Importing new from EU (6 Viewers)

[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.