Costs for importing a car from Germany to Poland.

I have already seen some questions and answers about this topic, but I still can't figure out the exact costs (taxex, duties, etc) that I have to pay. This is the case. I want to import a 2007 Audi A8 4.2TDI from Germany to Poland. The price on the invoice is € 65.000,00. Can somebody explain to me what I have to pay in Poland to get a license?

Thanks in advance

For sure you have to pay the 22% VAT, however I'm not sure if you have to pay the "akcyza" which is customs tax. This tax is normally non-applicable in the EU, but some laws have changed recently. In any event the customs tax was approx 13%.

That same 2007 Audi A8 is about $50,000 in the US. Import it from there, and save €28,000.

I don't think VAT is payable. You do a VAT-24 form to free you from paying VAT because the VAT was paid when the car was first bought in Germany.

From my understanding you will end up paying:

first technical inspection - 169 PLN
Tax (akcyza) 13.6% because engine size is greater than 2 litres - 8840 EUR
translation costs - probably 200 PLN
registration costs - about 100 PLN
karta pojazdu (vehicle document) - 75 PLN

You might get charged the ecology fee (opłata ekologiczna) - 500 PLN

There are a few other charges of 10 or 20 PLN here and there that I didn't bother to add. The charges I showed give you an idea though.

Remember that your invoice should show your Polish address and be in both German and Polish to avoid problems later.

Good luck.

do you pay VAT if buying from a private party in Germany?

I don't know. I don't think so.

But anyway are you talking about VAT payable in Poland or in Germany? Because the info I read says you don't pay VAT in Poland when importing a second-hand vehicle. I didn't when I imported my motorbike. If you want I can dig out some (Polish) websites for you about it...

My understand was, and I could be wrong, if you bought from a private party, and didnt pay VAT in Germany, you would be required to pay at time of registration in Poland, based on the price in the sale document. If the price was lowered to show a cheap sale, then the value would be calculated by the authorities, and VAT applied to that rate.


I researched this once, and kept finding conflicting info, or lack of specifics.

Well I haven't heard of that or read about it. All I can say is that when I imported my motorbike I didn't pay any VAT.

I would be very surprised if you were right. If VAT was payable, it should be in Germany. I would be suprised if VAT was payable there anyway on a 2nd hand vehicle...

Maybe somebody who has 1st hand experience will post..?

that's right. but now akcyza is 18.6% (OF THE MARKET VALUE IN POLAND)...so even in the Invoice let's say 65000EU , BUT IF IN POLAND the market value of the car is 80000EU, they will charge 18.6% of 80000EU NOT 65000EU. just week ago my friend register his car. IT'S FUNNY, CRAZY but well come to Poland.

so that puts an end to the trick of having a deliberately low invoice price then...

NO you do NOT have to pay vat or duty on any goods imported from another EU state. That's why... um.. it's called the single market. You just have to put it through the Polish MOT then pay any registration fee.

yes plus pay the whopping great akcyza fee as discussed....

Thank you all for your info, but when I read it well I see three different meanings. According to some of you I have to pay all kind of fees and taxes, and according Tommy1 I just have to pay MOT and registration fee. From VAT I know the following; If I don't deduct the VAT in Germany, I don't have to pay VAT in Poland. It is a rule since EU.

Is there some kind of Polish authority where I can get all the information needed?

No, I think it is pretty clear that there is no VAT, just a Polish tax called akcyza which is customs tax.

If you want to find out yourself then go to the office called 'Urząd Skarbowy' in the town where you will register the car.

Dear benszymanski,

Thank you very much for your information. With the knowledge you gave me (among others) I will visit this office.

Thanks again!

Ton

Out of curiosity, why don't u simply get german number plates and avoid all the hassle?

It's all Schengen these days and all you've got to do, besides inusring ur car, is making sure ur german tax disc is always up to date.

Last but not least, it's way more class having a German number plate on an Audi A8 4.2l as opposed to an "eastern" pl one (sorry, couldnt resist :-|| ).

PJ

Because the car has to be registered at an address in Germany.

You can get your new number plates on the spot if you are willing to stand in a queue for about an hour. No particular proof of address is required. You also get to chose any combination of available letters should you wish to.

