Cyprus-Forum.com

[zoopigi man]

I also have been trying to register my UK car in Cyprus without having to pay import duty. Problem is it's taken so long that my UK MOT has run out and I can't yet get the MOT certificate over here (even though it's gone through the test and passed) because it's not yet registered in the Cyprus system. Anybody any ideas what to do in these circumstances?

[G.Man]

keep driving it on brit plates..



You will get your cyprus MOT when its registered, just keep the MOT pass certificate handy if you get stopped...

[nhowarth]

Where can I find out more about this and updates?

The article is on page 10 of the current issue of 'Cyprus Weekly'. As for more information and updates - keep an eye on the local press.

Regards,

[chrisp]

also imported my car since moving 3 months ago.
was going to fill in my forms allowing duty free----....................

ARE THEY SERIOUS!!!!!!!!

have a friend who imports cars and even he gets confused- the laws change daily!!
so we still have it on UK number plates, and got an extension for another 3 months , as, supposedly in a few weeks the duty charge will drop by a third!-- lets hope so, then i'd rather pay the duty that fly back to the UK trying to dig out my life history and papers to prove i exist!

chris

[stuballstu]

stuballstu wrote:
GG and G-man

This is a link to the EU website which deals which such things. My understanding is that if the car is more than 6 months old or more than 6000km then it may be brought from one member state to another with no taxes due

Have a look at this site if you have a spare couple of hours.

http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l31038.htm


Hello

I know very well this !! I m french, i bought a BMW in Munich (Germany) last march, more than 6000km, 6 month. I ve registred this car in France.

And since september this car is in cyprus !!

The 6 month/ 6000km work very well for the tax in Europe.

But the problem is its not a Tax its a duty !!!!! that have nothing to do with Europe !! just with cyprus !

If you come from a european country as Gman explained before, no problem just look the price of the register and the road tax.

Insurance is very cheap !!! if you are not less than 25 and the car is not left hand drive ...

Blondophile

It is to do with taxes and import duties. To date, I beleiv, that the ROC have received numerous warnings from the EU about this and have set a deadline which is the end of the year i think, for the ROC to make changes to this practice.

As you have experienced this in France you will know that as an EU citizen moving goods within an EU zone should be free of import duties and taxes if those taxes have been paid in another EU state.

For example I have a Dutch friend who bought a VW in Germany (used of course over 6 months old and 6000 km). After having it registered in Germany in his name for 6 months, which he still used the car in the Netherlands, he registered the car without any further taxes to be paid. It saved him over €10000.

In Holland you pay a tax called BPM as well as VAT on a new car. When he registered his car in Holland he did not have to pay VAT or BPM! That is part of the EU directive that the ROC is not implementing.

In Cyprus they may make some changes to the laws to make it cheaper instead of calling it duty they may try to make it an "environmental tax" or something just to try and stave off pressure from the EU. At some point they will have to make changes to the law and refund a lot of people a lot of money.

[GG]

At some point they will have to make changes to the law and refund a lot of people a lot of money.

REFUND???? Do you mean to say they will refund people who have already paid the tax, now that I do NOT believe.


The stupidest part of the current system is the way the excise duty has brackets that indicate the £ per cc but instead of it being staggered like all other tax sytems (ie, income or corportation) its put on the whole amount. So for example a car that is 1649cc wil pay £1400 a car that is 1cc more will pay £4,450. Thats over £3,000 more for the car that is just 1cc more.

[blondophile]

stuballstu wrote:
GG and G-man

This is a link to the EU website which deals which such things. My understanding is that if the car is more than 6 months old or more than 6000km then it may be brought from one member state to another with no taxes due

Have a look at this site if you have a spare couple of hours.

http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l31038.htm


Hello

I know very well this !! I m french, i bought a BMW in Munich (Germany) last march, more than 6000km, 6 month. I ve registred this car in France.

And since september this car is in cyprus !!

The 6 month/ 6000km work very well for the tax in Europe.

But the problem is its not a Tax its a duty !!!!! that have nothing to do with Europe !! just with cyprus !

If you come from a european country as Gman explained before, no problem just look the price of the register and the road tax.

Insurance is very cheap !!! if you are not less than 25 and the car is not left hand drive ...

Blondophile

It is to do with taxes and import duties. To date, I beleiv, that the ROC have received numerous warnings from the EU about this and have set a deadline which is the end of the year i think, for the ROC to make changes to this practice.

As you have experienced this in France you will know that as an EU citizen moving goods within an EU zone should be free of import duties and taxes if those taxes have been paid in another EU state.

For example I have a Dutch friend who bought a VW in Germany (used of course over 6 months old and 6000 km). After having it registered in Germany in his name for 6 months, which he still used the car in the Netherlands, he registered the car without any further taxes to be paid. It saved him over €10000.

In Holland you pay a tax called BPM as well as VAT on a new car. When he registered his car in Holland he did not have to pay VAT or BPM! That is part of the EU directive that the ROC is not implementing.

In Cyprus they may make some changes to the laws to make it cheaper instead of calling it duty they may try to make it an "environmental tax" or something just to try and stave off pressure from the EU. At some point they will have to make changes to the law and refund a lot of people a lot of money.

Your friend lived in holland before import the car ?

how I understand your story, its like my moving in the ROC I do not pay any tax or duty. ( just duty free tax 22£ and register ) But if somebody who live in holland import a car from germany ?

I saw a BMW645 convertible today in larnaka german export number plate ( left hand drive ) that make me smile i had the same number plate

So as conclusion all the only nice car in cyprus come from foreigner( as well english cypriot and all ... ), or for a cypriot crazy to spend 50 000£ tax

[stuballstu]

Hi Blondophile

Just to clarify he is Dutch and lived in Holland. He got the VW dealer in Germany to register the car in his name at the VW dealers address for 6 months. Meanwhile he took the car back to Holland. After 6 months he re registered the car in his own name in the Netherlands without having to pay any Dutch taxes.

GG

They may have to although they are not going to voluntary give the money back. Technically what they are doing is illegal and is breach of EU directives hence the warning letters.

This is why it is so difficult to import a car into Cyprus. They hope to give people what can only be described as the runaround. To get a refund, when they are ordered to give them, dont expect to turn up at an office and get a cheque in your hand. Given that its Cyprus you will need everything from fingerprints, family tree back to the 1800's, and a copy of your last eye test!!

I just checked today if they dont make the changes by the deadline then they will start to receive fines for every day afterwards that they dont implement the EU directive.