When you buy a European car for export to Azerbaijan, you do not pay VAT in the EU as you are not going to be using the item in the EU - you pay it in Azerbaijan. If you bring to a car to (let us use Libya, as an example, which doesn't have any import duties), you register the car locally and no taxes are paid.
If you buy a car in Germany, for the German/EU/EEA customs union market, you pay VAT in Germany and upon delivering proof of VAT being paid in an EU member-state, you are able to register the car in another member-state without paying any more taxes on top.
Sweden charges huge taxes on classic American cars but cars over 25 years of age are taxed at 5% VAT in the UK. Many classical car enthusiasts first import their classical cars into the UK, register them there (a proof of ID is not required to register a car under your name, neither is a proof of address) and then transfer registration inside Sweden for a country from one EU/EEA member to be re-registered in another.
Between 2005 and 2008, JD Classics had imported from outside the EU some 35 cars, many of them Jaguar XK and E-Type models, and had relied on the collectors’ item tariff that allows zero import duty and a 5% reduced rate of VAT
The case considered the guidelines that HMRC officials use in determining whether an old vehicle being imported from outside EU qualifies as a “collectors’ piece of historical interest”. On ordinary cars, customs duty is payable at 10% of the value at import, plus normal rate VAT on the whole amount. However older vehicles may be imported under tariff heading 97.05 (collections and collectors’ pieces of historical interest), where customs duty is nil, and VAT is charged at an effective rate of 5%.
The difficulty comes in deciding what vehicles qualify under heading 97.05. The rules stem from a 1985 decision of the European Court of Justice. To qualify, the vehicle has to be relatively rare, no longer in normal use for the purpose for which it was originally made, sold outside the normal vehicle trade, and of high value. In addition the vehicle should illustrate an important stage in the development of the motor car.
In November 2009, the European Commission updated its guidelines to national customs authorities. These now confirm that there is a presumption of “historical interest” in favour of vehicles which are in their original state, without substantial changes to the chassis, steering or braking system and engine, at least 30 years old, and of a model or type which is no longer in production.
Martin Emmison explains: "The main change is that there is now more emphasis on originality and less on age - previously, any vehicle made before 1950 would qualify as a collectors’ item; now it might not, if it has been modified, is incomplete or is very ordinary. It also opens the possibility of importing on this favourable basis a vehicle that is less than 30 years old, if you can demonstrate that the particular model ‘evidences a significant step in the evolution of human achievements or illustrates a period of that evolution’.
Malta and Greece, however, say that unless you are transferring residency into these countries from abroad (where you must have lived for over 6 months and driven the car for more than 5000km since new), you also owe them an "initial registration tax" - which is another form of VAT. So sure, you could bring in a German-taxed car but you'd pay a similar 15-21% VRT tax in Malta upon first registration. EU rules forbid this but for some reason some EU member-states are able to flout this regulation without any punishment
Another thing to note: if you live in the US in a state where there is no sales tax, you can buy a Camaro (or any other exclusively-American car) tax-free, keep it for 6 months, drive it for more than 5k km (or 5k mi, in the UK) and then take it with you (free of taxes) to the EU country you decide to settle in - In this case, the Maltese/Greek de-facto import duties mentioned above also do not apply.
If you genuinely owned the car and are abandoning your previous place of residency (AZ, LY, US) for another within the EU, there is nothing except the admin fee to get your car registered and license plates to pay for.
I see that you're from Azerbaijan. If you speak Russian, let's talk on WhatsApp *** - I'm familiar with EU laws and import/export procedures
Ciao,
Ivan
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Priscilla 6 years ago
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