# Importing and re-registering a car in Cyprus



## BabsM

We often have questions on the costs of bringing cars to and re-registering them in Cyprus. We have just completed the whole process so I thought I would tell people how we did it and what we paid.

Our car is a Land Rover Freelander TD4 Automatic. It was originally registered the UK in Aug 2003. It had done over 140,000 miles. It would have had little value in England had we sold it and would have cost well over 10,000 Euros to buy here. As the container was coming anyway and had space in it, we brought the car. We wanted to register the car without paying the excise duty as we are both retired.

The container arrived in early May. The clearance documents were all completed by Burke Bros and MK Worldwide so I don't know what they involved, however the representative handed over quite a few documents when we went to customs to collect the car, whilst all we did was hand over the log book, our passports and our driving licences and sign a few documents. We were told that, until registration was complete, it must not be driven by anyone other than the owner & his spouse, we couldn't take it into Northern Cyprus and we couldn't sell or dispose of it. We paid 172 Euros to clear the car and the container.

We were given a yellow C104 form that had to be kept in the car. It gave us a month before we had to go to Nicosia to renew the form. To complete this document customs calculated how much time we had already spent in Cyprus over the last year and deducted that from a 6 month's allowance. This told us how long we had before the car could be re-registered. 

We went to Nicosia Customs Office a month later (June) with copies of all the documents we thought we needed to re-register the car. Maria, who does the re-registration, looked at the documents and identified what was missing. She gave us a document (in English) to complete when we came back. Then the registration department renewed the C104 and told us to return in early October, with all the documents, to complete registration. 

We then went back to Nicosia Customs Office in October with a large file of documents and the form. we sat with Maria for an hour or more as she went through and checked every document. She was looking for proof that we have lived, worked, paid utility bills and tax in the UK for over a year. She also looked for proof that we had moved our home and finances to Cyprus, that we were receiving pensions here and that we had started paying utility bills here. She required copies of our Cyprus bank statements, certified by the bank, to prove we had an income. She wanted to see our Alien Registration and our passports and the health card, in effect proof that we were now permanent residents of Cyprus. She wanted proof that we had owned, taxed and insured the car in England for the time that the log book showed that we had owned the car. This was for every year on the logbook showed, not just six months! In our case, we no longer had the insurance certificates for all years so she accepted copies of the insurance schedules. She had a document with lots of tick boxes, when she was satisfied that every box was ticked she told us that she would put the car forward for registration and that we should receive the papers in the post within a month. Believe me, every box had to be ticked! We had one box missing at one point and she wasn't going to accept the car but then I found the missing document.

Within the month, as promised, we received a letter saying that we had been granted exemption from excise duty and we could register the car. The document could be taken to a Customs office of our choice for the next step. We went to Larnaca Customs but they sent us to a clearance agent as we had to obtain a form E72. The agent sent us to the Department of Transport in Aradippou to get a certificate showing the CO2 emissions for the car. We misunderstood and thought we needed to get a CO2 test done, fortunately we didn't! We then took the form back to the clearance agent and waited for two days whilst she got the E72. When she got the form she called us, we had to pay her 109 Euros for completing it. 

We then took the car, the logbook & the emissions certificate to an MOT garage. It took about 3/4 hour to do the MOT and cost 34 Euros. As part of the MOT they check all the VIN numbers, and the engine number against the logbook and record the gearbox number. One problem we had here was that the garage couldn't find the engine number as the car is old and had years of salt over it... fortunately he managed to clean it enough to see it! We then had to take the car and the forms to the Department of Transport in Aradippou for a technical inspection, this was effectively a rubber stamp on the form as the MOT had only been done minutes earlier. Once the technical inspection was complete we went to the office to get the forms stamped and a registration number allocated. 

We then went to the Department of Transport with all the forms, our passports, alien cards and proof of address. The lady, who spoke good English, completed all the paperwork, relieved us of 850 Euros for the registration fee based on the size of the car's engine and the tax disk plus six euros for official stamps. If we had delayed registering our car we would have had to pay all the back road tax too!

We then had to take all the papers to a car accessories shop who made up and attached our new Cypriot number plates. This cost 20 Euros.

If you have any questions please ask away !

BabsM


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## Edge111

*Car Importation*

Do you know the rate of taxation and customs fees to bring a US registered car to Cyprus? I know trhat there is a 6 month limitation but, I would take the car to eithere Turkey or Italy for a wekk or two, then return to Cyprus. Would that start the 6month clock again? The carf is a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a 4.0 litre motor.


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## BabsM

I'm sorry I don't know the rates for a car from the US... I'll see if I can find them. The figures I have quoted are for bringing a car from one EU country to another. 

I would say that the excise duty for a car over 2ltrs and over 5 years old used to be very high!

Sorry, but what 6 month limitation are you talking about?


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## Edge111

*Six Months Rule*

I can bring my car to Cyprus for 6 months with no problem, then it must leave the country. I don know if I can just ferry it to Turkey, drive for a few days, then ferry it back to Cyprus and start the Six month period all over.

]


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## Pamie

Babs,

I take my hat off to you for all that work, we have a year old Susuki Grand Vitara and seriously thought about bringing it over, but on our stay in December found out a few ways of doing it and quite frankly would be easier to sell it and buy one over there, could do with the money anyway. You are indeed a star for perseverence.

Pamie


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## anski

Hi Babs, Thanks for all the information. I have studied the websites you mentioned but failed to find an answer for my situation. I have emailed them too but so far no reply. If anyone could shed any light I would appreciate it.
We have a Peugeot 306 1.6 litre (Left Hand drive) 2000 model which we bought in Spain & then shipped it to New Zealand in 2001. We paid IVA in Spain & GST on arrival in New Zealand as we had only owned it 8 months.
When I was in Cyprus last year I noticed a few Left Hand Drive vehicles and I wondered if we could import ours when we move over to live permanantly? Does anyone know?


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## Veronica

anski said:


> Hi Babs, Thanks for all the information. I have studied the websites you mentioned but failed to find an answer for my situation. I have emailed them too but so far no reply. If anyone could shed any light I would appreciate it.
> We have a Peugeot 306 1.6 litre (Left Hand drive) 2000 model which we bought in Spain & then shipped it to New Zealand in 2001. We paid IVA in Spain & GST on arrival in New Zealand as we had only owned it 8 months.
> When I was in Cyprus last year I noticed a few Left Hand Drive vehicles and I wondered if we could import ours when we move over to live permanantly? Does anyone know?


