A-Z of Importing a vehicle

[Larry]

If I buy a UK registered vehicle it's easy enough with the owner having the DVLA V5 document. But what happens if I buy and import for example a WW2 truck from France or anywhere else in Europe. What does the DVLA want from me? Do they want to see the French V5 equivalent or the receipt from the ex-owner? I know that the MVT & other clubs have a verification officer so that a period registration may be issued and the vehicle possibly exempted MOT & tax - but the rest of the process is unclear.

 

Also with regard to importing what comes first - asking if its OK before you buy or explaining your 'new purchase' to HM Customs on the dockside at Dover!

[ArtistsRifles]

This is the response from DVLA when I looked into importing a DUKW from Australia:

 

Thank you for your email.

 

I should firstly mention that DVLA Swansea can only answer general enquiries regarding the import of vehicles into the UK. Specific enquiries regarding the procedures or documentation required must be directed to the DVLA Local Office where the application will be made.

 

You should apply to license and register the vehicle at your nearest DVLA Local Office, as soon as possible after arrival in the UK. A list of Local Office addresses may be found on our website as listed below, or in booklet V100 available at any licence issuing Post Office®. The vehicle must be in this country and available for inspection before you make the application. The only circumstances, in which you can drive the vehicle, are to and from a pre-arranged SVA/MOT test and to and from a garage for remedial work following failure to pass the test. Thereafter the vehicle should be kept off the road until the licensing and registration formalities have been completed. NB. UK law requires a vehicle to be licensed and registered for road use. To avoid difficulties, importers are advised to transport rather than drive their vehicles from the port of entry to home or first destination.

 

Please note applications will not be dealt with over the counter. Applications received outside a Local Office catchment area will be accepted and forwarded to the Local Office nearest the applicant's home address for processing. Provided that the documentation is lodged with the Local Office in this way and the registration requirements have been complied with, the application will normally be dealt with by return of post.

 

Keepers who first license and register their vehicle(s) using application forms V55/4 or V55/5 will have to produce proof of name and address. A new information leaflet INF148 'Licensing and Registering Your Vehicle Using a V55/4 or a V55/5' has been produced giving details of the identity documents required. If you fail to read this information before submitting your application it may cause a delay in your application being processed.

 

The following documents will need to be submitted to the Local Office:

 

· Completed application form V55/4 or if appropriate V55/5:

 

· Form V55/4 is for "brand new" vehicles

 

· Form V55/5 is for "used" vehicles

 

· Appropriate Identity Documentation confirming your name and address

 

· A £38 registration fee (if applicable)

 

· The required fee for the licence

 

· British insurance certificate

 

· The appropriate Customs & Excise form (see fact sheet 1)

 

· Foreign registration document and any other papers you have relating to the vehicle

 

· A current British MOT test certificate for:

 

· Cars, motorcycles, motor caravans and Light Good Vehicles if more than 3 years old

 

· Passenger carrying vehicles with more than 8 seats and taxis (excluding private hire cars) if more than 1 year old

 

· Evidence of type approval (see fact sheet 2)

 

A brand new vehicle can be driven to GB and registered as new provided the vehicle is registered quickly after collection, this is taken as 14 days, has reasonable delivery mileage and it has not been previously "permanently" registered.

 

On receipt of a completed application the Local Office will allocate a registration mark appropriate to the vehicle's date of first use abroad and issue a vehicle excise licence. The papers will be forwarded to DVLC and you will receive a registration certificate for the vehicle within 6 weeks.

 

 

FACT SHEET 1

 

 

CUSTOMS & EXCISE DOCUMENTATION

 

WHAT CUSTOMS FORM DO I NEED?

 

 

C&E 386 This form is issued by Customs & Excise for a vehicle of any age personally imported from outside the European Union (EU).

 

 

C&E 388 This form is issued by Customs & Excise for a Customs restricted vehicle of any age personally imported from outside the EU.

 

C&E 389 This is a self-declaration form which should be used by VAT registered traders for commercial imports from outside the EU.

 

 

BFG 414 This form is issued to all Customs relieved vehicles, irrespective of age, which have been personally acquired within the EU by British Forces Germany personnel.

 

 

VAT 414 This self-declaration form (available at Local Offices) should only be used in the following circumstances:

 

 

a) For NMT vehicles acquired commercially within the EU by VAT registered traders.

 

b) For vehicles not classed as NMTs (ie. over 6 months old and having travelled more than 6,000 kms) which have been acquired from within the EU.

 

 

VAT 415 This self-declaration form (available at Local Offices) should be completed by customers when they have personally acquired a New Means of Transport (NMT) from within the EU. Following licensing and registration the form will be forwarded to Customs & Excise. Please note that a VAT 415 cannot be used for vehicles imported from outside the EU (eg. Japan or the USA - even if the vehicle has been driven to the UK via an EU country).

