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Importing a car from outside the EU: customs, duty and VAT

· 9 min read · Levante V12

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Bringing to Spain a car bought outside the European Union (the UK, Switzerland, the United States…) is an import: you have to declare it at customs with a DUA (single administrative document), pay customs duty and VAT there, and then pass the ITV (Spain's roadworthiness inspection), settle the registration tax and register it with the DGT (Spain's traffic authority). For cars, the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) gives a duty of 10% as the general case and the general VAT rate is 21%, although the exact rate is confirmed in TARIC (the EU customs tariff database) and anyone moving their residence to Spain may qualify for relief.

What changes compared with buying in the EU

If you buy the car in another EU country, you will not have to pay customs duties when you take it to your country of residence, and VAT follows its own rules depending on whether the car is new or used (we cover this in VAT on a car bought in the EU). Outside the EU the logic changes: the car enters the customs territory of the Union and is declared as an import, whether it is new or used.

The legal basis is in the Spanish VAT Act, Law 37/1992, which makes imports of goods subject to the tax, whatever their intended use and whatever the status of the importer. The Tax Agency also points out that purchases in territories excluded from the EU's customs and tax legislation, such as the Åland Islands, the Channel Islands, Ceuta, Melilla and Gibraltar, also count as imports.

What is filed at customs

According to the Tax Agency, a customs declaration (DUA) must be filed, together with this documentation:

  • Proof of ownership of the vehicle: the original sales invoice or, failing that, the registration certificate.
  • The vehicle's technical documentation (ITV card or data sheet).
  • The owner's identity document and contact details, or the clearance authorisation if the customs procedure is handled through a customs representative.
  • An insurance contract covering compulsory third-party liability; it is not needed if it is shown that the vehicle is not transported under its own power (on a trailer, in a container…).
  • If you are applying a relief (for a change of residence or an inheritance), the documents that prove that right.

If you are a private individual, the Tax Agency offers a Digital Assistance service (ADI) by telephone appointment and video call to help you complete and file a customs import declaration for your vehicle; among the requirements, the importer must be a private individual and be registered in Cl@ve (the Spanish government's electronic identification system). The other route is to hand the clearance to a customs representative.

How much you pay at customs: duty and VAT

At customs you pay customs duty and the relevant indirect tax: VAT on the mainland and the Balearic Islands, or IGIC (the Canary Islands indirect tax) if you live in the Canary Islands.

  • Customs duty: the Tax Agency gives, as a general rule for cars, the general case: 10%. And it warns that the duty rate to be paid is only known by consulting TARIC, once the goods have been classified.
  • VAT: for a new vehicle (less than six months since first registration or no more than 6,000 km), VAT is in general 21% if you live in mainland Spain or the Balearic Islands. For a used vehicle, VAT is also paid on import.
  • Value on which it is calculated: the transaction price shown on the invoice, including insurance and freight (CIF). If there is no invoice or customs does not consider the price valid, the methods of customs legislation on customs value are applied.

Bear in mind that VAT is not calculated only on the price of the car: the VAT Act provides that, on imports, the taxable amount is obtained by adding to the customs value the taxes and duties that arise on the import, except VAT itself, that is, the customs duty as well.

Example with round figures: a used car with a customs value (CIF) of €20,000 to which the 10% general case applied would pay €2,000 in duty, and the 21% VAT would be calculated on €22,000, that is, €4,620; in total, €6,620 at customs, before the registration tax and the rest of the procedures. The figures in your case will depend on TARIC, on the value customs accepts and on whether you qualify for any relief.

If you move to Spain with your car

If you move your residence to Spain from outside the EU, you can import your car with relief from customs duties and exemption from taxes if the requirements are met. The Tax Agency summarises them as follows:

  • You must have lived outside the territory of the European Union for a period of no less than twelve consecutive months.
  • The vehicle must be used: you must have used it at the place of your former normal residence for at least six months.
  • For the VAT exemption, you must have acquired it under the normal conditions of taxation in the country of origin, without having benefited from any exemption or refund of the tax on its leaving that country.
  • Deadline: within 12 months from establishing your normal residence in Spain.
  • Afterwards: until 12 months have passed since the acceptance of the declaration, the car may not be lent, hired out or transferred without first informing the competent authorities.