I would not recommend a left hand drive over here. The standard of driving is horrendous and its bad enough having to second guess the other motorists when you have clear view ahead but with a left hand drive you would be taking your life in your hands every time you get in the car


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## BabsM

Hi Anski,
On one of the Cyprus government websites (sorry I can't remembere which) it says that you can't import a left hand drive into Cyprus, unless its a classic car or of historical value. There are probably other exceptions. I'll see if I can find the site.


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## ali3112

from all accounts Cyprus is breaking EU regulations by charging to import a car from within the EU. I brought mine in in January and am waiting for them to catch up on EU laws before I do anything, so am currently driving on UK plates, though fully insured


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## theresoon

Hi Anski,

I had asked the customs lady over the summer about that and you cann't. On the other hand a new Pegeot 306 1.6 isn't that expensive plus has a good warranty so even if it was right hand drive I would say the hassle isn't worth it.

Also I drove a left hand drive car in the Bahamas where they drive on the right and it was incredibly confusing even though 99% of the cars were left hand drives and it was a really tiny island- one major road going around the island which we drove in a couple of hours.


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## mick & di

*confused*



ali3112 said:


> from all accounts Cyprus is breaking EU regulations by charging to import a car from within the EU. I brought mine in in January and am waiting for them to catch up on EU laws before I do anything, so am currently driving on UK plates, though fully insured


what about road tax etc, i thought about bringing my car over with a years tax mot etc, and then looking at the reregistring and sorting out import tax whilst there, under eu laws you can drive in another eu country for one year under english plates, am i right in thinking this?


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## BabsM

mick & di said:


> what about road tax etc, i thought about bringing my car over with a years tax mot etc, and then looking at the reregistring and sorting out import tax whilst there, under eu laws you can drive in another eu country for one year under english plates, am i right in thinking this?


But you cannot drive it on the roads in Cyprus for more than 6 months. It would have to go into bond for a bit.

When you bring the car over the customs authorities will give you a yellow form that permits you to drive the car on the roads whilst preparing it for re-registration. The allowance is calculated as 6 months less any time the owner has spent in Cyprus over the previous year. Under certain circumstances it might be possible to get this form extended by visiting the Customs Authorities in Nicosia.

Have a look at the Cyprus Government website.


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## ali3112

BabsM said:


> But you cannot drive it on the roads in Cyprus for more than 6 months. It would have to go into bond for a bit.
> 
> When you bring the car over the customs authorities will give you a yellow form that permits you to drive the car on the roads whilst preparing it for re-registration. The allowance is calculated as 6 months less any time the owner has spent in Cyprus over the previous year. Under certain circumstances it might be possible to get this form extended by visiting the Customs Authorities in Nicosia.
> 
> Have a look at the Cyprus Government website.


the wonderful C72A form - am off to Paphos tomorrow to try to get car re-registered.. will keep you posted!!


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## joyce miley

Thanks for all the info Babs one question 
can i keep my personal number plates
Joyce


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## BabsM

joyce miley said:


> Thanks for all the info Babs one question
> can i keep my personal number plates
> Joyce


Hi Joyce, 
No, I'm sad to say you can't use them in Cyprus for more than a few months until the car is registered. As soon as you register the car you will lose the plate. The best thing to do is what I have done and put the cherished plate onto retention in the UK. I read an article in the press recently that suggested that Cyprus might start to do special plates some time, if so then there is the vague possibility that we might be able to bring ours over. So I'm going to wait and see.


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## Rakin

Hi,

I am so happy I found this thread as my parents would like to import a duty-free vehicle to Cyprus.

My parents have been living in Paphos for 4-6 months of the year (they are retired). They own a property which is rented out in the summer months and which they use in the winter months. They have not applied for resident status. Their pensions are paid directly in a UK bank account. They are happy to transfer their pensions to a Cyprus bank and apply for residency.

My father would like to import a 4x4 to Cyprus as it would be considerably cheaper than buying in Paphos. If he purchased a 4x4 in the U.K. registered the V5 in his name and insured the vehicle in his name would the vehicle be eligible for export to Cyprus after 6 months exempt from duty?

Your advice would be much appreciated...

Thanks


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## BabsM

Rakin said:


> Hi,
> 
> My father would like to import a 4x4 to Cyprus as it would be considerably cheaper than buying in Paphos. If he purchased a 4x4 in the U.K. registered the V5 in his name and insured the vehicle in his name would the vehicle be eligible for export to Cyprus after 6 months exempt from duty?
> 
> Your advice would be much appreciated...
> 
> Thanks


Hi and welcome to the forum.

Yes it should be, provided they are permanently resident in Cyprus. If he can, he should get one with less than a 2litre engine as they are cheaper to register etc. There is an excellent lady in Paphos that will help him through the red tape. Her name is Gwennie. I'm sorry but I can't remember the name of her company... hopefully someone else can tell us


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## Veronica

BabsM said:


> Hi and welcome to the forum.
> 
> Yes it should be, provided they are permanently resident in Cyprus. If he can, he should get one with less than a 2litre engine as they are cheaper to register etc. There is an excellent lady in Paphos that will help him through the red tape. Her name is Gwennie. I'm sorry but I can't remember the name of her company... hopefully someone else can tell us


Gwennys red tape services.
If you google it she has a website giving details of everything she does.

Veronica


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## Pathfinder1971

*shipping cars to cyprus - costs*

msshipping - uk company will arrange to get your car over to cyprus, two week turnaround and customs paperwork assistance - currently about £1000 not including insurance. Limassol Office on (00357) 2557 6838 or the UK Office on 0044 1708 340034

Importation and registration of your motor vehicle in Cyprus.

1.	Please be informed that according to the existing Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Legislation there is no restriction to register in Cyprus a private saloon vehicle previously registered in European Union Countries.

2.	The registration fees and annual road tax are based on the engine capacities of each vehicle as follows:

Registration Fees € Road Tax €
(a) 1 cc - 1450 cc	- €0.17 per c.c.	X €0.04 per c.c.
(b)	1451 cc - 1650 cc	- €0.26 per c.c.	X €0.06 per c.c.
(c)	1651cc - 2050 cc	- €0.42 per c.c.	X €0.12 per c.c.
(d)	2051 cc - 2250 cc	- €0.51 per c.c.	X €0.15 per c.c.
(e) 2251 cc - over	- €1.02 per c.c.	X €0.20 per c.c.



3.	As regards Excise Duty for the importation of vehicles relevant information may be obtained from the Director of the Department of Customs and Excise, Michael Karaoli, 1096 Nicosia, Cyprus Fax No. (00357) 22 30 2031.

hope this helps - Pathfinder


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## Geavrc

*Car from UK to Cyprus*

Hello all!