You then need a physical address to receive the actual car registration documents but then sorting out a letter box for a week or two in Germany is a no brainer for any Pole.

PJ

Are you trying to say to me that a German Post Box is enough to register a car in Germany? What will be the yearly costs? Please advise?

All what you need is a physical address where the authorities can send you the car registration documents. That is a one-off operation. You then have to pay the tax disc on a yearly basis but unlike the UK where u can buy the disc from any post office and simply display it on the windshield, in Germany you receive a bill sent to the car registration address.

The bill is processed like any other tax or liability owed to the authorities. If you don't pay it within the indicated time frames, u get reminders and so forth. However, you are not issued a disc, or anything for that matter, once you settle your tax. The authorities simply update their internal records that u have paid ur car tax. Hence, in a way, the german tax disc is processed more like a parking ticket or council tax.

You can google out the web on how to get a german post box.

My point is, in this new borderless blessed Schengen world, it makes little sense wasting time and money trying to register a car in Poland when you can keep German number plates. EU law says as long as a EU car is properly sorted paperwise and taxwise in its home state, it can drive in all other member states with no restrictions.

This also has huge benefits because (until matters are EU centralised) you can toss all those polish parking tickets and speeding tickets away.

I don't think you are right about that. If that is true then why can't foreign people keep their cars in the UK without restriction? According to the DVLA you can only keep a foreign vehicle in the UK for 6 months per 12 month period: dvla.gov.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/archive2006/20060308_24.aspx

I would be very very surprised if Poland didn't have similar restrictions (although whether they are enforced or not is a different question).

Eu nationals do keep their cars in the UK for years in a row. I know loads of french people in the UK who've been driving their french registered cars for years.

The trick is that the moment EU border control stopped stamping other EU nationals passports, the aforementioned laws became void and obsolete cause that shifted the burden onto the authorities to prove that a car has effectively stayed over 6 months in 12months.

You can be fogiven for thinking that this can be somehow sorted out for the UK is mostly an Island but imagine a place like Luxembourg, right in the Schengen zone, where loads of german, french, dutch and belgian nationals hop in and out for periods of time of various lengths for work and otherwise.

PJ

PJ

Yes, but now your next-door neighbour who resents you not paying UK car tax rings up the DVLA to report your car that's been here for 2 years. I have heard about this happening to Polish people.


Yes you're right, but you are wrong to say that it is perfectly legal to keep any EU car in any other EU state without restriction, because that's simply not true - there are restrictions.


Yes I agree with you that for continental Europe this is probably much much easier, and I doubt that anyone in Poland would care how long your German registered vehicle is here for. So I think that your suggestion not to bother importing a German car is definitely worth considering...

LOL, now we got us a debate...

Good questions and few contradicting answers. ParisJazz - you're right about the German registered vehicle, but only to some extent. First of all you have three months to change registration to a polish one if you do reside in Poland. You may choose not to and drive for let's say a year without incident, yet you know Murphy ’s Law. Poland is known for car thieves who really like foreign cars and foreign plated cars. Imagine someone steals your car, insurance company will ask you general questions like: Where do you live? Where do you work? It's going to be a walk in the park for an insurance adjustor to take apart your little scheme. Will you lie? Will they pay for your claim...?

As to importing vehicles from Germany, it all depends if the car is new or used, and or if you are buying it privately or as a company. If you are buying a vehicle from a dealer in Germany, you will pay 19% VAT at the said dealer. Come to Poland and get slammed with 18.5% excise tax calculated on the value of the vehicle in Poland. Now the funny part...You have to prove to the tax office in Poland that the vehicle is more than six months old or it has more than 6000km. If you fail to do so, they will consider it a new car and charge you VAT again of 22%. The legislation is outdated, and the lady at counter will tell you how sorry she is, and that she knows it's not right to pay VAT twice, yet she will still charge you. Oh, and she will also tell you they are working on it to fix it.

Try to purchase the vehicle privately to avoid VAT in both countries. Bring it to Poland and find custom's appointed appraiser. Get your Audi or Bmw "appraised" if you catch my drift. Now that your car is worth "?", you go to pay your excise tax based on the value given by the friendly appraiser. Plate and register the car.

