Diddion

Most documentation states that you have to have owned a car for 12 months before becoming Portuguese resident if you are to avoid import duties.

A recent Gov.uk document states 6 months. An afpop article also states 6 months, and notes that the regulations changed to that shorter period on January 1 2018. Is this indeed correct? Any further intelligence and, ideally, a reference to source material would be really appreciated. Thanks!

Is this web page authoritative - and would any kind soul translate the relevant bits about car ownership? https://www.portaldascomunidades.mne...acao-automovel

mfesharne

It was always 12 months but some UK Govt websites have recently claimed 6 months & that link is the first time I've seen the 6 months mentioned on a Portuguese Govt website so I guess it's correct.

I've also seen claims that the resale limitation has been reduced from 5 years to 1 but have not yet seen confirmation of that on a Portuguese Govt website.

Quite honestly, I find these restrictions utterly pointless. Why should it matter how long you've owned it or how long you keep it?

And for that matter, why have to go to the trouble of supplying a CoC for the individual vehicle when type CoCs & tech specs are both published by the manufacturer?

Pointless bureaucracy at it's very best! (sigh)

Red Eric

I think I can shed a little light here.

There was an alteration to the Código do Imposto sobre Veículos embedded in the 2018 Budget, which can be found in the Diário da República online. The relevant part is Chapter 2, Section 4 (Article 254), and within that Articles 58, 59 & 60 :
https://dre.pt/web/guest/pesquisa/-/...ils/normal?l=1

Which says that you must have proof that you both owned the vehicle and were resident in another country for a minimum 6 months prior to transferring residence to Portugal.

peterfc

Whatever the Law is it's how each department see's the Law and how they intemperate the new Law. Best bet would be to go to the IMTT and ask them. That's the only way to get a correct answer to your question.

Peter

Red Eric

I beg to differ.

For one thing, it's not the IMT which grants the exemption and for another, if (as another poster has stated) the UK government has been informed and asked to update its websites, then I'm pretty certain all the branches of the relevant authorities in Portugal have also been made aware of the change.

And if, by any remote chance, any of them were working to out of date regulations, then it ought to be questioned. In this case it's national law and not open to local interpretation.

Diddion

Thanks, everyone, and particularly Red Eric's authoritative answer!

Slightly concerned about peterfc's comment, though. I have heard of Portuguese authorities 'interpreting' the regulations in different ways. If, indeed, these out of date figures were used, would you have a high degree of confidence that a challenge would have a successful outcomes? Red Eric's second post, above, would seem to suggest this.

RichardHenshall

How else do you suggest they can easily limit the personal tax-free importation of cars from any country to secondhand cars owned by new immigrants previously resident in that country?

mfesharne

As I see it, all they need to do is say it has to be registered in your name in the country you're importing it from & 1 vehicle every 10 years.

Why on earth does the importer have to have owned it for 6, 12 or any other number of months previously?

As I see it, the requirement is simply bureaucracy for the sake of bureaucracy just as the individual tech spec & workshop manual requirement is.

FFS...... Every manufacturer has to publish a type CoC & tech specs & how many people work on their own cars nowadays & don't garages have access to online manuals?

RichardHenshall

Why should a resident of Portugal be allowed a tax free import of one car every 10 years?

Diddion

I agree with the comments criticising such rules - especially as it seems not to accord with EU Regulations. However, it is what it is, and on that basis we have little choice other than to optimise our individual situations.

mfesharne

I think it refers to returning residents & I can understand (to some extent) that they don't want people to turn it into a business because it could damage the domestic sales industry but as long as it's the same for everyone I can see the point of that.

But I simply can't see the point in the other criteria I mentioned previously.

RichardHenshall

The bureaucracy involved in proving that an imported vehicle is made to the appropriate standards may be OTT but is probably necessary in some form.

As I understand it, the tax-free import is the same for everybody who qualifies. If you're a new (or returning?) immigrant who has been resident (>183 days) in the country you're leaving you can bring your car (that you've owned for at least that long) with you tax-free.

It's a one-time concession because you've already paid the equivalent 'taxes' elsewhere.

If you're not a new immigrant (whether resident in Portugal or not) you pay the appropriate ISV (whether the car is new or not). Of course, the new car bought elsewhere for export can avoid the other country's equivalent registration taxes & IVA, paying Portuguese taxes instead.

I see no justification for a periodic exemption to that, even if it might be welcome. Why not just have every 10th year IRS-free?

mfesharne

To me it's not important whether it's every person once every 10 years or every new/returning immigrant once or once every 10 years as long as the same rule applies to all.

What is pointless is the individual CoC for that individual vehicle which more often than not has to be obtained with great difficulty & needless expense & in some cases is not available at all. (Land Rover being a case in point).

If the car predates the issuance of CoCs they happily accept a copy of the original sales brochure that shows the tech spec so why not just ask for that & a 'type CoC' which is available online for all vehicles?

As for the workshop manual requirement........ that is truly & utterly ridiculous...... When was the last time most of us did any serious work on their cars or looked in an owners guide let alone a workshop manual?

Pointless bureaucracy drives me nucking futs!

But I might have given that impression previously. lol!

Red Eric

Oh? Which regulations are those, then?

Here's an excerpt from the official website of the European Commission :
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizen...s/index_en.htm

None of what Portugal does, either in exempting people from the registration tax if they're transferring their residence, nor in what they ask for in terms of previous residence or ownership and proof of them in order to qualify for that exemption, appears to me to go against the spirit of that general outline.

Red Eric

Yes, indeed - the variable interpretation of regulations is the stuff of legend on expat forums.

As far as the matter at hand goes, I really can't see how it could be interpreted in any other way. The only variables I can anticipate in terms of getting the exemption are what you might be asked for in terms of documentation to prove previous residence and your transferring to Portugal and proof of ownership of the car.