tootlewagon

That's interesting - giving that I still have a receipt from the PT Tax authorities, for the €3000+ Import Tax which I had to pay to re-register my UK car here...

gedscottish

I think the point is, it's not called "import tax" although in effect it is but in some respects it is not, hope that clears it up! Imposto automovel is also paid on brand new cars(regardless of which country they are made in, including Portugal) and this is why it's not considered an "import tax" on used imported cars.

liveaboard

There is an import tax by the way, but it is not charged on vehicles imported from EU countries.
If you bring a vehicle from OUTSIDE the EU, you will pay import tax [on the vehicle and shipping cost too], AND imposto automovel.
imposto automovel is not an import tax.

mfesharne

I find that a bit puzzling because I bought my car in from South Africa and it came in tax free because I was a new immigrant AND because it's a classic but as part of the process, I had a long conversation with the customs guy who told me the usual import tax (if applicable) was applied to all cars whether from the EU or not and calculated on engine size & CO2 not on value.

Assuming that what he told me is correct then shipping costs don't come into the calculation?

Road tax is calculated on the same factors incidentally.

Typical Portuguese clusterf*$k bureaucracy!

gedscottish

I'm don't know if it's an extra tax or just a higher percentage of imposto automovel but if you bring a car in from a non-Eu country like Switzerland or South Africa in your case you will pay far more! Seen a case recently with a guy with an old BMW 530d, it was going to cost 15k instead of being around 5k from an EU country!

Obviously in the above I'm referring to someone who does not have the right to import and avoid paying I.A

mfesharne

Like I said, typical Portuguese clusterf*§k bureaucracy. - I wouldn't be in the least surprised if it's nothing more than a case of each individual customs officer interpreting the rules differently but one thing's for sure, I'd argue the case of being charged tax on the shipping when it's meant to be a fixed sum until I was blue in the face.

Red Eric

Seems a little harsh to classify it as clusterthingy bureaucracy or accuse customs officers of not knowing their jobs simply because we're not fully cognisant of the rules.

As far as I'm aware, barring exemptions, vehicles coming from anywhere are subject to the same ISV and vehicles coming from outside the EU will have import tax and possibly other taxes eg IVA added to that, which seems entirely logical to me, as well as probably being in keeping with what at least some other EU countries do.

liveaboard

I was told I'd have to pay tax on the shipping cost, but maybe it was to be added to the IVA, not the import tax. That's just a technical point because the tariff is about the same.
I asked how that would be calculated if I drove the vehicle [10,000 km] to Portugal.
The officer just looked at me dumbfounded.
Anyway, the total cost was simply enormous so it was never going to happen.

As for a customs person [possibly] referring to the imposto imovel as 'import tax', it's likely just a mis-translation on his/her part. Since the English keep calling it that, the officer will also use the term.