This information can be used as a general guide to the importation rules of the following countries. Prior to importing, please be sure to confirm with your local authorities, all the required procedures and specific rules relating to the importation of vehicles into your country.

IMPORTING TO AUSTRALIA

Import used vehicles into Australia:

  • An import approval must be obtained for all vehicles entering Australia, in order to gain customs clearance at point of entry. All vehicles entering Australia require an import approval to enter the country legally. Any vehicle that arrives in Australia without an import approval, can be refused entry, and may have to be re-exported or crushed.
  • Vehicles manufactured before January 1st 1989 may be imported without restriction.
  • Vehicles manufactured during or after 1989 must qualify for compliance, under the Registered Automotive Workshop Scheme.

Vehicles manufactured during or after 1989 must be a SEVS eligible vehicle (Sports and Enthusiasts Vehicle System). Please check the list of SEVS eligible vehicles here.

Taxes:

  • Customs Duty = 5% x CIF costs (CIF costs = all costs to port in Australia)
  • GST: (CIF + Customs Duty) x 10% GST
  • LCT: Luxury Car Tax, is applicable to vehicles with a CIF value of over AU$57,180.
  • LCT is levied at the rate of 33%, on the portion of the taxable total, over AU$57,180.

Reference:

  • Department of Transport and Regional Services
    Importing Vehicles to Australia
  • Registered Automotive Workshop Scheme (Search for a RAWS workshop to comply your vehicles here)
    http://raws.dotars.gov.au/
  • Sports and Enthusiasts Vehicle System

http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/motor/sevs/index.aspx

IMPORTING TO CANADA

Import used vehicles into Canada:

  • All vehicles must be fifteen (15) years old, or older, at the time of importation into Canada, as determined by the month and year in which the vehicle was manufactured.
  • All imported used vehicles and machinery that are contaminated with soil will be refused entry.
    Reference:

Canada Border Services Agency
Click Here TO Get More Details

IMPORTING TO CYPRUS

Import used vehicles to Cyprus:

  • Used private vehicle: under 5 years
  • Used light goods vehicle up to 3 tons gross weight: Under 4 years
    Reference:
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs
    http://www.mfa.gov.cy/

IMPORTING TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Import used vehicles to the Dominican Republic:

  • No right hand drive vehicles can be imported. Only left hand drive.

IMPORTING TO FIJI

Import used vehicles to Fiji:

  • Vehicles must be under 4 years old from month of manufacture.

Other:

  • Embassy of the Republic of the Fiji Islands
    http://www.fijiembassy.jp/jp/

IMPORTING TO FRANCE

Import used vehicles to France:

Taxes:

  • Import Customs : Cars 10% Trucks 10-22%

VAT : (CIF + Import Customs) x 19.6%

Reference:

  • EU Automotive Industry
    http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/automotive/directives/vehicles/
  • France VAT
  • Paris Police
    http://www.prefecture-police-paris.interieur.gouv.fr/demarches/carte_grise/cout.htm

Other:

  • Embassy of France
    http://www.ambafrance-jp.org/

Import used vehicles to Hong Kong:

Regulations:

  • Importers have to register with the Customs and Excise Department.
  • Cannot import left hand drive vehicles, only right hand drive.

Reference:

  • Customs and Excise Department
    http://www.customs.gov.hk/
  • Transport Department

Import used vehicles to India

  • Vehicles have to be under 3 years.
  • Vehicles have to be Right Hand Drive.
  • Importers can do import clearance only at Mumbai Port.
  • Vehicles need to be inspected.

Import Duty:

  • 1) Basic Duty: CIF x 101%
  • 2) Additional Duty 1: (CIF x 101%) x 16.48%
  • 3) Additional Duty 2: (2) x 3%
  • 4) Additional Duty 3: (1+2+3) x 4%
  • 5) Countervailing Duty: (CIF x 101% +1+2+3+4) x 4%
  • total: 1+2+3+4+5

Reference:

  • Ministry of Commerce and Industry
    http://dgft.delhi.nic.in/
  • Central Board of Excise and Customs
    http://www.cbec.gov.in/cae1-english.htm
  • Department of Road Transport & Highways
    http://morth.nic.in/

Other:

  • Embassy of India
    http://www.embassyofindiajapan.org/

Importing used vehicle to Ireland:

Import Documents required:

  • SAD – Single Administrative Documents
  • Invoice
  • Export Certificate
  • Customs Duty 10%
  • VAT – Value Added Tax
    (Invoice price + Customs Duty + Transportation Fee) x 21%Registering the vehicle in Ireland:
  • Bring the car to Vehicle Registration Office, and inspect the car.
    Pay VRT – Vehicle Registration TaxReference:
  • Vehicle Standards (Department of Transport)
    http://www.transport.ie/roads/
  • Ministry of Finance, Revenue Commissioners
    http://www.revenue.ie/Other:
  • Embassy of Ireland
    http://www.irishembassy.jp/

Import used vehicles to Italy

    • Vehicles must have under 6,000km at the time of import into Italy.

