Hi there! I read this forum from time to time and maybe some of you can help me. It's been six months since I started to work in Poland and I'm interested in taking my Spanish car here. Do any of you know about any company that could take my car there?
Plus, once the car is here, should I change the Spanish registration plate to one Polish or it's not necessary? Do I have to hire one Polish car insurance or I can still enjoy the one I signed in Spain until it expires?
I think the EU law says that you have to change plates when you move to other EU country. Meaning that you don't have to do that if you're just going through a country or for short time as a tourist. In practice you can get fined only if some policeman stops you and decides to check if you're registered in Poland. If he notices that you are registered in Poland for longer than 3 months then you should get a penalty. I don't think it's very likely, but can happen. Also taxes for cars are probably cheaper in Poland than in Spain, so it could be cheaper for you to change registration to Polish in long run.
Watch your insurance - it's often the case that a policy covers visits to any EU state, but up to a max number of days. Your Spanish insurance may, therefore, be valid in Spain but sooner or later cover for use in Poland will be lost. Many people get around this by taking the car across a border and back, no?
Oh, and you don;t just change plates, you re-register, which has a cost and a process incl production of valid insurance
Good luck getting a pay-out from an insurance company in UK for a UK car when it comes out you're working in Poland and have been for the last nine months (unless you bought the unlimited travel option part of your policy).
Merged: Moving to Poland - Bringing my car (Expensive?)
I'm Daniel. New to this forum. I already read through what I could find here about the subject of importing a car to Poland. However...
I live in Barcelona at the moment. Together with my girlfriend I am soon moving to Poland, and I will bring my car. An Audi RS4 B7. The cars value is approx 30000 EUR. So my question is; do I need to pay VAT? What do I need to do and pay when entering Poland?
If I brought the car from a non-EU country, then VAT has to be paid. Within EU, this should not be an issue. However, still as I understand, some countries has different rules. Poland might be one of them, as far as I know. Because of all the articles I read so far, VAT has been mentioned. Also I read something about extra fee for engine size and so on...
I was not aware of that. As far as I know, you could drive anywhere in Europe and beyond (not only EU) and need not worry about VAT; and within the EU, you could keep your home plates for a long time (after a certain period there may be with a valid reason) without having to register it there or worry about paying VAT. So I would not worry too much and investigate further once you are here as you should have min. 6mo to do so.
I will try as much as I can to keep my home plates on. Though, As I leave Spain I wont have a Spanish address anymore. I will find a way, I probably do need to get Polish plates on at some point. And insurance.. . Thanks for the link.
You shouldn't have any problems using your Spanish car in Poland if you are a citizen of Spain no matter you have your address there. You do not need to register it in Poland. I know some people doing like that for many years. If you WANT to register it in Poland you will not pay VAT, because it's already paid in Spain, but you will have to pay excise which is 18.6%.
First of all. I left Spain and Poland is now my home. This is the reason why i also want my car imported and registered in Poland.
When I left Spain I arranged with a "gestor" to take care of the exportation from Spain. The plan was to drive the car to Poland, and send the cars documents to the "gestor" so he could do the exportation.
When I came to Poland I first visited the custom office, and then two different offices from the Polish traffic department. At the custom office I was informed that I do NOT need to pay any for of tax, nor VAT or excise that was mentioned here by wawa marek. The reason why I do not have to pay (As I understand) is that I already owned the car for 2 years, and I wont be able to sell the car for the coming year. In addition, I am not allowed to lend the car to anyone. I have to be the only driver.
So, the only fees I need to pay is those directly related to registration. which (again, as i understand it) should be approx 113 EUR. + plus a technical control of the vehicle.
At the traffic department I was informed that the preparations I did in Spain was unnecessary, as the Polish traffic department would do the Spanish exportation for me! The only reason I had to let the "gestor" do it, would be for my own practical reasons, as Spain CAN claim road tax if the car is not exported before Dec 31st. (I easily avoid the by canceling my Spanish bank account, and bet that car is exported before that start the manhunt)
At the moment the car is still on Spanish registration plates. And I will keep it this way, until mid January.
My project now is to find a insurance company that is willing to insure my car for a reasonable price. In Spain, DT the reputation of the car, many insurance companies did not want to touch it.
Just trying to get some help about an -almost- exact case. I´m planning to bring my BMW to Poland from Spain. This car belonged to my father and now to me as part of my heritage. It's under my name for less than 6 months so I was wondering what should I need to pay in Poland?
As far as I know it would be just registration fee and plates. Maybe technical check but it just passed it in Spain and it should be valid. Am I missing anything?
Elmorek, Im not sure if these are good advices or not.. But might be worth reading
My car is now on Polish registration plates. In the aftermath, I did this the wrong way. And due to the Polish bureaucracy, or laws, or what I can call it, - my car is not a 2006 model, and not a 2008. The reason is that the car was produced in 2006. In Spain, and the rest of Europe it would be recognized as a 2008 model, because of the the first registration date was in 2008.
- When you go for the technical checkup, take your time and make sure the papers and numbers are right. Your cars 1st registration date AND year of production must be in writing on the documents.
At the customs, you will have to lower the value of your car. My car has a market value 30000EUR. - Spanish insurance companies recognize 27500eur as the cars value. However, you should check with an insurance company in Poland. The insurance companies in Poland say my car is worth 50000zl (11000 eur) That is a massive difference, and that is the value (given by Polish insurance company) you should use on the import documents. It will save you some cash, IF they somehow decide to claim this from you.
As per today, I haven't paid any import tax. However, the custom officers were clear. If anyone, including wife, is caught driving my car, I will have to pay 18% import tax and a fine.
You may have to pay a import tax if you haven't owned the car for 2 years. However, at the traffic office it seemed like they looked between the fingers on that subject. As I understood from the translation, the officer said that it was not that important.
If you leave the Spanish plates in Spain, make sure you have all the correct documents in your car when you drive If you drive with the Spanish plates, also, make sure you have ALL required documents!
I was stopped three times by the Polizei, and they check everything. And you are a thief until proved otherwise.
Just the last question, I assume that before registering the car I have to contact customs office for clearance, either I have to pay or not. How can I contact them?
We went to the customs office in the city, and we got all necessary paperwork there. Then, later, I had to come back and deliver the papers, and I was "interrogated" by an officer and informed about the laws regarding the upcoming years ownership.
So, to answer your question; Its probably best that you visit the "border office" "custom office" in person.
