH-3600 Thun). The money is transferred directly from Payrexx AG to the partner authority concerned. The following means of payment are accepted: MasterCard, VISA, PostFinance DebitCard, PostFinance E-Finance, Samsung Pay, Google Pay and TWINT. If a debit or credit card is charged without authorisation, the cardholder has a right of withdrawal. The cardholder must contact the relevant partner authority, Payrexx AG or his/her bank directly.

12. Disclaimer

SECO does not guarantee access to the website nor does it guarantee that EasyGov will be available at all times.

Although SECO takes every care to ensure that the information published is correct, SECO cannot offer any guarantee with regard to the correctness, accuracy, up-to-dateness, reliability and completeness of the content of this information. SECO also expressly reserves the right to change, delete or temporarily not publish content in whole or in part at any time without notice.

Liability claims against SECO for material or immaterial damage arising from access to or use or non-use of the published information, misuse of the connection or technical faults are excluded to the extent permitted by law.

SECO is also not liable for any damage caused by improper or illegal use of EasyGov, in particular a breach of duties of care by users or third parties. SECO is also not liable for any damage incurred by users as a result of transmission errors, technical defects, interruptions, faults, incorrect data or data loss. In the event of claims – irrespective of their legal basis – SECO shall only be liable for damage caused by gross negligence or wilful intent on the part of SECO or its executing employees. SECO excludes liability for its auxiliary persons and agents to the extent permitted by law.

SECO declines all liability in connection with the use of EasyGov, in particular for official transactions carried out by a user on behalf of a UID entity via EasyGov. Users are reminded that they themselves must do everything necessary to manage or revoke the rights conferred on their representatives using the proxy form or later in the EasyGov Cockpit.

The partner authorities alone are responsible for the services and benefits they provide. SECO does not guarantee the availability and reliability of the partner authorities’ services or the authenticity and integrity of the data processed by the partner authorities.

Furthermore, users may not derive from the information they collect any right to a specific decision on the part of the partner authorities to which they transmit their data. The right to examine each individual case is expressly reserved. EasyGov only functions as an aid and its use does not in any way release the user from the requirement to comply with the statutory obligations towards the authorities.

13. Copyright

Copyright: State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO, Promotion Activities Directorate, SME Policy Division, Holzikofenweg 36, CH-3003 Bern.

The information contained on EasyGov is made available to the public. Downloading or copying content, images, photographs or other files does not transfer any rights with regard to the content.

The copyright and all other rights to the content, images, photographs or other files on EasyGov belong exclusively to SECO or the specifically named rights holders. The written consent of the copyright holders must be obtained in advance for the reproduction of any items.

The use and reproduction of the EasyGov logo is not permitted.

The intellectual property rights and all other property rights in EasyGov are the sole property of SECO or its concessionaires. This also includes the rights to all software belonging to EasyGov and to development and user documentation.

14. References and links

References and links to third-party websites are outside SECO’s sphere of responsibility. Access and use of such websites are at the user’s own risk. SECO has no influence whatsoever over the design, content and offers of the linked sites. Accordingly, it cannot guarantee that the information contained therein is accurate or that it is free of malware (such as viruses). Information and services on linked websites or web services are entirely the responsibility of the third party concerned. SECO excludes any responsibility for such websites.

15. Data protection

SECO attaches great importance to respecting your privacy and personal rights. Information on data protection and the processing and disclosure of personal data can be found in our Privacy Policy. The latter is an integral part of the EasyGov Terms of Use.

16. Security

Data security is a high priority for SECO as the operator of EasyGov. We use the widespread SSL / TLS procedure for EasyGov in conjunction with the encryption level supported by your browser. You can see that a page on our website is being transmitted in encrypted form when a closed lock symbol is displayed in the status bar of your browser.

In accordance with the applicable data protection legislation, SECO, as the operator of EasyGov, uses appropriate technical and organisational security measures for data processing in order to protect your data against accidental or wilful manipulation, partial or complete loss, destruction or against unauthorised access by third parties. The Federal Administration’s security measures correspond to the current state of the art.

Despite all these precautions, SECO cannot guarantee or warrant that EasyGov is completely safe from hackers, viruses or other attacks.

SECO excludes any responsibility for damage resulting from misuse by users or third parties.

Moreover, SECO cannot guarantee that e-mails with the sender of SECO were also sent by SECO; or the e-mails sent by SECO arrive undistorted, on time and at the correct recipient.

17. Transfer of rights and obligations

SECO may commission third parties to provide the services offered on EasyGov, provided that this does not result in any disadvantages for users. SECO accepts no liability for damage caused by a third party in the performance of its duties.

In order to ensure the continued use of EasyGov, SECO may transfer all its rights and obligations under the EasyGov Terms of Use to third parties. SECO shall inform the users in advance in writing of the planned transfer of rights and obligations to the third party. In particular, SECO shall disclose the identity of the third party and the date on which the rights and obligations are transferred to the third party. Furthermore, SECO shall inform users of the deadline within which they must notify SECO if they do not agree to the disclosure of their data to the third party.

18. Entry into force and duration of the EasyGov Terms of Use

The EasyGov Terms of Use become binding on registration and are concluded for an indefinite period. The user account may be deleted at any time by the users themselves (Clause 9). The deletion of the user account leads to the simultaneous termination of authorisation to use EasyGov. The data in the administrative systems of the partner authorities shall remain in the systems concerned in accordance with the legal provisions on retention and archiving applicable in the specific case.

19. Amendment of the EasyGov Terms of Use

SECO reserves the right to change the EasyGov Terms of Use at any time and without giving reasons. As part of the EasyGov platform updates, we shall inform you about any adjustments to the EasyGov Terms of Use. The EasyGov Terms of Use are deemed to have been accepted by the user if the user logs in after the EasyGov Terms of Use have been amended, expressly accepts the amended EasyGov Terms of Use and continues to use EasyGov.

The current version of the EasyGov Terms of Use published on our EasyGov website applies.

20. Governing law and place of jurisdiction

Swiss law applies exclusively. The place of jurisdiction is the city of Bern.

21. Final provisions

If any individual provision of the EasyGov Terms of Use is invalid or void, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions or parts of these provisions of the EasyGov Terms of Use. An invalid or void provision shall be replaced by a legally permissible provision that comes as close as possible in its purpose to the original purpose.

[1] The abbreviation “UID” stands for company identification number. See also: Federal Act of 18 June 2010 on the Business Identification Number (UIDG; SR 431.03).

[2] For the definition of UID unit, see Art. 3 para. 1 let. c BINA.