First of all thank you for all of your information regarding the import of a car in Cyprus. I am afraid though that my case is a bit more complicated and i have tried to read the cyrpyotic legislation on the issue but it is all a bit cryptical.

Here is my problem:

1. I am a Dutch citizen (currently living in Bucharest - Romania) I have no address in Holland or in UK.
2. For this reason i cannot register cars in Holland on my name and I assume that this is the same in UK.
3. I can buy a car in UK and have it shipped to Cyprus but...the papers will not be in my name. Can i clear the car in Cyprus?
4. Is there anybody who can tell me how i can have a car in UK registered in my name? Can i have it insured?

If i read the very detailed story about the paperwork and all the procedures, including the need to have a car at least 6 months registered on my name, then i think i am without any chance to have any car registered in Cyprus. I will move to Cyprus permanently from June 1.

If i was not clear please ask me. I hope some of you can give me some advise as the car that i need in Cyprus will have to be a RHD....

Thx in advance.
G


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## Geavrc

Pathfinder1971 said:


> msshipping - uk company will arrange to get your car over to cyprus, two week turnaround and customs paperwork assistance - currently about £1000 not including insurance. Limassol Office on (00357) 2557 6838 or the UK Office on 0044 1708 340034
> 
> Importation and registration of your motor vehicle in Cyprus.
> 
> 1.	Please be informed that according to the existing Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Legislation there is no restriction to register in Cyprus a private saloon vehicle previously registered in European Union Countries.
> 
> 2.	The registration fees and annual road tax are based on the engine capacities of each vehicle as follows:
> 
> Registration Fees € Road Tax €
> (a) 1 cc - 1450 cc	- €0.17 per c.c.	X €0.04 per c.c.
> (b)	1451 cc - 1650 cc	- €0.26 per c.c.	X €0.06 per c.c.
> (c)	1651cc - 2050 cc	- €0.42 per c.c.	X €0.12 per c.c.
> (d)	2051 cc - 2250 cc	- €0.51 per c.c.	X €0.15 per c.c.
> (e) 2251 cc - over	- €1.02 per c.c.	X €0.20 per c.c.
> 
> 
> 
> 3.	As regards Excise Duty for the importation of vehicles relevant information may be obtained from the Director of the Department of Customs and Excise, Michael Karaoli, 1096 Nicosia, Cyprus Fax No. (00357) 22 30 2031.
> 
> hope this helps - Pathfinder


Do you have email addresses of the offices in UK and Cyprus ? thx in advance. G


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## Veronica

Geavrc said:


> Do you have email addresses of the offices in UK and Cyprus ? thx in advance. G


I cannot see why you would want to go through all the rigmarole of buying a car in the UK when it wouldn't be in your name then bring it over here and go through god knows what trying to register it when it dosn't legally belong to you if it is in someones elses name.
Surely it would be far easier just buying one over here?


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## Geavrc

Veronica said:


> I cannot see why you would want to go through all the rigmarole of buying a car in the UK when it wouldn't be in your name then bring it over here and go through god knows what trying to register it when it dosn't legally beolng to you if it is in someones elses name.
> Surely it would be far easier just buying one over here?


Hello Veronica,
You are fast!
You would be right if the car was not a Bentley Turbo R. I have not seen any in Cyprus and i have a Bentley and Jaguar virus. 

Finally i can buy the (cheap) UK RHD ones and drive it on the right (read left) side of the road but it seems that the 'European citizen concept' doesn't work yet. 

Maybe a reason not to do it would be the € 1,02 per cc tax which adds up quicly with a 6.000 cc engine 

It seems i must find a trick to have the car on my name in UK or find another drug for my virus...

G


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## Veronica

Geavrc said:


> Hello Veronica,
> You are fast!
> You would be right if the car was not a Bentley Turbo R. I have not seen any in Cyprus and i have a Bentley and Jaguar virus.
> 
> Finally i can buy the (cheap) UK RHD ones and drive it on the right (read left) side of the road but it seems that the 'European citizen concept' doesn't work yet.
> 
> Maybe a reason not to do it would be the € 1,02 per cc tax which adds up quicly with a 6.000 cc engine
> 
> It seems i must find a trick to have the car on my name in UK or find another drug for my virus...
> 
> G



Well I hope you have bottomless pockets A car of that size engine will cost you an arm and a leg to tax over here let alone the cost of transporting it and then the hassle if it isnt in your name. The Cypriot authorities could think its a stolen car and throw you in jail Believe me you don't want to spend even one night in there. It really is dry bread and water for breakfast unless you have someone wwho can bring you some decent food in


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## Veronica

take a look at this link.

Cars in Cyprus. New cars or used cars.

They have bentleys for sale


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## Geavrc

Money is not my main concern. Before i will have it transported from Southampton (only € 700 and very affordable...) i will post a message here so maybe somebody will visit me in the Cyprus jail. Will be mainly bread because water will be an even bigger problem in jail then it already is on the island. 

If all goes well you will see a red Bentley Turbo R cruising around Chlorakas soon. Not so far from where you live so jump in front of the car if you see me and make yourself known. IF...i can manage to have it imported...
Thanks for your replies and for the good work here in the forum!

[email protected]


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## asha

this was very helpful as i am planing to move to cyprus in september and i know now what documents to bring with me. can you suggest any company who ships cars to cyprus? i have got few quote from £700 to £1200 if i want to ship it by 20ft container.

asha


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## asha

asha said:


> this is very help ful as i am moving to cyprus from uk in september and trying to bring my car there, can you recommend any one who transports the car from here in uk and how much does it cost, i have got the quatation from £700 to £1200.
> 
> many thanks asha


can some one tell me if you can drive in cyprus with uk road tax and insurance.

asha


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## Veronica

asha said:


> can some one tell me if you can drive in cyprus with uk road tax and insurance.
> 
> asha


would you be able to drive in the UK with Cyprus road tax and insurance?
Of course not.


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## asha

Veronica said:


> would you be able to drive in the UK with Cyprus road tax and insurance?
> Of course not.


thank you but looking at so many website i noticed that it says that provided the car is taxed and insured i am bringing my car in september and i only got the tax till september


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## steph+norm

I am taking my car to limassol port on monday to pay the duty on it as it is only a 1350cc. 
Can anyone tell me what documents I need to bring with me? and do I need to register it the same day or can I do that another time?

Thank you!