 

 

NB: New Means of Transport (NMT) vehicles are defined by Customs & Excise as originating from within the EU and are either less than 6 months old or have travelled less than 6,000 kms.

 

 

 

FACT SHEET 2

 

TYPE APPROVAL

 

 

Most cars and light goods vehicles manufactured up to 10 years old need to produce evidence of type approval.

 

For vehicles brought in from the European Union this will take the form of an ECWVTA (Certificate of Conformity (CoC). Copies can be obtained from the manufacturer - a charge is usually made for this.

 

If you have been unable to obtain a Certificate of Conformity for a vehicle previously registered in another Member State prior to import it might be acceptable in the UK under the mutual recognition procedure. Further advice on this can be obtained from the Vehicle Certificate Agency - Telephone 0117 952 4125.

 

Vehicles imported from a non-European country will need to be submitted for an SVA inspection. Until 31 July 2001, one level of test applied to all vehicles. But from 1 August 2001 a more stringent test has been introduced. Enhanced SVA (ESVA). The Basic SVA will be retained only for the following main categories of imported vehicle.

 

 

· "personally imported" vehicle as defined below

 

· any left hand drive vehicle

 

 

From 17 June 2003, motorcycles must either have Type Approval, Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval or Mutual Recognition. Without such approval or exemption, such motorcycles cannot be registered in GB.

 

WHAT IS A PERSONAL IMPORT

 

 

You are a personal importer only:

 

 

a) if the vehicle has been imported by a person entering the United Kingdom;

 

b) that person had, at the time the vehicle was imported, been normally resident in a country other than the United Kingdom for a continuous period of at least 12 months;

 

c) that person intends to become normally resident in the United Kingdom;

 

d) the vehicle has been in the possession of that person and used by him in the country where he has been normally resident for a period of at least 6 months before its importation; and

 

e) the vehicle is intended for his personal or household use in the United Kingdom. Establishing the criteria of the new "Personal Import" criteria will be the responsibility of the Vehicle Inspectorate.

 

Vehicles over 10 years old are exempt from type approval and from SVA.

 

NB: Vehicles over 3 years old are also required to pass an MOT (Passenger Carrying Vehicles with more than 8 seats and taxis - excluding private hire cars - if more than 1 year old).

 

Further information can be obtained from the booklets "How to Import a Vehicle into Great Britain" (PI5) and "The Single Vehicle Approval Scheme" (SVA4).

 

 

If you would like to request an Import Pack please telephone 0870 240 0010 to use the automated form request service.

 

[ArtistsRifles]

And this is the one from the Inland Revenue - hope they are of use to you:

 

Dear Neil,

 

Thank you for your e-mail dated 26 August 2005.

 

Due to the unusual nature of the vehicle you wish to import, I contacted our Tariff Classification Service on your behalf, to ascertain the commodity code from Her Majesty’s Integrated Tariff of the United Kingdom. The commodity code identifies customs duty rates, VAT liabilities, and other criteria relevant to the importation.

 

They have advised that, provided you would have evidence of the age of the vehicle (i.e. built in 1944) it is likely it would be admitted as a collector’s piece of historical interest under Chapter 97 of the Customs & Excise Tariff. Items under this chapter have a free rate of customs duty (i.e. no duty) and an effective rate of VAT at 5%.

 

In the event your vehicle qualifies under this chapter, the VAT rate would be applied to the total of the cost of the goods plus the freight and insurance charges.

Our Tariff Classification Service have indicated that, should there be no evidence of the vehicle’s age, it would be considered a vehicle under Chapter 87 of the Tariff. Customs duty rates under this chapter range from 1.7% to 22%. The specific rate for your vehicle would depend on the tariff classification. VAT at the standard rate of 17.5% would also be due.

In this event, the customs duty rate is applied to the total of the cost of the goods plus the freight and insurance charges to the UK.

The V.A.T. rate is applied to the total of the cost of the goods plus the freight and insurance charges plus the customs duty.

 

 

I would recommend you contact our Tariff Classification Service for further details as regards classification of your possible importation. They can provide full details on the classification requirements for collector’s pieces. They can be contacted on telephone number 01702 366077 (Monday – Friday 09:00 – 17:00) or e-mail mailto:classification.tso@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk.

Our Public Notice No. 600 – Classifying your imports or exports covers all aspects of the subject. It can be found on our website at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ by clicking on the item “Forms, leaflets & booklets” under the heading “quick links”.