At customs this is shown with your registration on the municipal register (padrón) of the new municipality, a document proving residence outside the EU for at least 12 consecutive months before the move, and the vehicle's title document with the date that ownership began.

The registration tax has its own exemption for a change of residence in Spain's Special Taxes Act (Ley de Impuestos Especiales, Law 38/1992), with similar requirements, including: habitual residence outside Spain for at least the twelve consecutive months before the move, use of the vehicle at the former residence for at least six months before leaving it, requesting the plate within 60 days of starting to use it in Spain and not transferring it during the twelve months after registration. To apply it, a declaration must be filed with the tax authorities.

After customs: ITV, tax and DGT

Paying customs is not enough to drive. The next steps are the same as for any imported car, with a few more documents:

  1. Type approval and CoC. The Tax Agency warns that, although it does not have to be presented at customs, for registration you will need an EU certificate of conformity (CoC) for the vehicle, and that if you do not have this certificate you will have to carry out a single-vehicle approval project (homologación unitaria). We explain it in the certificate of conformity (CoC).
  2. ITV. Before driving an imported vehicle, it must pass the ITV; among the documentation, proof of payment of the duties and taxes on import. More detail in the ITV for an imported car.
  3. Registration tax. Law 38/1992 subjects to the tax the first definitive registration in Spain of vehicles, new or used, with a motor for propulsion. How much you pay is in the registration tax on an imported car.
  4. Registration with the DGT. For vehicles acquired in countries outside the EU, in addition to the general paperwork, the DGT asks for the H1 import certificate, unless the ITV card carries the vehicle's import endorsement; if the car is used, also the vehicle's original documents, and if it is new, the technical data sheet issued by the ITV. Step by step in how to register an imported car with the DGT.

The UK and Switzerland: what to know

United Kingdom. For the DGT, vehicles, new or used, coming from the UK, except Northern Ireland, imported after 1 January 2021 must meet the requirements applicable to vehicles acquired outside the EU, unless the vehicle has EU status and the certificate issued by the AEAT proving this status is presented. At the ITV, the Spanish Ministry of Industry manual accepts the CoC of a British car as valid only for vehicles registered up to 31/12/2020; for later ones it asks for a document showing compliance with the regulatory acts. And remember that right-hand drive is not a minor detail for daily use: weigh it up before buying.

Switzerland. It is also an import, with its declaration at customs, but at the ITV the manual accepts the certificate of conformity as valid for vehicles registered in the EEA, Andorra and Switzerland.

In both cases, do not take the duty for granted: neither the 10% of the general case nor that the car will be free of it. The Tax Agency warns that the duty rate to be paid and the trade policy that applies are only known by consulting TARIC, once the goods have been classified. Before paying, ask the seller for the invoice, the original registration certificate and the CoC, and do the sums with all the items involved in importing a car. If your situation has particularities (inheritance, change of residence, company car), consult the Tax Agency or a customs representative before moving the car.

Sources consulted

Checked on 11 October 2026. We link to the original source so that you can consult the current text.

Frequently asked questions

What customs duty does a car imported from outside the EU pay?

The Spanish Tax Agency gives 10% for cars as the general case, but the rate that applies to your car is confirmed in TARIC once it has been classified.

Do you pay VAT when importing a used car from outside the EU?

Yes. According to the Tax Agency, a used vehicle also pays VAT on import; in the Canary Islands, IGIC is paid. The taxable amount includes the customs value and the duty.

Can I bring my car without paying customs if I move to Spain?

There may be relief from duty and exemption from VAT if you have lived outside the EU for at least twelve consecutive months, have used the car there for at least six months and import it within 12 months of establishing your residence, among other requirements.

What is the H1 certificate?

It is the import certificate that the DGT asks for to register a car acquired outside the EU, unless the vehicle's import endorsement appears on the ITV card.

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