Importing new from EU

[Saucer]

Has anyone on here imported a MH from the EU since Brexit? My understanding is that VAT and import tax are payable on used vans, but only VAT on new. Also I believe that purchases in e.g. Belgium or Germany could benefit from VAT refunds from the country it was purchased in. I know that there are various hoops around satisfying UK registration standards, MPH on dash etc, but that doesn’t seem insurmountable. I’d be very interested in anyone who is considering it or (even better) done it since we left.

 

[Lenny HB]

We have imported 3 Hymers all from Belgium dealer drove them to the port for us. Slightly more difficult now but not much.

Hardly any price advantage with a Carthago so we bought from a UK dealer for the first time.

Also, Campirama fitted temporary Belgian plates to the van and drove it to the port for us, using their own insurance.

Emmanual drives the van to the port on Belgium trade plates then changes them for false Belgium plates
Technically you are supposed to drive home without any plates but less chance of getting stopped with false Belgium plates.
Nerve wrecking following your brand new van being driven by a loony, I had trouble keeping up with him I was drving his Discovery sport, also I've been told he doesn't have a C1.

 

[stewartwebr]

Has anyone actually imported and been through the process post Brexit. I imported current van after Brexit but German dealer telling me things have changed. Can’t find anything which says things have changed. Has anyone imported recently, how did it go in relation to duty and VAT?

 

[Rob Turner]

Has anyone actually imported and been through the process post Brexit. I imported current van after Brexit but German dealer telling me things have changed. Can’t find anything which says things have changed. Has anyone imported recently, how did it go in relation to duty and VAT?

We’ve imported three.
One before Brexit and two since, the last being in 2022.
Hardly any difference to be fair. The second one we didn’t pay German VAT and just sent the proof of UK VAT and the last one we paid the VAT in Germany then claimed it back.

All very straight forward and would have no bother importing another especially atm as the Euro is climbing back up steadily.

 

[dom_k]

I brought one in on Thursday from Germany and just sorting the paperwork. It’s been easy so far though… my only issue was not being able to get French customs to process the declaration of leaving the EU which the dealer wanted. The guys doing my CDS declaration said it happened to someone else Friday morning in France but they can sort it anyway so all good.

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[Saucer]

Having intended to import we decided against. It is our first motorhome and we thought that it would be good to have the reassurance of buying from a local dealer to deal with any warranty issues. We’ve ordered a new van to our specification (hopefully) arriving April.

 

[bellabee]

Rob Turner I read a post somewhere on Fun where it was stated that DVLA required the use of some sort of 'import agency' to complete paperwork and that it was no longer possible to do it all yourself.
From your experience, it looks as though this is not the case.

 

[Rob Turner]

Rob Turner I read a post somewhere on Fun where it was stated that DVLA required the use of some sort of 'import agency' to complete paperwork and that it was no longer possible to do it all yourself.
From your experience, it looks as though this is not the case.

Never heard of that, in fact, I dealt with a team manager personally at Swansea as I ruffled a few feathers after waiting 6 weeks without hearing anything from them.

It’s all very straight forward.

 

[Shrimp]

Is it the same route for a used van from Germany or France?

 

[dom_k]

Rob Turner I read a post somewhere on Fun where it was stated that DVLA required the use of some sort of 'import agency' to complete paperwork and that it was no longer possible to do it all yourself.
From your experience, it looks as though this is not the case.

You do need a freight agent now just to do the CDS notification. HMRC used to do it for personal imports when you did the NOVA submission but according to HMRC email I got this is no longer the case. It’s a relatively cheap service though at £125 for the paperwork and submission.

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[stewartwebr]

I brought one in on Thursday from Germany and just sorting the paperwork. It’s been easy so far though… my only issue was not being able to get French customs to process the declaration of leaving the EU which the dealer wanted. The guys doing my CDS declaration said it happened to someone else Friday morning in France but they can sort it anyway so all good.

Thanks, be good to follow how you get on. I have experience of importing from Germany but that was in 2022. Interested to learn what has changed, sounds like the CDS is new, I did it all myself. Be looking forward to how you get on and details of all the steps. Thanks!

 

[dom_k]

All my paperwork will be submitted next week so I will keep updating this as I make progress

 

[ED O'DARAC]

Rob Turner I read a post somewhere on Fun where it was stated that DVLA required the use of some sort of 'import agency' to complete paperwork and that it was no longer possible to do it all yourself.
From your experience, it looks as though this is not the case.