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## Barryjohnwebb

Hi there, I have just registered on the forum, having read your importing of the car, Ihave a question you my be able to help with. My daughter is coming to work in Nicosia for 1 -3 years, she owns a Peugoet 206 CC, its a very nice "girly" car, shes had it from nearly new, I an either ship it to her or sell it here and fund a car in Cyprus. not to sure, is it better the devil you know, because its fully serviced MOT etc.,


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## BabsM

Barryjohnwebb said:


> Hi there, I have just registered on the forum, having read your importing of the car, Ihave a question you my be able to help with. My daughter is coming to work in Nicosia for 1 -3 years, she owns a Peugoet 206 CC, its a very nice "girly" car, shes had it from nearly new, I an either ship it to her or sell it here and fund a car in Cyprus. not to sure, is it better the devil you know, because its fully serviced MOT etc.,


I would seriously consider shipping it to her. Shipping is not that expensive and registration costs would not be huge because of the size of the engine. Buying a car here is expensive and you would lose a lot selling the Peugeot in England. On balance I think it would be cheaper to ship it here than to fund another car here.


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## BabsM

andrew-roper said:


> was it worth it, would it have been easier to buy a car out there?


Yes it was worth it. Its a good car, in very good condition and exactly what we needed out here. I would have had little or no value if we had sold it in England because it had high mileage and would have cost us over €12k to buy an equivalent car here. Besides, the container was coming out anyway.


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## BabsM

asha said:


> this was very helpful as i am planing to move to cyprus in september and i know now what documents to bring with me. can you suggest any company who ships cars to cyprus? i have got few quote from £700 to £1200 if i want to ship it by 20ft container.
> 
> asha


You don't have to ship it in a container, you can just put it on a ro-ro ferry (Grimaldi?). I know they go from Southampton as friends shipped their car that way.


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## asha

BabsM said:


> You don't have to ship it in a container, you can just put it on a ro-ro ferry (Grimaldi?). I know they go from Southampton as friends shipped their car that way.


yes i know but i wanted to put some house hold goods in the car and ro-ro i can not do it and thats why its cheaper then container. any suggestion? i also have a 42" tv which i just bought in january, i wanted to put it in the car but not at the cost of paying nearly £600.00 more.


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## BabsM

asha said:


> yes i know but i wanted to put some house hold goods in the car and ro-ro i can not do it and thats why its cheaper then container. any suggestion? i also have a 42" tv which i just bought in january, i wanted to put it in the car but not at the cost of paying nearly £600.00 more.


Our friends put some household articles in their car when it went on the ro-ro. This included golf clubs and a small TV. They all arrived safely although it was obvious the car had been searched as whoever did it could not pack it properly and the car arrived with some of the goods that had been in the boot loose on the back seat of the car!

You should be aware that the car WILL be searched even if you disable locks or remove central locking fuses! But then I think that is understandable because someone might be trying to smuggle in drugs.


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## Valiant

Hi

This is my first post and any help would be greatly appreciated!
Can anyone tell me if I can bring a car over from the UK but not be resident full-time in Cyprus? I do have an apartment and therefore a bona fide address, but am not able to retire permanently just yet. I did send an e-mail to road transport department a couple of weeks ago with some questions but haven't had a reply!
Would like to bring a small run around that family could use when they come to use the apartment too. When I looked into shipping a car across I found a bit on the website that said you must own the car for 6 months before it can be brought over. Does anyone know if this is still the case? The car prices seem steep to buy on the island and I wondered if it would be more economical to ship out and not have to pay for car hire for each trip. 
Has anyone done this already?
~Eilz~


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## Lamandabruton

Hi- I am new on here and Ivalso read on websites that if your car is taxed and nsured in the UK you are ok to drive it in Cyprus, Is this actually the case?
Also we are trying to import an R reg Mazda 3 in Novemeber what fees can we expect to incur at the port and is it best to wait until the end of the 6months to re-register it?

Thanks


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## bobparsloe

Hi everbody,i will be shipping a Mercedes clk convertable from Southampton to limassol next month.the cost of shipping from either Portbury or Southampton is £390 sterling + vat ,insurance extra with Grimaldi car carriers this was supplied by [email protected],port charges and clearance additional and payable in Limassol.I'm told by a nice woman at Gwennys that i can keep car on uk plates up to 4 years and use car 6 months in any year ,will put in bond when away ,only 60 euros pm undercover.I live at Tsada but i am a ships master so only in Cyprus aprox 4 months a year,not a resident i hope this is of help.rgds Bob


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## TIGGLEBUMS

*Car resistration*

All i can say that any car with an engine capacity over 1300cc will cost the earth to register in duty although the registration is not as bad,

anyone thinking of bringing their car from the turkish side of cyprus will have major problems as the car has to enter south cyprus through a legally recognised port i.e limassol, if you bring it to kyrenia or gyrne as it is known in the north you will have to be especially nice to the port authorities and get permission from ministry of finance to ship your car out from limassol and back again, we had this trouble an extra expense not needed although we were very happily surpised that our duty was not alot our total not including the shipping to and from greece wad around 400 euros the extra expense was 100euros,

any questions please ask


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## Jude and Rob

*Road Fund Licence*



BabsM said:


> We often have questions on the costs of bringing cars to and re-registering them in Cyprus. We have just completed the whole process so I thought I would tell people how we did it and what we paid.
> 
> Our car is a Land Rover Freelander TD4 Automatic. It was originally registered the UK in Aug 2003. It had done over 140,000 miles. It would have had little value in England had we sold it and would have cost well over 10,000 Euros to buy here. As the container was coming anyway and had space in it, we brought the car. We wanted to register the car without paying the excise duty as we are both retired.
> 
> The container arrived in early May. The clearance documents were all completed by Burke Bros and MK Worldwide so I don't know what they involved, however the representative handed over quite a few documents when we went to customs to collect the car, whilst all we did was hand over the log book, our passports and our driving licences and sign a few documents. We were told that, until registration was complete, it must not be driven by anyone other than the owner & his spouse, we couldn't take it into Northern Cyprus and we couldn't sell or dispose of it. We paid 172 Euros to clear the car and the container.
> 
> We were given a yellow C104 form that had to be kept in the car. It gave us a month before we had to go to Nicosia to renew the form. To complete this document customs calculated how much time we had already spent in Cyprus over the last year and deducted that from a 6 month's allowance. This told us how long we had before the car could be re-registered.
> 
> We went to Nicosia Customs Office a month later (June) with copies of all the documents we thought we needed to re-register the car. Maria, who does the re-registration, looked at the documents and identified what was missing. She gave us a document (in English) to complete when we came back. Then the registration department renewed the C104 and told us to return in early October, with all the documents, to complete registration.
> 
> We then went back to Nicosia Customs Office in October with a large file of documents and the form. we sat with Maria for an hour or more as she went through and checked every document. She was looking for proof that we have lived, worked, paid utility bills and tax in the UK for over a year. She also looked for proof that we had moved our home and finances to Cyprus, that we were receiving pensions here and that we had started paying utility bills here. She required copies of our Cyprus bank statements, certified by the bank, to prove we had an income. She wanted to see our Alien Registration and our passports and the health card, in effect proof that we were now permanent residents of Cyprus. She wanted proof that we had owned, taxed and insured the car in England for the time that the log book showed that we had owned the car. This was for every year on the logbook showed, not just six months! In our case, we no longer had the insurance certificates for all years so she accepted copies of the insurance schedules. She had a document with lots of tick boxes, when she was satisfied that every box was ticked she told us that she would put the car forward for registration and that we should receive the papers in the post within a month. Believe me, every box had to be ticked! We had one box missing at one point and she wasn't going to accept the car but then I found the missing document.
> 
> Within the month, as promised, we received a letter saying that we had been granted exemption from excise duty and we could register the car. The document could be taken to a Customs office of our choice for the next step. We went to Larnaca Customs but they sent us to a clearance agent as we had to obtain a form E72. The agent sent us to the Department of Transport in Aradippou to get a certificate showing the CO2 emissions for the car. We misunderstood and thought we needed to get a CO2 test done, fortunately we didn't! We then took the form back to the clearance agent and waited for two days whilst she got the E72. When she got the form she called us, we had to pay her 109 Euros for completing it.
> 
> We then took the car, the logbook & the emissions certificate to an MOT garage. It took about 3/4 hour to do the MOT and cost 34 Euros. As part of the MOT they check all the VIN numbers, and the engine number against the logbook and record the gearbox number. One problem we had here was that the garage couldn't find the engine number as the car is old and had years of salt over it... fortunately he managed to clean it enough to see it! We then had to take the car and the forms to the Department of Transport in Aradippou for a technical inspection, this was effectively a rubber stamp on the form as the MOT had only been done minutes earlier. Once the technical inspection was complete we went to the office to get the forms stamped and a registration number allocated.
> 
> We then went to the Department of Transport with all the forms, our passports, alien cards and proof of address. The lady, who spoke good English, completed all the paperwork, relieved us of 850 Euros for the registration fee based on the size of the car's engine and the tax disk plus six euros for official stamps. If we had delayed registering our car we would have had to pay all the back road tax too!
> 
> We then had to take all the papers to a car accessories shop who made up and attached our new Cypriot number plates. This cost 20 Euros.
> 
> If you have any questions please ask away !
> 
> BabsM


Hi Babs
Can you please advise us, we are about to bring our car with us to Cyprus. Can we cancel our UK road fund licence or do we need it until we get registered in Cyprus. DVLA aren't being very helpful!
Regards Jude and Rob


----------



## Veronica

*An important point re ownership*

Something which people are unaware of regarding vehicles in Cyprus.
If a vehicle is just in the name of one member of a couple, even if you have a will leaving everything to your partner the vehicle still has to go through probate before the ownership can be transferred to the other person. 
This can lead to big complications, for example if the surviving member wants to return to the UK they cannot take the vehicle with them or sell it until probate is completed and this can take months here. 
This means the vehicle will have to go into a bonded warehouse here in Cyprus until everything is sorted out.


Veronica


----------



## Aase

> Hi
> 
> This is my first post and any help would be greatly appreciated!
> Can anyone tell me if I can bring a car over from the UK but not be resident full-time in Cyprus? I do have an apartment and therefore a bona fide address, but am not able to retire permanently just yet. I did send an e-mail to road transport department a couple of weeks ago with some questions but haven't had a reply!
> Would like to bring a small run around that family could use when they come to use the apartment too. When I looked into shipping a car across I found a bit on the website that said you must own the car for 6 months before it can be brought over. Does anyone know if this is still the case? The car prices seem steep to buy on the island and I wondered if it would be more economical to ship out and not have to pay for car hire for each trip.
> Has anyone done this already?
> ~Eilz~


Yes, we have! We bought a Vauxhall Zafira in London a few months ago and had it shipped over. After a week of buying it we took it to Andrews Shipping in London and it arrived in Limassol a couple of weeks later. The process after that is as follows:

You get a call from the shipping company's agent in Limassol and go and pick up a 'landing bill'. This costs about 300 euros. You take this to the Customs office at the port and pay another 60 euros for storage. They fill in a piece of paper which you have to take to the Ministry of Transport (Troodos Road) within about 10 days. You pick up the car and drive off!

You go to Ministry of Transport and get another piece of paper (free) which confirms CO2 gases, and go back to the Customs at the port. You fill in more papers, this has to be done by an 'indepentent clearing agent' and you have to pay him or her around 100 euros for the work. They work out the customs fees and you pay for this. Our fees were around 280 euros. 

You then need to have an MOT (about 35 euros) and you go bak to Ministry of Transport with paperwork to register the car. They take all the paperwork and call you back in a day or so to tell you how much it will be. Ours was about 300 including road tax. You go back and pick up the Cypriot log book and then you go and buy Cypriot number plates and it is all done!

Total extra costs, on top of the cost of the car, were around 1600 euros, including shipping. The car must have a 1.6 motor or smaller, otherwise the duties are much, much higher! 

Have fun, if you are not in a rush it is a very interesting experience visiting Cypriot governmental offices and observe their work ethics!


----------



## Aase

> Something which people are unaware of regarding vehicles in Cyprus.
> If a vehicle is just in the name of one member of a couple, even if you have a will leaving everything to your partner the vehicle still has to go through probate before the ownership can be transferred to the other person.
> This can lead to big complications, for example if the surviving member wants to return to the UK they cannot take the vehicle with them or sell it until probate is completed and this can take months here.
> This means the vehicle will have to go into a bonded warehouse here in Cyprus until everything is sorted out.


Can a car be in the name of two people? We just bought a car and had it shipped over. As my partner bought it when he was in London last, it is in his name, even though it is me that uses it and it is regarded as my car!


----------



## a&jmdodd

That was something we weren't told about - We're bringing over a 8 month old Honda CRV - How do we get the car registered into couple's name? Should we change the Registration Document here in the UK before we come over? Or is it done over in Cyprus? 

JM





Veronica said:


> Something which people are unaware of regarding vehicles in Cyprus.
> If a vehicle is just in the name of one member of a couple, even if you have a will leaving everything to your partner the vehicle still has to go through probate before the ownership can be transferred to the other person.
> This can lead to big complications, for example if the surviving member wants to return to the UK they cannot take the vehicle with them or sell it until probate is completed and this can take months here.
> This means the vehicle will have to go into a bonded warehouse here in Cyprus until everything is sorted out.
> 
> 
> Veronica


----------



## Veronica

Yes a car can be in two names.
We have just bought one from a friend who has returned to the Uk and we have got it registered in both our names.
There does seem to be confusion as to whether you need to put a vehicle through probate depending on which lawyer you talk to but it seems to me that it is wise to register in two names just to make sure that there are no problems if anything happens to one of you.

