Importing new from EU (7 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.

 

[paddymcc]

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.



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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.



View attachment 958006

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I saw a Tourne at a UK campsite earlier in the year. It looked very nice. It was on Swiss plates.