We have imported around fifteen motorhomes (new and used, France and Germany) from Europe. Only one since Brexit /Covid as it hasn't been as advantageous and stock was too expensive.
However, we are looking again now. New only.

The only change we found from before the current regs (they have changed since Brexit) is that we needed to perform an import declaration and get an official number via an import agency. This we paid an agent for.

Currently looking to save £20,000 on an £85,000 van.
No wonder Britain is known as 'Treasure Island' !
stewartwebr instructions for post-brexit import are spot-on.

 

[PaulW2]

We have imported 3 vans from Germany, the last one was in April 22.
All easy enough to do and made considerable savings on them all.

Wow. Just looked and it appears to me that on a like for like basis the price may be £ 15k+ lower in Germany (in my case looking at Globecar). Does that that seem roughly correct?

 

[ED O'DARAC]

Wow. Just looked and it appears to me that on a like for like basis the price may be £ 15k+ lower in Germany (in my case looking at Globecar). Does that that seem roughly correct?

Yes, but be careful if you are looking at second hand as they now attract 20% VAT on top when you import them. New is safer since Brexit imho

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[ED O'DARAC]

Never heard of that, in fact, I dealt with a team manager personally at Swansea as I ruffled a few feathers after waiting 6 weeks without hearing anything from them.

It’s all very straight forward.

Hi Rob, it has evolved since Brexit as different levels of regulation have been introduced gradually. It now seems to require an actual import number which can only be obtained by a registered import agent.

 

[gus-lopez]

No wonder Britain is known as 'Treasure Island' !

A few years back it was pointed out that Peugeot sold 8% of there car & van production in the UK but this contributed 32% of there gross profits!!

 

[stewartwebr]

Yes, but be careful if you are looking at second hand as they now attract 20% VAT on top when you import them. New is safer since Brexit imho

It appears from what I read that anything up to 12 months old is classed as new in relation to VAT of course that would need to be confirmed prior to purchase. We are looking at new

 

[stewartwebr]

Just occurred to me that the challenge I could face would be trading the current van. On previous occasions when I imported it wasn’t an issue. Might be a case now that the dealer taking my van may need to pay German VAT which makes it a no go

 

[bellabee]

Just occurred to me that the challenge I could face would be trading the current van. On previous occasions when I imported it wasn’t an issue. Might be a case now that the dealer taking my van may need to pay German VAT which makes it a no go

I suspect you're right

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[Rob Turner]

Hi Rob, it has evolved since Brexit as different levels of regulation have been introduced gradually. It now seems to require an actual import number which can only be obtained by a registered import agent.

Hi,

There have been small changes along the way and it sounds like the import agent is the next step.

Definitely still worth importing though. I have spoken with some people and they’ve said it all sounds too complicated and they couldn’t be bothered with all the paperwork.

We saved the best part of £50k on the last van, I’d do it all day long. Now the euro is looking a bit better it’s worth the effort again.

 

[PaulW2]

We saved the best part of £50k on the last van, I’d do it all day long. Now the euro is looking a bit better it’s worth the effort again.

Well, that does it. I'll never buy a van in the UK again!

 

[Cubs]

If you do decide to import I have all the forms on a template so just need to input own details in and it should all go through fairly smoothly.

I'm hoping to import early next year and have found this thread really helpful. I would be really grateful if you could advise what forms you used so I can have a look in advance. I also wanted to ask if you traded a vehicle in when you bought yours. Our motorhome was initially registered in Germany, I wondered if that would make it easier. We are heading over to Belgium and Germany in October to have a look at a van we like.

 

[Bustup15]

I'm hoping to import early next year and have found this thread really helpful. I would be really grateful if you could advise what forms you used so I can have a look in advance. I also wanted to ask if you traded a vehicle in when you bought yours. Our motorhome was initially registered in Germany, I wondered if that would make it easier. We are heading over to Belgium and Germany in October to have a look at a van we like.

It's a problem selling back to EU since Brexit even though it was sourced in Germany. As a minimum there would be 19% German vat to pay.

I queried when I was at Caravan Salon this year and 2 manufacturers confirmed it was no longer viable to import back and advised selling in UK.