Taxes:

    • Customs Duty : CIF price x 5 or 10%
    • IVA : (CIF + duty) x 20%

Reference

  • Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (only Italian)
    http://www.infrastrutture.gov.it/
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs
    http://www.esteri.it/MAE/EN/Home.htm
  • Agenzia delle Dogane
    http://www.agenziadogane.it/wps/wcm/connect/ee/

Taxes:

    • Customs Duty : CIF price x 5 or 10%
    • IVA : (CIF + duty) x 20%

Other

  • Embassy of Italy http://www.ambtokyo.esteri.it/ambasciata_tokyo/

Import used vehicles to Jamaica:

  • Cars : Under 3 years
  • Commercial Vans : Under 4 years

Other:

  • Embassy of Jamaica
  • http://www.jamaicaemb.jp/

Importing used vehicles to Kenya:

Regulations:

  • Vehicles must be under 8 years of age, based on month and year of manufacture.
  • Vehicles must be Right Hand Drive.
  • Vehicles must be inspected by Japan Export Vehicle Inspection Center (JEVIC), prior to export from Japan.

Taxes:

  • Import duty: CIF price x 25%
  • Excise duty: (CIF price + Import duty) x 20%
  • VAT: (CIF price + Import duty + Excise duty) x 16%
  • IDF (Import Declaration Form) : 2.75%

Reference:

  • Kenya Revenue Authority
  • http://www.revenue.go.ke/
  • Kenya Bureau of Standards
  • http://www.kebs.org/

Other:

  • Kenya Embassy
  • http://www.kenyarep-jp.com/en/index.html

Port:

  • Mombasa

Import used vehicles to Kazakhstan:

  • RHD Cars can not be imported.

Other:

  • Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan
  • http://www.embkazjp.org/

Importing used vehicles into Korea:
Duty & Tax:

  • Determination of Customs Value: – CIF price
  • Taxes imposed on the Car:
    1) customs duty : the Value x 8%
    2) special consumption tax : (the Value + customs duty) x 5 or 10% depends on the engine
    3) education tax : 3) x 30%
    4) VAT : (the Value + 1 + 2 +3) x 10%
    5) Sum : 1) + 2) + 3) + 4)

Reference:

  • Korea Customs
  • http://www.customs.go.kr/eng/

KOTSA

  • http://www.kotsa.or.kr/
  • Ministry of Environment
  • http://eng.me.go.kr/docs/index.html
  • Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs
  • http://english.mltm.go.kr/intro.do

Other

  • Embassy of Republic of Korea
  • http://jpn-tokyo.mofat.go.kr/

Port

  • Inchon
  • Pusan

Importing vehicles into Malaysia:

Reference:

  • Ministry of International Trade and Industry
  • http://miti.gov.my/

Royal Customs Department

  • http://www.customs.gov.

Import used vehicles to Malta.

  • All imported vehicles must be SVA tested prior to registration in Malta.

Reference

  • SVA testing in Malta:
  • http://www.vca-asia.net/maltaintro.htm

Other

  • Honorary Consulate General of the Republic of Malta
  • http://www.ocv.ne.jp/~rei/

Importation of Vehicles into New Zealand.