Veronica


----------



## mike on tour

Good to hear that some Folk have had better experiences than me .....i checked with the Government about importing my Mercedes Sprinter which is Disabled Adapted ( i am reg disabled ) - was told - no Duty / Free Tax etc .... so imported it - Went to pick it up at Lemasol Docks - got charged €560 for just getting it out of the compound - Got it MOT'd - then took it to Vehicle Registration - they did not know what to call it ( despite it being 'Disabled " in Log book ) - phoned Customs - i took it down and they decided its a Motorised Caravan !!!!! charged me € 600 ( based on length and Engine size -2,8 ) ..THEN said Registration will cost me € 3,000 and Tax of € 600 a Year !!!
The ' Word Disabled ' seems not to exist - despite me having a Cyprus Blue Badge and Drs letters explaining my disability ( i gather i look to happy to be 'Handicapped " !

No one here will Insure it till it is registered ......so i am Fed up and damned if i will pay them 1 Euro more - IF the Handicapped Society cannot sort it out for me - i'll wait till Spring and take it off the Island or sell it Cheap to any 'Brits " wanting to Tour Europe :-(


----------



## Veronica

mike on tour said:


> Good to hear that some Folk have had better experiences than me .....i checked with the Government about importing my Mercedes Sprinter which is Disabled Adapted ( i am reg disabled ) - was told - no Duty / Free Tax etc .... so imported it - Went to pick it up at Lemasol Docks - got charged €560 for just getting it out of the compound - Got it MOT'd - then took it to Vehicle Registration - they did not know what to call it ( despite it being 'Disabled " in Log book ) - phoned Customs - i took it down and they decided its a Motorised Caravan !!!!! charged me € 600 ( based on length and Engine size -2,8 ) ..THEN said Registration will cost me € 3,000 and Tax of € 600 a Year !!!
> The ' Word Disabled ' seems not to exist - despite me having a Cyprus Blue Badge and Drs letters explaining my disability ( i gather i look to happy to be 'Handicapped " !
> 
> No one here will Insure it till it is registered ......so i am Fed up and damned if i will pay them 1 Euro more - IF the Handicapped Society cannot sort it out for me - i'll wait till Spring and take it off the Island or sell it Cheap to any 'Brits " wanting to Tour Europe :-(



If you present them with something a little bit out of the ordinary here they get all in a tiswas and dont know how to handle it
As your case is a bit unusual as far as they are concerned you will have totally confused them.


----------



## ian bell

Aase said:


> Yes, we have! We bought a Vauxhall Zafira in London a few months ago and had it shipped over. After a week of buying it we took it to Andrews Shipping in London and it arrived in Limassol a couple of weeks later. The process after that is as follows:
> 
> You get a call from the shipping company's agent in Limassol and go and pick up a 'landing bill'. This costs about 300 euros. You take this to the Customs office at the port and pay another 60 euros for storage. They fill in a piece of paper which you have to take to the Ministry of Transport (Troodos Road) within about 10 days. You pick up the car and drive off!
> 
> You go to Ministry of Transport and get another piece of paper (free) which confirms CO2 gases, and go back to the Customs at the port. You fill in more papers, this has to be done by an 'indepentent clearing agent' and you have to pay him or her around 100 euros for the work. They work out the customs fees and you pay for this. Our fees were around 280 euros.
> 
> You then need to have an MOT (about 35 euros) and you go bak to Ministry of Transport with paperwork to register the car. They take all the paperwork and call you back in a day or so to tell you how much it will be. Ours was about 300 including road tax. You go back and pick up the Cypriot log book and then you go and buy Cypriot number plates and it is all done!
> 
> Total extra costs, on top of the cost of the car, were around 1600 euros, including shipping. The car must have a 1.6 motor or smaller, otherwise the duties are much, much higher!
> 
> Have fun, if you are not in a rush it is a very interesting experience visiting Cypriot governmental offices and observe their work ethics!


Hi I thought you had to be the registered owner for at least six months ?


----------



## Veronica

ian bell said:


> Hi I thought you had to be the registered owner for at least six months ?


That used to be the case but it seems that is no longer relevant due to the Eu laws. 
A client of ours who is Romanian went to the Uk from Romania to buy a Mecredes a month before moving over here and had no problems whatsoever shipping the vehicle over.

Veronica


----------



## ian bell

Veronica said:


> That used to be the case but it seems that is no longer relevant due to the Eu laws.
> A client of ours who is Romanian went to the Uk from Romania to buy a Mecredes a month before moving over here and had no problems whatsoever shipping the vehicle over.
> 
> Veronica


Hi Veronica thankyou for the information. Regards Ian


----------



## car&stef

Edge111 said:


> Do you know the rate of taxation and customs fees to bring a US registered car to Cyprus? I know trhat there is a 6 month limitation but, I would take the car to eithere Turkey or Italy for a wekk or two, then return to Cyprus. Would that start the 6month clock again? The carf is a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a 4.0 litre motor.


After 6 months your car must be bonded in a warehouse for 6 months and this is allowed for a total of 24 months (4 x 6mths in 6mths out) Taking the car to another country for a week or two does not alter this. And a piece of advice don't even mention visiting Turkey as the feelings towards there are understandably still a bit raw.


----------



## ian bell

ian bell said:


> Hi I thought you had to be the registered owner for at least six months ?


Hi like the tv ad Iam confused, you said you bought and shipped a car over ,I take It ,It was not registered in your name because of the short time in your care. How did the customs clear It when the name on the v5 did not match your p/port name .

Regards Ian


----------



## car&stef

ian bell said:


> Hi like the tv ad Iam confused, you said you bought and shipped a car over ,I take It ,It was not registered in your name because of the short time in your care. How did the customs clear It when the name on the v5 did not match your p/port name .
> 
> Regards Ian


hi ian drove my car over from scotland via france then italy then ferry with car to lima.ssol so my car was already in my name as i bought it in scotland , my friend here does not have his car registered and he was told if he doesnt do that he will have to bond it for a total of 6mths then he will be allowed afurther 6mths on the road. he can do this a total of 4 times in all then if he doesnt register it he will be told to remove it from cyprus permanently.


----------



## ian bell

Hi I know what you are saying , I brought my car from Scotland in a container , I had It for a year so no problem It was registered In my name as I bought It new . What I was asking Is you buy the car In the uk you do not have It long so Is not registered In your name, and you ship It over to Cyprus Is there any problems with customs.

