How to Ship a Car to Belgium
1 Title of Ownership & Bill of Sale
In order to ship a car from USA to Belgium, the car must have a Title of Ownership free of any liens. If the owner is in the USA, getting the title to the car shipping company is easy. If the owner of the vehicle bought the car over the internet or is already back in Belgium prior to shipping the car, the title of ownership from the car dealer and a Bill of Sale indicating the amount will be needed. The Title of Ownership has to be sent to the international car shipping company in it’s original form and the Bill of Sale is sent to the new owner. After the sailing, the car shipping company will return the Title of Ownership (via FedEx Express International mail with signature confirmation) to the receiver which he/she will present when the car is picked up.
2 Selecting an International Car Shipping Company
The following 2 steps are important if a person is to ship a car to Belgium. If the international car shipping company does not meet these requirements, do not use them.
Better Business Bureau (BBB) – Fill in the name of the company. The city is optional, but it will provide more accuracy.
Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) in Washington, DC. This is a government website where all licensed car shipping companies must be registered.Select Organization Name and enter the company name.
Please note: According to these websites, international car shipping companies are referred to as “Freight Forwarders”.
3 International Car Shipping Rates
When shipping a car to Belgium, rates are going to be a function of the services you request. Factors of determining car shipping rates to Belgium are: year, make, model, marine insurance, trucking services to the shipping docks, and what port it is departing from. If the car can be brought to the departure port and picked up in Belgium, these rates will start around $800 USD. Now that’s cheap!
4 Taxes & Fees
Taxes are the responsibility of the owner. If the destination country is Belgium, then payment must be made at the docks. All cars entering Belgium will be subject to 30% taxes of the car’s value. The value is determined by KBB (Kelly Blue Book). This is a holding deposit and is refundable after the car is registered in the European Union or the country of destination.
Contact the Belgium Embassy in Washington, DC for the latest import tax rates. Don not forget to add this amount to the international car shipping rate to get your total cost.
5 Payments to the International Car Shipping Company
Payment can be made in several ways. For the purposes of this article, we will only give the top 3 payment methods.
Credit Card – This is the safest way to arrange payment. A professional car shipping company will run an “authorization” on the credit card to make sure the fund are there. Once a booking number is confirmed, the credit card will be charged. A booking number and the dates of departure and arrival will be supplied.
Paypal – This is a 3rd party credit card processor. While many people all over the world have used Paypal, you will have to make full payment ahead of time. No financial information is given to the car shipping company. This is also a great payment method.
Bank Transfer – Do not use this method unless you can’t use the above two methods. If you use this method (which many people do), make sure the name of the bank account you are depositing money into matches the names in step #2. If it does, there is nearly no risk involved.
6 Picking up the Car
The only people who are authorized to pick up the car are the owner or the consignee designated on the Bill of Lading. Proper identification will be needed. Any import taxes will have to be paid at that time.
* Consignee – The person who the car is being delivered to.