 

[Rob Hammond]

We have imported around fifteen motorhomes (new and used, France and Germany) from Europe. Only one since Brexit /Covid as it hasn't been as advantageous and stock was too expensive.
However, we are looking again now. New only.

The only change we found from before the current regs (they have changed since Brexit) is that we needed to perform an import declaration and get an official number via an import agency. This we paid an agent for.

Currently looking to save £20,000 on an £85,000 van.
No wonder Britain is known as 'Treasure Island' !
stewartwebr instructions for post-brexit import are spot-on.

Are these right hand drive thanks .

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[ED O'DARAC]

Are these right hand drive thanks .

No, because we spend 90% of our touring time over the channel. LHD are easy to drive in the UK as well, like RHD in France, just a lot more affordable.

 

[Gareth_Kelly]

I've just finished importing a new LHD campervan from Belgium and I'm happy to share my experiences of the whole process.

I bought a new Tourne 6.4m campervan from Caramel Campers in Bruges. It's the first Tourne in UK apparently.

To be honest. I had originally planned to collect it from Bruges myself, drive it over and sort the registration process but had trouble finding insurance without a UK number plate. Caramel Campers had offered to get me export plates but it's third party insurance only and as the camper cost approx €90k, I didn't want to take that risk.

I used MyCarImport in Castle Donnington for the whole process and I'm happy to recommend them to members.

Their pricing was fair & clear. It included them collecting the new camper from Bruges on a trailer, and all the export/import processes with French customs, HMRC and DVLA.
They use an online Portal system to track progress and where you upload all the information and documents they need. It was strangely comforting to know where I was in the process at any time. Lots of both direct and event-triggered emails from them keeping me up to date

MyCarImport's fee was reasonable and money well-spent in my opinion.
Their quote covered collection from Belgium on a trailer, UK road tax, modifications which might be needed to comply with UK road laws such as: headlamps; speedo dial to mph; fog light; number plates and their admin fees.

Collection went fine and the camper was in their Castle Donnington facility within a week. They sent me a short video of the camper showing it's condition (still sparkling!) and explaining what might be needed to get the pre-registration UK Certificate of GB Conversion IVA .

By then I had sent them:

• The original Certificates of Conformity from Tourne (I had two different ones)
• Original Invoice from Caramel Campers which had to be signed by both them and me
• The Certificate of Entitlement for a cherished number plate that I wanted DVLA to use.

The whole process from collection to me receiving the V5C in the post took for 4 weeks. MyCarImport emailed me the customs documents that I sent onto Caramel Campers and the Belgium tax I had paid was back in my account within a week.
I'm collecting the new van this Friday after having the security system updated.

Some notes for others:

1. You pay tax (VAT) twice to start with so cashflow is hit. Once in Belgium (in my case) and again on Import to UK. There was no Duty on this vehicle, just 21% in Belgium and 205 in UK. That's calculated on the net invoice value and includes all the extras. UK VAT is calculated using the CIF value (cost, insurance, freight) , so be aware that it's slightly higher than just the net value of the purchase invoice.
2. I reckon we saved £15-20k on cost of campervan but this is just my best-guess as Tourne do not yet sell directly in UK. I based this on equivalent campervans and the fact that happily, the Pound was/is strong against the Euro at the moment. UK VAT for example was charged using an Exchange Rate of 1.1724.
3. If I were to do it again, I'd happily use My Car Import for the whole process. Note that you pay a good-sized deposit against their own quote to start the process, so again, cashflow is hit.
4. Caramel Campers (and others that I approached) are used to dealing with exports but so much to UK any more. Their main client base seems to be Switzerland. They were very helpful to me and would recommend them if you're after a Tourne.

Happy to answer questions if I can and I hope this is useful info for members considering importing new from EU.

 

[The Wino]

Looks nice is the bull bar metal? What was the total roughly?

 

[Gareth_Kelly]

Looks nice is the bull bar metal? What was the total roughly?

Thanks.
Yes, the bull bar is metal and was an optional extra. It cost €755

 

[The Wino]

Thanks.
Yes, the bull bar is metal and was an optional extra. It cost €755

Make sure your insurance know they are very keen on getting out of paying

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[Saucer]

The van looks great and all the information on importing really helpful. I'm less sure about the bullbars. Aren't they known to be more lethal to pedestrians and bikes if you have an accident?