There is legal ways of avoiding the double VAT, and few other tricks of the trade. Underline the word trade. You really have to know what you doing; otherwise you will lose lots of money and time. First five cars I've imported from States I broke even on profit wise, then I learned.

My advice to You is to look for a vehicle in Poland, with the Euro at its peak vs polish Zloty it just isn't worth it unless you are sitting on some Euro's. There is lots of cars left over from last summer's import boom. People are letting them go cheap due to economic crisis. Private message me if You need further help.

Ontario Style.

Insightful and comprehensive. Thank you.

Ton, with the euro having gained 20% vs the pound and even more vs Zloty, u might be way better off ordering a new car in either currencies.

Now going for "bargain" second hand luxury cars is a bit of an issue. Very few are willing to pay €50K+ on a second hand car cause u never know whether the car has been tinkered with and at that level of money, u would want a full blown garantee from the factory and nobody else. In Germany, most owners who get their new porsches stolen, refuse to take them once they are found, on the ground that the car might have been tinkered with and ask the insurance company to get them a new car instead.

If you are willing to part ways with €65K, u might as well play the exchange rates smartly and get urself a new car.

PJ

Thread attached on merging:
Car Registration in Poznan

I need this figured out. During this summer i will acquire a car whilst i am on holiday in Spain, i will then drive it back to Poland.

I thought that would be it, however it has come to light that i obviously need to register the car,myself,my shoes make a million photocopies, stand in a queue for a bloody week or two then be told that im at the wrong desk and come back next week during the opening hours of 10.00am to 10.05am. If anyone has tried to do anythin official in this country you will know what i mean.. Enough rant...

Does anyone know what i have to do to register a foreign car in Poland.. Poznan to be specific...

Many thanks in advance

See this thread which is related: https://polishforums.com/archives/2005-2009/law/poland-costs-importing-car-germany-31446/
and about where to go and what to do this is related: britishinpoland.com/blog/2008/02/importing-a-motorbike/

I hope I can help you...Try to find the city council web site in poznan, because you can register on-line. Than they will give you a ticket for a especific day and time for you to resgister the car, so you avoid queuing.

I know that the system is working in Gdansk so I just assume that in Poznan is smiliar.
take care and don't give up.
charlie

poznan.pl/mim/public/rezerwacje/rezerwacje.html - System rezerwacji wizyt

bip.city.poznan.pl/bip/public/bip/sprawa.html?co=opis&sp_id=1741 - Rejestracja pojazdu sprowadzonego z zagranicy

Hello.

Here it is in from start to finish:

I am guessing the vehicle will be used. It has to be at least six months old and/or have 6000 km on it, otherwise like I said in previous post they will charge you VAT in Poland. Once the vehicle crosses the polish border you only have five days to settle the excise tax with the local customs office. It is very important that you do this within five days otherwise they will give you a hefty fine. The funny thing (don't say I said that) they have no way of proving your actual entry date with "shengen" being in effect. Hypothetically speaking when asked when you brought the vehicle to Poland, one could reply "yesterday". The excise tax is 18.5% based on the actual value of the vehicle in Poland. It takes few days until you receive the actual proof from the customs that you've paid the tax. With that in hand, you acquire a "safety inspection" at a local regional safety/check station (okregowa stacja pojazdow). When you receive the inspection you are able to prove beyond "tax office clerk’s" doubt that the vehicle is in fact six months old or has 6k on it. At the tax office you ask for VAT-24 form/declaration and you will receive in return VAT-25 which in short is a release from paying VAT. You wait for that about a week as well. Then you pay your recycling fee of 500 PLN and enter the dragon's lair (registration office) to register you vehicle. Make sure you translate the previous vehicle registration and the purchase agreement/invoice. Customs are supposed to let you pay the excise without translation since you are in EU, but in Warsaw they won't. Again each city has different ways of implementing the rules. In Warsaw for example they also want you to have the safety check done at the time of paying the excise tax – crazy considering that your car might not pass and then you run out of “five days”...

I hope this is helpful, feel free to ask questions if you don’t understand something...I have done this oh, only about “xxx” times.

OK, now I have decided to purchase the car privately, but do I need insurance certificate when I'm passing Germany border?
there any risks with this private purchase? thank you