So how will this affect car shipping and UK car imports?

Car Import Duty / VAT

A trade agreement was reached meaning you will not have to pay any duty on importing a car into the UK. You will however have to pay VAT on the value of the car you are bringing here.

For example, you are buying a £10,000 Toyota from Germany, you will be liable for £2,000 worth of VAT @ 20%

However, if the vehicle is over thirty years of age, say a nice classic Porsche from Germany. Then there is a reduced rate of VAT at just 5%

It gets even better if you are relocating to the UK from Europe. If you can prove you lived outside the UK at least 12 months and owned the car at least 6 months, then it will be subject to zero VAT and zero duty. This is the HMRC Transfer of Residence scheme

Customs Clearance

Following Brexit customs clearance procedures have changed.

First, you need to ensure the vehicle has been correctly exported from the European country. You will ned the paperwork to prove this on import to the UK.

A proper customs entry must then be carried out (C384 / ToR) and submitted via a customs agent to HMRC

You will then receive confirmation all is good in the way of a NOVA letter, which can be used to register the car with the DVLA.

Car Imports by a Company

From 1st January 2021 (after the transition period), if you are importing the vehicle to the UK as a VAT registered company, you will need to have an EORI number that starts with GB

Vehicle Type Approval

During the Transition Period the EU type approval rules will still apply. In the UK up until 1 January 2021 the existing VCA rules will remain. Therefore, the VCA will continue to act as an EU Technical Service and EU Type Approval Authority. This means that the VCA can continue to issue EU approvals (‘e11’) and they will continue to be accepted in the EU.

UK and EU technical standards will be aligned immediately after 31 December 2020

IVA / MSVA Testing

Following the transition period it is likely type-approvals issued in the UK will no longer be valid for sales or registrations on the EU market.

We would imagine current IVA rules to be continued into 2021

Exchange Rates

A strong GBP will help all stages of purchasing and importing a car into the UK.

From the initial purchase of the vehicle to shipping costs which are billed in USD, the strength of UK currency will make an impact to your car shipping process.

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ShipMyCar can handle the shipping of your car from any part of Portugal back here to the UK

First you will need to obtain a Certificate of Conformity from the Manufacturer of your vehicle, this is usually fairly straightforward and involves making a call to the appropriate head office e.g. VW, Mercedes etc and asking them to send one to you.

This document will (usually not in English, so use Google Translate!) explain what needs to be changed to allow the car to be driven on the left hand side of the road and usually lists the speedo needing to show mph rather than kilometres and often the foglight needing to be switched onto the other side, if the car was not originally for left hand driving, headlights may need to be changed to ensure the beam pattern suits left hand side of the road driving

Once you know what needs changing, the best thing to do is to get your car to us at ShipMyCar where our engineers can carry out all the changes for you. Rather than changing the entire speedo we simply fit fascia plates which look completely factory fit but work out significantly cheaper. We can carry out all headlight changes or rewiring needed, often while you wait. We can even MOT the vehicle which will be required if the car is over three years old.

As soon as the changes have been made we can provide you with a statement to prove so, this will then need to be sent to the VCA in order for them to issue a Mutual Recognition Certificate – you then simply apply with the DVLA to register the car by filling in the appropriate form, providing them with the MOT, insurance and mutual recognition certificate

For further information, please contact us on 01908 887917 or email info@shipmycar.co.uk

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