MartinLuther

Hello,

I have a mate who is moving from NZ to Tassie. He has a bike that he has had for 6 months and says that there's a problem importing a bike that has not been owned and used for more than 12 months.

Any tips on how he could bring it over.

I was wondering if I could "buy" it. What hassle would I have importing it and then lending it to him when he got here?

Thanks in advance.

Swerv-o

I believe that the [ridiculous] 12 month rule applies to vehicles that come from NZ (unless they are beyond a certain age). A friend of mine moved from NZ to NSW and had to account for all of his whereabouts - i.e. time he was out of the country and away from the car - with respect to the car he imported. I believe that this applies equally to motorcycles.

I think that you would fall foul of the same ruling if you were to attempt to purchase it off of him. However, I believe that a licenced vehicle broker can buy it from him, import it, then sell it back to him legally, but no doubt there would be lots of paperwork, faffing about, and general loss of value of the bike. May well be cheaper to flog it in NZ...


S

MartinLuther

I know but he says he can't find the same one in Tassie. Thanks for that.

Swerv-o

I know how he feels - I've had to let a couple of good motors slip through my fingers over the last couple of years because of the 12 month rule. One being a really nice Westfield that my mate was selling after he split with his GF.

Stupid protected marketplace rubbish...

Grrrrr.


S

MartinLuther

So is it just a problem from NZ or does it apply to all countries?

Would he be able to bring it over if he stuck it in a shed for 6 months or would he fall foul of the "use" part of the rule? Could he say that he was wintering it?

Swerv-o

It applies to all countries I believe. DOTARS want to see that you have owned and used the vehicle for a continual period of 12 months before they will grant you an import licence. My friend had to account for the time that he was out of NZ on business etc, as they weren't going to count that as valid time apparently (though this information is, of course, second hand.) I think it has to be 'on the road' for that time too.

Maybe drop Ex_Exile a PM - he recently imported a car from NZ and will be able to tell you more I suspect.


S

MartinLuther

Thanks for that. Looking at the rules it looks like you have to own it 12 months before becoming resident so he'd fall foul of that. It also looks like a personal import comes under the 12 month rule as well. Ho Humm.

ex_exile

Its the same from all countries, a measure to protect the local car industry. They do strictly enforce the one year rule though you can claim for a limited amount of time out of the country on business if you can get your employer to certify this.

As long as he is in the same country as the shed, no problem at all!

Yes, a local registered vehicle importer can import and certify it for you but they are only allowed to import a certain number of vehicles each year so they charge a lot for the service.

It is a fantastic paper trail to do it yourself, you need to send, amongst other things, every page of your passport so that they can count the days you were in the same country as the perspective import. You also get to visit a weighbridge and pay 4 or 5 different taxes / levys and get 3 or 4 different inspections (paying to and inspected by different government departments) for the privilege.

I also got to explain to a couple of plain cloth coppers why I was driving a car through Western Sydney without plates, but that was my bad! Amazingly some quick talking got me on my way without a ticket!

Swerv-o

Straight from the horses' mouth...


S

MartinLuther

Thanks for that. Sounds like a no goer. Such is life.