Regards Ian


----------



## BabsM

ian bell said:


> Hi I know what you are saying , I brought my car from Scotland in a container , I had It for a year so no problem It was registered In my name as I bought It new . What I was asking Is you buy the car In the uk you do not have It long so Is not registered In your name, and you ship It over to Cyprus Is there any problems with customs.
> 
> Regards Ian


It doesn't take long to get a V5 in the UK so its best to do it before you leave. You will have to show the V5 document to customs here to prove its your car and how long you've had it.

Its all changed since we brought ours over but I believe you still need to show that you've had the car six months. Ignore this last comment.... just read Veronica's message!


----------



## ian bell

BabsM said:


> It doesn't take long to get a V5 in the UK so its best to do it before you leave. You will have to show the V5 document to customs here to prove its your car and how long you've had it.
> 
> Its all changed since we brought ours over but I believe you still need to show that you've had the car six months. Ignore this last comment.... just read Veronica's message!


Hi Babs THanks for the infprmation .

Regards Ian


----------



## BMC

Hi,

My car is currently on the water arriving shortly. Do I just need to show up at the shipping agent with all my documents to clear it through customs, or is this something I would need an agent for?

Many thanks
Brian


----------



## tonyandjayne

BabsM said:


> We often have questions on the costs of bringing cars to and re-registering them in Cyprus. We have just completed the whole process so I thought I would tell people how we did it and what we paid.
> 
> Our car is a Land Rover Freelander TD4 Automatic. It was originally registered the UK in Aug 2003. It had done over 140,000 miles. It would have had little value in England had we sold it and would have cost well over 10,000 Euros to buy here. As the container was coming anyway and had space in it, we brought the car. We wanted to register the car without paying the excise duty as we are both retired.
> 
> The container arrived in early May. The clearance documents were all completed by Burke Bros and MK Worldwide so I don't know what they involved, however the representative handed over quite a few documents when we went to customs to collect the car, whilst all we did was hand over the log book, our passports and our driving licences and sign a few documents. We were told that, until registration was complete, it must not be driven by anyone other than the owner & his spouse, we couldn't take it into Northern Cyprus and we couldn't sell or dispose of it. We paid 172 Euros to clear the car and the container.
> 
> We were given a yellow C104 form that had to be kept in the car. It gave us a month before we had to go to Nicosia to renew the form. To complete this document customs calculated how much time we had already spent in Cyprus over the last year and deducted that from a 6 month's allowance. This told us how long we had before the car could be re-registered.
> 
> We went to Nicosia Customs Office a month later (June) with copies of all the documents we thought we needed to re-register the car. Maria, who does the re-registration, looked at the documents and identified what was missing. She gave us a document (in English) to complete when we came back. Then the registration department renewed the C104 and told us to return in early October, with all the documents, to complete registration.
> 
> We then went back to Nicosia Customs Office in October with a large file of documents and the form. we sat with Maria for an hour or more as she went through and checked every document. She was looking for proof that we have lived, worked, paid utility bills and tax in the UK for over a year. She also looked for proof that we had moved our home and finances to Cyprus, that we were receiving pensions here and that we had started paying utility bills here. She required copies of our Cyprus bank statements, certified by the bank, to prove we had an income. She wanted to see our Alien Registration and our passports and the health card, in effect proof that we were now permanent residents of Cyprus. She wanted proof that we had owned, taxed and insured the car in England for the time that the log book showed that we had owned the car. This was for every year on the logbook showed, not just six months! In our case, we no longer had the insurance certificates for all years so she accepted copies of the insurance schedules. She had a document with lots of tick boxes, when she was satisfied that every box was ticked she told us that she would put the car forward for registration and that we should receive the papers in the post within a month. Believe me, every box had to be ticked! We had one box missing at one point and she wasn't going to accept the car but then I found the missing document.
> 
> Within the month, as promised, we received a letter saying that we had been granted exemption from excise duty and we could register the car. The document could be taken to a Customs office of our choice for the next step. We went to Larnaca Customs but they sent us to a clearance agent as we had to obtain a form E72. The agent sent us to the Department of Transport in Aradippou to get a certificate showing the CO2 emissions for the car. We misunderstood and thought we needed to get a CO2 test done, fortunately we didn't! We then took the form back to the clearance agent and waited for two days whilst she got the E72. When she got the form she called us, we had to pay her 109 Euros for completing it.
> 
> We then took the car, the logbook & the emissions certificate to an MOT garage. It took about 3/4 hour to do the MOT and cost 34 Euros. As part of the MOT they check all the VIN numbers, and the engine number against the logbook and record the gearbox number. One problem we had here was that the garage couldn't find the engine number as the car is old and had years of salt over it... fortunately he managed to clean it enough to see it! We then had to take the car and the forms to the Department of Transport in Aradippou for a technical inspection, this was effectively a rubber stamp on the form as the MOT had only been done minutes earlier. Once the technical inspection was complete we went to the office to get the forms stamped and a registration number allocated.
> 
> We then went to the Department of Transport with all the forms, our passports, alien cards and proof of address. The lady, who spoke good English, completed all the paperwork, relieved us of 850 Euros for the registration fee based on the size of the car's engine and the tax disk plus six euros for official stamps. If we had delayed registering our car we would have had to pay all the back road tax too!
> 
> We then had to take all the papers to a car accessories shop who made up and attached our new Cypriot number plates. This cost 20 Euros.
> 
> If you have any questions please ask away !
> 
> BabsM


hi we r moving to cyprus and we have a zafira would you advse us to bring it with us as it seems alot of hassel to register it there.I wont have all the old insurance certs etc. 

regards tony


----------



## ian bell

HI It still does not answer my question ,If you buy a car in the uk and it is NOT registered in you name and you are NOT the registered keeper for the SIX months as stated by customs. What is the reaction at the port of entry , what do they do ,when they ask for your passport and find they do not match.

Regards Ian


----------



## Veronica

ian bell said:


> HI It still does not answer my question ,If you buy a car in the uk and it is NOT registered in you name and you are NOT the registered keeper for the SIX months as stated by customs. What is the reaction at the port of entry , what do they do ,when they ask for your passport and find they do not match.
> 
> Regards Ian


Unless you have proof of purchase then I would think if your name and the name of the registered owner didnt match they would assume its a stolen vehicle and impound it.


----------



## ian bell

HI Veronica.

Thanks for that ,I thought the sun had got to me , I have done the car thing i brought mine over in 2006 in a container it was registered in my name so no ploblems. But with the roads It appears the disruption for 3/4 years I need a 4x4 and the prices are a joke here , and a vist to the uk and ship one over,the registering is ok a month to register, and my daughter would ship it over after she received the v5 in my name, but the six months is the problem?

