UK Customs In our experience UK customs are reasonably fair, they work on the guidelines passed down through Government and although some of the rules seem firm and inflexible, generally they have been put in place by Europe and not them. Essentially there are four types of import: - Personal Import : - This is where you must have lived in that country for a year or more as your permanent place of residence and owned and used the car for a least six months or more, then providing a utility bill from that address is available, then you should be able to bring that vehicle into the country VAT and Duty Free. Personal Vehicle Import:: - For all non-commercial or historic imports, duty is calculated at 10% of the combined, cost of the vehicle, shipping and marine insurance, then VAT is added to the cost of the vehicle, shipping and marine insurance + duty at the rate of 20% Commercial Import: - This applies especially to pickups and is calculated at 22% of the combined, cost of the vehicle, shipping and marine insurance, then VAT is added to the cost of the vehicle, shipping and marine insurance + duty at the rate of 20% Historic or BTI Application: - If a vehicle is regarded under the regulation 9705 from Brussels, i.e. that it is of notable historic interest and is usually at least pre 1950, then the vehicle duty and VAT is calculated at 0% of the combined, cost of the vehicle, shipping and marine insurance, then VAT is added to the cost of the vehicle, shipping and marine insurance + duty at the rate of 5%. HMRC will following the court case that they failed to win against JD Classics now consider all vehicles which are more than 30 years old and post 1950 and meet the criteria set down by them, you will need to make an application for it to be accepted and we are happy to provide all the releavant documentation and guidance to achieve this. Beware, many try to make a BTI application and fail, we are happy to advise and help point you into the right direction to achieve the correct result. If you wish to discuss with HM Customs & Excise as to the correct category for your vehicle, then their number is Category Help line 01702-366077, beware though, that often they get it wrong, double check with us. Here is a general summary of the Duty and VAT Figures for Personal Imports into the UK: -
A bill of sale is ALWAYS required when a vehicle is imported into the UK, this bill of sale should accurately record the amount that was paid for the vehicle, an example is available on our Forms page.. A client of ours was sadly confused and claimed that he paid $4000 less for his Mustang and his vehicle was confiscated until he could prove otherwise, he was also fined £100.00. Always make sure that the amount you pay for the vehicle can be substantiated by the amount transferred from your Bank Account. Beware, there are some companies who claim to be able to save you thousands by importing your vehicle to Holland and then paying the duty and VAT there, what they fail to tell you is: - 1. You will pay an extortionate amount for shipping, up to three times the normal costs!!! 2. It will take a lot longer. 3. There may be complications with your Marine Insurance. 4. All of the documents, if you ever get them! will require translation before the vehicle can be registered, which can be expensive. 5. DVLA and or UK Customs can reject the paperwork and then the onus is on you to provide proof. 6. These companies also claim that they can get your vehicle on a lower tax rate if they are older than 25 years, all we can advise is that you should be very careful as customs are aware of this dodge and may well decide to create a penalty for you as technically it is Tax Avoidance. Any UK customs forms are available on our Forms Page. For more information visit UK HMRC Customs |
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