Shipping a non-EU car to PL by a non PL citizen (but PL Resident)

Dear All,

i am Lebanese married to a Polish woman; we have been living abroad for the last 3 years in the Gulf, and we bought a small car in 2009 (Honda Civic 1.8 cc model 2009)registered abroad under my name -as her husband; i have a residency in poland (one year residency renewable everyyear).

The question is: we are relocating to poland for good this April, so if we want to ship the car, do we have to pay tax for it?

Also, what are the steps to register it in Poland after shipping it to Gdansk or Gdynia and taking it out from the port? and the cost?

I am shipping it to use it in Poland, not interested at all to sell it.

I wait for your advices.Tx

You will most certainly have to pay tax on it in the current circumstances. It might be possible for your wife to ship it into Poland free of tax (if it was in her name and provided that she's been outside the country for long enough). If it is you who registers the car, you can only register it for as long as your residency permit is valid (i.e. no more than one year and you have to reregister it every year).

However, you need to understand that in order to keep the car here after it is more than three years old, it will need to pass Polish vehicle inspections, which means you'll have to adjust it to meet Polish rules (lights etc). Honda Civics are particularly bad for this: a friend of mine bought a tax-free Honda Civic when her aunt moved back to Poland but when she tried to have it converted to Polish standards but was told by the garage that while they could do it, it would make no economic sense to do the work.

Frankly, it'll be far far easier and much more cost-effective to just sell your car and buy one here.

The fact you are a Polish resident, means you would have to pay tax and duty on the car. As the car is being imported from outside the EU, it does not make any financially sense. As suggested by H, consider selling it and buying one when you get here.

The best thing to do is to ask an expert, I imported a car to Poland a few years back through Blue Sky Auto and can't speak highly enough of them. My understanding is that if you're buying a car abroad with the sole purpose of importing to Poland then you get hit with all the taxes and duty, but if you've owned the car abroad for a while and can prove it ( insurance docs etc) then it's almost like importing a piece of furniture and is far cheaper. But as I say, ask an expert.

You need to contact Urząd Celny fisher.Since you are not a citizen but only a resident I am not sure if "mienie przesiedleńcze" applies to you.IF the car was registered on your wife's name for the last 6 months I am positive she could ship it duty and tax free to PL after obtaining "mienie przesiedleńcze" document from embassy of Poland in the country she is relocating from.She still would have to pay all the applicable taxes and duties if she sold this car in Poland within 12 months from the date she registered it in Poland.

Do such things exist in Poland?! ;-) Not from the trash I see driving around the roads! (sorry, back on topic again).

Ok guys, thanns for all the threads, very helpful. I have some questions more:

1-Harry: you talked about converting the Honda civic, and said that it wouldn t make any econimic sence anymore to bring the honsa as it seems i ll be paying for converting.But, what is the level needed for this conversion??? i heard that lights should be orange and not red for example, and this already exist in the civic. I am not aware of other conversion requirements, but in anycase, will it be sooo expensive to do so??

2-we can register the car in poland under my wife name, if this makes it easier; but the point is that we have been owning this car for the last 2 years, under my name as her husband, so it is our common belonging. If i need to change the ownership to her name before shipping it to poland, still it will not work as they will tell me there in the shipyard in poland that the car is owned by her for lexx than 6 months (it will be actually a mmonth or something).... There is something not logical in all this. If i knew this, i would have registered under our common name or even her name since i bought it in march 2009!

3-Warszawski:: you said "As the car is being imported from outside the EU, it does not make any financially sense"...why? becoz i have to pay tax? but i am bringing my belongings for good to poland, where i will be living the rest of my life...can it be considered just as piece of furniture as db 1874 said?

4- does any body know any reference written to consult? i called the custon agent in gdynia today, and they transfered me to the cenrtal custom of all poland. we called them, and they told us to check certain document online made of 35 pages!!! my wife is checking this now. We called the embassy in the gulf, and they said to check online forumm!!!!!!!

...i feel it is going to be a trap for me, once i send the car and go to pick it up from gdynia, they will just come and say: oupsaaaaaaaaa!!! you have to pay 22%, plus...plus plus plusss............

How can i get clear answer??

SOS!

I have imported cars to PL under two different scenarios,

1. We had been living outside of PL for 4 years and we imported all property inclusive of Car that we had owned for longer than 6 months. No tax paid only registration fees.

2. I imported a car from Germany and paid all the standard costs.

When we imported our property in scenario 1, we were not registered in PL, but registered as working outside of PL.

Oufff..wait wait a minute, here you are adding "additional" criteria: what is about "being registered as woriking" ? does this also affect wether u pay the taxes or no?

And by the way, do you have -like me- the residency for set period of time? or the permanent residency? and when you brought the car from out of EU, what was your status (regardless whether you were working in poland or out).

In my case, as for today, i am contracted out of Poland, but now i am relocating. after i do that, i will be travelling out and in for my work outsie, but i will reside in Poland. does this has to do with paying or not the tax for the car?

I am aware that i need to pay registration anyway, but this somethig else; by the way, how much it is in general?

Tx.

Only way to get a clear answer is to speak to a customs agent who will handle the paperwork for you. They're not expensive and will save you a lot of tears and trouble.

Dear Delphin, how i can find such agent while i am still out of Poland planing the relocation? the local shipment company here in the Gulf provides only services door to port, and they dont assist in handling local polish matters. Is there a way to get in touch and hire local polish agent from now before shipping?

I imported my first car in 1997, so the laws have changed since then. I personally believe that as you are registered in PL, in other words PL is your domain, you are considered a PL tax resident for your worldwide income, therefore when you import the car you are considered a PL resident.

Although I may be wrong, check with a specialist.

Look fisher, the bottom line is,if you manage to obtain "mienie przesiedlencze" document from embassy of Poland in the country you reside then you won't be paying any import duties nor taxes.If you ship the car without this paper you may be very sorry you did that since your options will be to either pay the taxes or ship it out of Poland.