Oftentimes we get asked questions that we don’t know the answer to. The best thing we can do is to guide a person in the right direction. One of the most common questions we get asked is:
“How much duty do I have to pay once my car arrives at my country?”
The duties for vehicles will vary greatly from country to country. For certain countries we put the import duty on the web page. For instance, Â VAT at 17.5 % is normally applies to passenger vehicles. But if someone is returning to UK from living abroad, they do not have to pay any VAT. You can find more information regard VAT and car shipping to UK here.
For all other people who just want to have a ball park figure, visit this long list of Duties and Value-Added Taxes VAT, provided by USCIB (United States Council of International Business). This list will give you a range for what you can expect to pay. So if you want to see the worst case scenario, just look at the list.
For the people who want to find out EXACTLY what Duties and VAT they will pay for their particular country, we highly recommend reaching out to the Embassy or the Customs Department.
Here is an example. According to the USCIB website, the United Arab Emirates has import duties of 4-5%. For Motor Vehicles & Boats it’s 5%. You can expect to pay that to the UAE Customs Department once the car arrives at the port. But to be VERY sure, contact the UAE Customs Department.
Ship Overseas can only give you cost that are related to your shipment here in the US. We also clear US Customs for you. But we cannot clear Customs for the country you are trying to ship to. All countries are different. If you want to have a great ballpark figure of Duties or VAT, look at the USCIB website. If that is not good enough, contact the Customs Department of the country you are shipping to. Alternatively you can contact the Embassy in Washington, DC. One last method, which is very good, is to contact the Port Authority of the country you are shipping a car to.
To get your TOTAL cost of shipping a car from USA, add the price we gave you + any import duties and VAT. As mentioned earlier, not everyone has to pay this so make sure you tell us ahead of time why you are shipping the car.