# Car question



## Polscot54 (Apr 30, 2018)

We are moving to the Silver Coast next month and have a question regarding importing our car ,its 12 years old and worth very little in the UK ,it also has a 2.7 diesel engine .I realise that if we metriculate the car the road tax is likely to be a fortune .
My question is if it is better to sell in the UK and buy a lhd car in Portugal or drive it to Portugal and re register it .My gut feeling is to sell but if anyone has gone through this process any suggestions would be much appreciated .


----------



## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Road tax will indeed be high & you can calculate how high by using the 'Simuladores' function on the link to the PT Govt site below............... but almost certainly better to sell in the UK & buy again here. 

https://aduaneiro.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt/jsp/main.jsp?body=/ia/simuladorISV.jsp


----------



## Strontium (Sep 16, 2015)

A left-field suggestion, Why not drive it here on the UK reg for 3 months to give yourselves some time and transport to do stuff, like looking for a PT vehicle, then dispose of it here if it's worth very little.


----------



## Polscot54 (Apr 30, 2018)

Thanks both for your help .The car is a Jaguar xj which I assume will cost a fortune to maintain in Pt and using the tax simulator will cost €700 a year for the next 5 years .To buy the same car in Pt is around €20000 but in the UK I have been offered £2500.
We have mulled over all the options and think the best way to go, is to take the miserly offer in the UK and then pay a fortune for a VW in Pt.
As I understand the regulations , if you become a resident i.e buy a property you have to start the metriculation process for your imported car within 2 weeks to avoid the registration /import tax .This would then mean I have to keep the car for 5 years before I can sell it. I stand to be corrected on this .


----------



## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Polscot54 said:


> Thanks both for your help .The car is a Jaguar xj which I assume will cost a fortune to maintain in Pt and using the tax simulator will cost €700 a year for the next 5 years .To buy the same car in Pt is around €20000 but in the UK I have been offered £2500.
> We have mulled over all the options and think the best way to go, is to take the miserly offer in the UK and then pay a fortune for a VW in Pt.
> As I understand the regulations , if you become a resident i.e buy a property you have to start the metriculation process for your imported car within 2 weeks to avoid the registration /import tax .This would then mean I have to keep the car for 5 years before I can sell it. I stand to be corrected on this .


No...... that's NOT correct any more. The rules changed in the last budget & you now need to have owned it 6 months beforehand, matriculate within 12 months of getting residency & keep it for one year before selling or repaying tax. 

Full details are: 

Each adult new immigrant is allowed to import one motor vehicle free of import tax IF (note the big IF) the vehicle meets the required criteria which is: 

The importer can prove the vehicle has been registered to the him/her for at least 6 months previously (in the country it's coming from) & that he/she has lived in that country for that time period, the importer must provide a Certificate of Conformity or if the vehicle was manufactured pre CoC they will accept a downloaded copy of the original sales brochure that shows the tech spec of the vehicle.

The vehicle must be standard or any (obvious) changes to the vehicle must be listed on a letter from a main dealer or manufacturer listing all changes from standard stating & that all said changes from standard are acceptable replacements.

The matriculation process must be started within 12 months of the applicant getting his/her Residencia. (it was previously 6 months) Whilst you can do the matriculation process yourself, it's much easier if you have a local agent do it for you & current (at time of writing (March 2018)) cost is usually about €400 plus the one off matriculation inspection of about €125 + annual road tax.

Road tax is calculated on engine size & emissions and priced as a new car on the date of matriculation not on year of manufacture. If you do go the tax free import route, you are not allowed to sell the car for 1 year unless you repay the tax you've previously avoided but if you did pay the tax then you can sell it any time you wish.

If you pay the import tax it's calculated on age of vehicle, engine size & emissions NOT on value & is often VERY expensive, especially for cars with large engines/high emissions & some cars can cost tens of thousands of Euros & one day difference in the date of manufacture from one year to the next can sometimes mean a massive increase/decrease in tax payable so do your research on the simulator link below very carefully.

You're allowed to keep a foreign registered car in Portugal for 180 days maximum before you either matriculate it or remove it back to the country it came from for a further 180 days. The only exception to this rule is for some (but not all) students on some (but not all) study permits

If you have a foreign registered car in Portugal, it must be taxed, tested & insured in it’s country of registration all the time it’s in Portugal & if the GNR catch you with an overstaying vehicle or without tax, test or insurance, they can & often do, permanently confiscate the vehicle which they will then sell or destroy. Note that whilst a foreign registered vehicle can be put through a Portuguese IPO/MOT inspection the pass certificate has no legal standing & is not a replacement for the test certificate from the country of origin.

During the Portuguese matriculation/registration process the vehicle has to be submitted for a one off matriculation inspection which is a greatly enhanced safety inspection which includes a rolling road test & if the vehicle comes from a country that drives on the left the headlight units will need to be changed. Beam deflectors are not acceptable. 

Once matriculated the vehicle is subject to the ordinary Portuguese IPO annual inspection.

If importing from the UK you will be expected to provide a ‘Car Importation Certificate’ Details of how to obtain that here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/notarial-and-documentary-services-guide-for-portugal 

You can calculate the import tax (if payable) & annual road tax payable here: https://aduaneiro.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt/jsp/main.jsp?body=/ia/simuladorISV.jsp 

Act here: https://dre.pt/web/guest/pesquisa/-/search/226204/details/normal?l=1 

Note: The required ownership period prior to matriculation used to be 12 months but was reduced to 6 months in January 2018. 

https://www.portaldascomunidades.mn...ificados/499-certificado-importacao-automovel 

Note: A resident of Portugal is NOT legally allowed to drive a foreign registered vehicle.


----------



## Polscot54 (Apr 30, 2018)

Thanks travelling man , that is most informative but I think if we had a newer smaller car then we would certainly import it .I will miss the jag but who is going to buy a rhd large diesel car with €700 annual road tax when it comes to sell .Thank you both for your input , no doubt I will have a lot of further questions you can help me with over the coming months , until we settle in .


----------