Click on the link “Leaflets and booklets published in respect of matters formerly dealt with by HM Customs and Excise”. Scroll down to the heading “Import, Export & International Trade” and click on the link for “Public Notices”.

Notices are listed in number order.

Alternatively, you can obtain a hard copy from our National Advice Service (Telephone 0845 010 9000 Monday – Friday 08:00 – 20:00).

Registration of vehicles in the UK is the responsibility of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. I see you have copied your e-mail to them. They will reply to your enquiry in relation to this matter.

I hope that the above has been of assistance.

 

[Larry]

Neil,

 

Thanks this is a very complete answer.

 

Perhaps Jack, it should become a sticky thread!

[79x100]

There is quite a difference between EU and outside. Within the EU, provided you have the Current Registration Documents then it should just be a formality. Customs can still ask for a receipt to prove ownership but that is another thing.

 

Presumably EU includes quite a lot of old Communist Block countries now.

Based on my experience here in Belgium, I would say check all documents carefully. Many were issued at local level and dates of first registration can be quite approximate.

 

There is also apparently a problem with ex-Italy vehicles as well. Not only do they have several different agencies to deal with but there is an "environmental" scheme to give a bonus for taking old vehicles off the road. The current scam is to take the money, send in the docs and sell the vehicle to an unsuspecting foreigner who doesn't find out there is a problem until he tries to re-register it because the authorities won't confirm anything.

 

I believe that there is now an EU directive which forbids re-registering in another EU country if the papers are not present. This is supposed to be an anti-theft measure.

 

I am currently going through the process of registering my Dunkirk-abandoned Norton and have to explain that it has never been registered here. Short of a photograph showing the Pioneer Corps flattening the Customs Barriers on the morning of 10th May 1940, I don't really know how to explain away the lack of paperwork. :lol:

[whistlinwolf]

From EU countries its a doddle even I managed it with no problems.

 

If you have EU documents its as easy as a trip to your local licensing office with MOT and insurance and away you go with age related plate.

 

MVT will issue age verification letters if you are unsure as to its age, and DVLA will issue an age related number on their say so.

 

Importing the "removed from the road" Italian vehicles is no problem as I have had involvement in bringing ,ex Italian civvie trail bikes in to this country for a long time now and so long as you have age verification they will isue age related numbers.

Bring too many in and the VAT man will want to comeand live with you though!!!

 

 

OOPS sorry I'm banned aren't I ??

[Cara]

Basically, all you need is a lovely man who sorts out the importation for you, then you need the Vehicle Reg Document (From which ever country you are buying it from), the importation documents, insurance details, driving license (Incl. card), the V550 form and send all that off and back comes a nice new DVLA Reg Doc and confirmation of your reg details.

 

Obviously, depending on whether it is MOT excempt or not, you would need the MOT certificate or the MOT Excemption form to go with the above.

 

It really is simple, or atleast it is after you have already done it once.

 

Done it twice now, and would definately do it again, (easy and cheap) ...... if I ever found another vehicle I wanted, but I think I have enough for now. :lol:

 

Cara

x

[Larry]

But what happens if you are travelling through Europe and come across a wreck in a scrap yard or famers field - like the hulk of a Flakpanzer 38(T) that I once saw in a magazine!. So you pay the famer cash for it and get a receipt but thats about it - no idea when it was built and its not on the road in its present condition. Could you import it as scrap or as 'parts' all be it a big part? Obviously the same could apply if you recover the remains of an existing truck to complete the one you have in the UK.

[sirhc]

Larry,

It'd be a long time before you were ready to get it on the road. If I bought a Flakpanzer 38(T) from a farmer I'd be more worried about how I was going to get it home, along with where I was going to buy the spares and money from!

 

Chris

[79x100]

I travel fairly regularly via Dover with either parts of or complete motorcycles and that is never a problem. (It was before the "Single Market") If Customs are convinced that you have not been out of the European Union then there will not be a problem.

 

Parts to incorporate in a restoration will be just that. From a legal point of view, I suspect there is no difference between a screw bought on ebay and a tank hull. They can all travel freely.

 

The "Age-related scheme" in UK is great and I'm glad to hear it works for Tim even for Italian vehicles. All I can say is that the Belgian Authorities are using European guidelines to turn down almost anything without papers and what happens in Brussels today is bound to have an effect elsewhere sooner or later.

 

The real pressure here is from a lobby which calls itself environmental (Get rid of those nasty dirty old vehicles) but which is actually driven by the motor manufacturers who just want to sell more cars.

 

If you're going to bring in an obscure restoration project then the best thing is probably to find a local farmer prepared to swear that the thing has been in his barn for the last sixty years. It shouldn't cost you more than a case of whisky.