United Kingdom

Like any other country, car import to UK is subject to customs duty and value added tax. For automobiles this custom duty is 10%. For motorcycles the custom duty is somewhere between 6% to 8%. The VAT rate is 17.5 % on both of these sections.

While importing a car from US to UK, there will be customs of the countries to be cleared. But there is a way to skip the duty charges in UK. If it can be proved that you owned the car in US and used the car for six months and now that the car is traveling to UK, it will stay for at least one year in UK. To prove this, one has to produce the foreign registration papers of the car, police certificate or the insurance policy.

There are a number of forms to be filled up in this process. Form C104A enables the importer to clear UK customs. Then, one has to fill up forms C&E388 and C&E386. Then there are formalities with the transport department.

Apart from the customs, there are a few things that the importers have to keep in mind while importing cars from outside. Motor vehicles need some safety, environmental and quality requirements before they come to UK. The way of driving is different here, which makes the design of foreign cars different from what is suitable in UK. These things have to seen carefully before coming to any international deal.

There are a number of custom relief schemes available in UK.