  • Only Right Hand Drive
    Tax
  • GST (Goods and Services Tax) : CIF price x 12.5%
    Reference
  • Biosecurity New Zealand
    http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/imports/non-organic/standards/bmg-std-vehil.htm
  • Ministry of Transport
    http://www.transport.govt.nz/
  • Land Transport
    http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/importing/
  • Independent Motor Vehicle Dealers Association (IMVDA)
    http://www.imvda.co.nz/
  • Land Transport
    http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/publications/infosheets/infosheet-2-10-japan.html#mbetc
  • From January 1st 2009, the emission codes acceptable for used Japanese imported petrol cars are as follows:
    CD, GH, GJ, GK, GL, GM. HN, HP, HQ, HR, HS, LA, LB, LC, LD, LE, LN, LP, LQ, LS, LR, TA, TB, TC, TD, TE, TN, TP, TQ, TR, TS, UA, UB, UC, UE, UN, UP, UQ, US, UR, XA, XB, XC, XD, XE, YA, YB, YC, YD, YE, ZA, ZB, ZC, ZD, ZE or any three digit emission codes (eg, AAA, ABA, DAA)
  • New Zealand Customs Service
    http://www.customs.govt.nz/travellers/Motor+Vehicles/default.htm

Other:

  • New Zealand Embassy
  • http://www.nzembassy.com/

Port:

  • Auckland
  • Lyttelton
  • Nelson
  • Wellington

Importation of Vehicles into Nigeria:

  • Vehicles must be under 8 years.
  • Vehicles must be Left Hand Drive.

Customs Duty:

  • Cars : 30%
  • Buses : 15%
  • Trucks : 30%
  • CKD : 5%

Taxes:

  • CISS (Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme) : 1%
  • NAC (National Automotive Counccil) : 2%
  • VAT : 5%
  • ETLS (Ecowas Trade Liberalization Scheme) : 0.5%
  • Sub Charge on Duty Payable

Reference:

  • Central Bank of Nigeria
    http://www.cenbank.org/
  • Federal Ministry of Finance
    http://www.fmf.gov.ng/
  • Federal Ministry of Transport
    http://www.fmt.gov.ng/

Port:

  • Lagos

Import used vehicles to Peru:

  • Only Left Hand Drive (or vehicles converted to LHD).
  • Under 5 years for Cars, Under 2 years for Bus/Trucks
  • Vehicles should be in good condition, with no accident history

Taxes:

  • Import Duty : 9%
  • VAT : 19%
  • Commodity Tax : 30%

Reference:

  • SUNAT
    http://www.sunat.gob.pe/

Other:

  • Embassy of Peru
    http://www.peru-japan.org/

Import used vehicles to Philippines:

  • Only Left Hand Drive
  • Importers need importing license.

Reference:

  • Tarriff Commission
    http://www.tariffcommission.gov.ph/
  • Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
    http://www.bsp.gov.ph/
  • Department of Trade and Industry
    http://www.business.gov.ph/

Other:

  • Philippine Embassy
  • http://tokyo.philembassy.net/

Port:

  • Manila

Import used vehicles into Romania:

Taxes:

  • Duty : 10%
  • VAT : 19%
  • Commodity Tax : 1.5 – 9%

Reference:

  • Ministry of Transport
    http://www.mt.ro/
  • Foreign Trade Department
    http://www.dce.gov.ro/
  • RAR
    http://www.rarom.ro/

Other:

  • Embassy of Romania
  • http://tokyo.mae.ro/

Import used vehicles to Russia:
Taxes:
Cars under 5 years old

  • 0~1000cc: 1.2 euro/1cc
  • 1000~1500cc: 1.45 euro/1cc
  • 1501~1800cc: 1.5 euro/1cc
  • 1801~3000: 2.15 euro/1cc
  • 3001cc~: 2.8 euro/1cc

Cars 5~7 years old

  • 0~1000cc: 2.5 euro/1cc
  • 1001~1500cc: 2.7 euro/1cc
  • 1501~1800cc: 2.9 euro/1cc
  • 1801~3000cc: 4 euro/1cc
  • 3001cc~: 5.8 euro/1cc

Reference:

  • Federal Customs Service
  • http://www.customs.ru/en/
  • Department of Transportation (only Russian)
  • http://www.gai.ru/
  • Russian Automobile Dealers (only Russian)
  • http://www.asroad.org/

Other:

  • Embassy of Russian Federation
  • http://www.russia-emb.jp/

Importing used vehicles into Samoa:

  • RHD Cars manufactured before 2002 are not allowed.

Importing used vehicles into Singapore:

Regulation:

  • Vehicles have to be under 3 years.
  • Vehicles have to be Right Hand Drive.

