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Right hand drive

Right hand drive

Old Oct 2nd 2005, 11:44 am
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Default Right hand drive

Hi All, I met a man yesterday who had moved to Spain and, can you believe it, hated it. He has since come back U.K.!!!!!!! He was asking about our 4X4 and mentioned that the law regarding right hand drive no longer applies for just 6 months. Does anyone know if this is so???

Many thanks
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Old Oct 2nd 2005, 11:54 am
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Default Re: Right hand drive

Originally Posted by cumtuppence
Hi All, I met a man yesterday who had moved to Spain and, can you believe it, hated it. He has since come back U.K.!!!!!!! He was asking about our 4X4 and mentioned that the law regarding right hand drive no longer applies for just 6 months. Does anyone know if this is so???

Many thanks
What law is that? There is a law that if you bring a British registered car (whether LHD or RHD) to Spain then it must be re-registered with Spanish plates etc. after six months.
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Old Oct 2nd 2005, 1:56 pm
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Default Re: Right hand drive

Originally Posted by cumtuppence
Hi All, I met a man yesterday who had moved to Spain and, can you believe it, hated it. He has since come back U.K.!!!!!!! He was asking about our 4X4 and mentioned that the law regarding right hand drive no longer applies for just 6 months. Does anyone know if this is so???

Many thanks
Bringing a car to Spain
You may bring you car over to Spain from the UK, as long as you have owned it for at least six months prior to moving. You cannot sell, rent out or transfer a car that has been imported tax-free and duty-free for 12 months once in Spain.

You must hand in the British registration documents to the DVLA and obtain a certificate of Permanent Export. The DVLA can advise you on this relatively simple process.

You will need a standardisation certificate (ficha reducida), which can be obtained from any licensed Spanish engineer.
The following taxes must be paid:

# VAT (IVA) at 16% on a tax-free car (on which VAT hasn't yet been paid) imported from the UK.

# Registration tax (impuesto sobre circulación de veh�*culos) at 12% of the vehicle's current value (based on the original market price in Spain). However, you do not need to pay this tax if you are to be a permanent resident in Spain and have imported a vehicle on which you have already paid the VAT.

Non-residents can bring their car from the UK to Spain without paying Spanish taxes, but you can only drive the car in Spain for six months in any year - which is the duration non-residents can remain in the country. The car must be taxed in its country of registration.

The paperwork for importing a car is far easier than it used to be, but many people still hire a gestor to sort it out for them.
Registration
Whether you import a car into the country, or buy a car in Spain, you need to register it at the local provincial traffic department (Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico de Málaga, c/Mauricio Moro Pareto 13, tel. 95 235 7200. Open Mon-Fri 9am-2pm).

If you are a permanent resident in Spain, you must obtain Spanish registration plates once you have imported the car. To do that, you will need:

# Your residence card and photocopy

# Current foreign driving licence and photocopy

# Registration number of a Spanish-registered vehicle

# One passport photograph

# 16.20 euros, payable at the traffic department

Driving licences
You are permitted to drive with a British or EU licence in Spain for up to six months a year, as a non-resident. But you will need to take it to the local provincial traffic department to be stamped and registered.

If you intend to spend more than six months a year in Spain - and hence are a resident - you will need to obtain a Spanish licence, with form TASA2.3 from the local provincial traffic department.

You must, under Spanish law, carry your driving licence with you at all times.
Road tax
All Spanish-registered vehicles must pay road tax. The amount is set by local municipalities and based on the power of your car. It can vary from 20-220 euros per year. Malaga is one of the cheapest provinces to tax your car.

You must pay your road tax between March and May. Contact your local town hall to ask when and to collect a payment form. You can pay in person at the town hall (though this usually involves long queues), or better, by post or direct debit.
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Old Oct 2nd 2005, 2:51 pm
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Default Re: Right hand drive

Thanks for the information countryboy.
Appreciated.
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Old Oct 2nd 2005, 5:24 pm
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Default Re: Right hand drive

There was a period in the early 1990s when DGT tried to ban the importation of right-hand drive vehicles by refusing to issue the necessary certificate from ITV.

This was eventually overruled but there are still some ITV stations that will not carry out the special ITV needed for the importation process

I had previously imported a right-hand drive car in the early eighties and on one occasion during the period that this issue arose when I took it for its ITV I was told that even though it had been imported and was on Spanish national plates it could not now be issued with the routine ITV because it was right-hand drive.

This was all nonsense, of course, but it took some considerable effort to get it past the test at that time.
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