Taxes:

  • Comodity Tax: OMV (Open Market Value) x 20%
  • Consumption Tax: (OMV + Comodity Tax) x 5%
  • Surcharge: S$10,000-

Reference

  • Singapore Customs
    http://www.customs.gov.sg/
  • One.Motoring
    http://www.onemotoring.com.sg/

Other

  • Singapore Embassy
    http://www.mfa.gov.sg/tokyo/

Port

  • Singapore

Import used vehicles to Spain:
Taxes:

  • Import Duty : Cars and motorcycles 5% or 10% : Bus 10 or 16%
  • VAT : 16%
  • Registration fee : EUR 62.2

Reference

  • Transportation Authority
  • http://www.dgt.es/portal/

Other

  • Spain Business
  • http://www.spainbusiness.jp

Port

  • Barcelona

Import Used Vehicles to Sri Lanka:

  • Only Right Hand Drive
  • need JAAI inspection

You do not require an Import Control License:

  • Cars and Jeep under 3 and a half years.
  • Bus/Vans/Truck under 5 years.

Taxes:

  • Customs Duty
  • Surcharge
  • Cess
  • PAL : Port and Airport Development Levy
  • Excise Duty
  • VAT : Value Added Tax
  • RIDL
  • SRL : Social Responsibility Levy

Reference:

  • Sri Lanka Customs Department
  • http://www.customs.gov.lk/

Other:

  • Embassy of Sri Lanka
  • http://lankaembassy.jp/

Port:

  • Colombo

Import used vehicles into Suriname:

  • Cars must be under 8 years old.

Port:

  • Paramaribo

Import used vehicles to Tanzania:

  • JAAI inspection is required.

Other:

  • Tanzania Embassy
    http://www.tanzaniaembassy.or.jp/

Port:

  • Dar Es Salaam

Importing used vehicles to Thailand:

  • Importing used vehicles is not allowed, only forward transit to third countries.

Reference:

  • The Customs Department
    http://www.customs.go.th/Customs-Eng/indexEng.jsp
  • The Excise Department
    http://www.excise.go.th/eng-index.html
  • Department of Foreign Trade (only Thai)
    http://www.dft.moc.go.th/index.asp
  • Importation of Personal Vehicle
    http://www.customs.go.th/UploadFile/EngNew/N0707001.doc

Other:

  • Royal Thai Embassy
    http://www.thaiembassy.jp/rte2/

Port:

  • Leam Chabang

Import used vehicles into Uganda:

  • JEVIC inspection is required.

Other:

  • Embassy of The Republic of Uganda
    http://www.uganda-embassy.jp/
  • Uganda National Bureau of Standards
    http://www.unbs.go.ug/

Port:

  • Mombasa

Importing vehicles into UAE for Domestic Sale:

  • Only Left Hand Drive
  • Custom Duty : CIF price x 5%
  • Importers need to obtain Commercial License (Trade License)

Re-Export to Other Countries:

  • No regulation, No custom duty

Reference:

  • UAE Freezone
    http://www.uaefreezones.com/
  • Dubai Customs
    http://www.dxbcustoms.gov.ae/home.aspx

Other:

  • Embassy of The United Arab Emirates
    http://www.uaeembassy.jp/

Port:

  • Dubai

Importing vehicles into the UK:
Taxes:

  • Customs Duty : CIF price x 10%
  • VAT (Value Added Tax) : (CIF price + customs duty + clearance fee) x 17.5%

Licensing and Registration:

  • Vehicles over 10 years old, only require MOT to be registered in the UK.
  • Vehicles under 10 years old, will require an SVA test + MOT for registration.

Reference:

  • Department for Transport
  • HM Revenue & Customs
    http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/

Other:

  • British Embassy
    http://www.uknow.or.jp/be_e/

Importing vehicles into the USA:

  • Vehicles with a manufacture date of over 25 years, can be imported into the USA, without restriction.

Reference:

  • Customs and Border Protection
    http://www.customs.gov/xp/cgov/home.xml
  • EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)
    http://www.epa.gov/otaq/imports/
  • Vehicle Importation Regulations
    http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import/

Other:

  • Embassy of the United States
    http://japan.usembassy.gov/t-main.html

Import used vehicles to Uzbekistan:

  • RHD cars are not allowed to import.

Other:

  • Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan
    http://www.japan.mfa.uz/

Import used vehicles to Vietnam:

  • Only Left Hand Drive
  • Only under 5 years

Customs Duty:

  • Is related to engine size of the imported vehicle/s.

Taxes:

  • VAT : 10%
  • SCT : 50% for cars with less than 5 seats

Reference:

  • Ministry of Industry
    http://www.moi.gov.vn/
  • Ministry of Finance
    http://www.mof.gov.vn/
  • Ministry of Transport
    http://www.mt.gov.vn/