Regards Ian


----------



## BabsM

tonyandjayne said:


> hi we r moving to cyprus and we have a zafira would you advse us to bring it with us as it seems alot of hassel to register it there.I wont have all the old insurance certs etc.
> 
> regards tony


The regulations have changed since we brought ours over and you may not need to go through the hassle we did. But, even with the hassle I'd say yes provided your car is reasonably new and a common make. Secondhand cars here cost a LOT more than the UK on the other hand, parts can be difficult to get for a more unusual make (eg Kia).


----------



## BabsM

BMC said:


> Hi,
> 
> My car is currently on the water arriving shortly. Do I just need to show up at the shipping agent with all my documents to clear it through customs, or is this something I would need an agent for?
> 
> Many thanks
> Brian


Sorry I didn't notice your message before. When your car comes off the boat you just go to the customs office at Limassol port with your doocuments. They will tell you what to do next.


----------



## 101michael

Hello, after reading all of that I can't believe I still have a Question.

Right, heres my situation.

I reside in London, however hold dual citizenship; British-Cypriot.
I own a car in London, over 6 months, use it regulalry and thus it is taxed and insured.

I would like to take the car to Cyprus this summer and leave it there. Basically ship it over use it and when I leave Cyprus to return to London, have it kept at my parents house in Limassol.

I intend to be there from May-Sept, return to London and possibly take up full residency in Cyprus the following May.

I want to register the car in Cyprus without paying duty, I do not intend to sell the car, but whilst I am away will leave it for my mothers use as her current car is falling apart.

I understand I can take a car duty-free if I am returning and taking up residency if been away for 10 years, but this is not what I am seeking.

So: I would like to know if it is possible to send the car over and have it registered considering I have owned it for more than 6 months.

I would also like to know what I need to do prior and post sending it to Limassol. (documentation etc.)
Oh, and will my mother be allowed to drive it?

Many Thanks, Michael


----------



## BabsM

101michael said:


> Hello, after reading all of that I can't believe I still have a Question.
> 
> Right, heres my situation.
> 
> I reside in London, however hold dual citizenship; British-Cypriot.
> I own a car in London, over 6 months, use it regulalry and thus it is taxed and insured.
> 
> I would like to take the car to Cyprus this summer and leave it there. Basically ship it over use it and when I leave Cyprus to return to London, have it kept at my parents house in Limassol.
> 
> I intend to be there from May-Sept, return to London and possibly take up full residency in Cyprus the following May.
> 
> I want to register the car in Cyprus without paying duty, I do not intend to sell the car, but whilst I am away will leave it for my mothers use as her current car is falling apart.
> 
> I understand I can take a car duty-free if I am returning and taking up residency if been away for 10 years, but this is not what I am seeking.
> 
> So: I would like to know if it is possible to send the car over and have it registered considering I have owned it for more than 6 months.
> 
> I would also like to know what I need to do prior and post sending it to Limassol. (documentation etc.)
> Oh, and will my mother be allowed to drive it?
> 
> Many Thanks, Michael


As you are British-Cypriot the situation is different. From what I was told your duty structure is different. I suggest you look on the government Customs & Excise Website to check on the latest info.

If you bring it over duty free then only people named on the documentation can drive. My husband registered his car in both of our names so that I could drive, even though I am not named on his logbook.


----------



## Charlie Chester

Hi Newbie here,
I have searched this thread for an answer to my query but no luck so I wonder if anyone elas has an idea, we are in the process of prepping to re-locate to Cyprus (not to retire) we are going to bring our car with us, the thing is we originally brought our car in Cyprus (in the forces then), will this make things easier in Cyprus as we are returning with the said same car? And did anyone have any probs with the RORO shipping method as this seems to be the cheapest I've found so far. Thanx in anticipation.....


----------



## MRW

*Import car?*



BabsM said:


> We often have questions on the costs of bringing cars to and re-registering them in Cyprus. We have just completed the whole process so I thought I would tell people how we did it and what we paid.
> 
> Our car is a Land Rover Freelander TD4 Automatic. It was originally registered the UK in Aug 2003. It had done over 140,000 miles. It would have had little value in England had we sold it and would have cost well over 10,000 Euros to buy here. As the container was coming anyway and had space in it, we brought the car. We wanted to register the car without paying the excise duty as we are both retired.
> 
> The container arrived in early May. The clearance documents were all completed by Burke Bros and MK Worldwide so I don't know what they involved, however the representative handed over quite a few documents when we went to customs to collect the car, whilst all we did was hand over the log book, our passports and our driving licences and sign a few documents. We were told that, until registration was complete, it must not be driven by anyone other than the owner & his spouse, we couldn't take it into Northern Cyprus and we couldn't sell or dispose of it. We paid 172 Euros to clear the car and the container.
> 
> We were given a yellow C104 form that had to be kept in the car. It gave us a month before we had to go to Nicosia to renew the form. To complete this document customs calculated how much time we had already spent in Cyprus over the last year and deducted that from a 6 month's allowance. This told us how long we had before the car could be re-registered.
> 
> We went to Nicosia Customs Office a month later (June) with copies of all the documents we thought we needed to re-register the car. Maria, who does the re-registration, looked at the documents and identified what was missing. She gave us a document (in English) to complete when we came back. Then the registration department renewed the C104 and told us to return in early October, with all the documents, to complete registration.
> 
> We then went back to Nicosia Customs Office in October with a large file of documents and the form. we sat with Maria for an hour or more as she went through and checked every document. She was looking for proof that we have lived, worked, paid utility bills and tax in the UK for over a year. She also looked for proof that we had moved our home and finances to Cyprus, that we were receiving pensions here and that we had started paying utility bills here. She required copies of our Cyprus bank statements, certified by the bank, to prove we had an income. She wanted to see our Alien Registration and our passports and the health card, in effect proof that we were now permanent residents of Cyprus. She wanted proof that we had owned, taxed and insured the car in England for the time that the log book showed that we had owned the car. This was for every year on the logbook showed, not just six months! In our case, we no longer had the insurance certificates for all years so she accepted copies of the insurance schedules. She had a document with lots of tick boxes, when she was satisfied that every box was ticked she told us that she would put the car forward for registration and that we should receive the papers in the post within a month. Believe me, every box had to be ticked! We had one box missing at one point and she wasn't going to accept the car but then I found the missing document.
> 
> Within the month, as promised, we received a letter saying that we had been granted exemption from excise duty and we could register the car. The document could be taken to a Customs office of our choice for the next step. We went to Larnaca Customs but they sent us to a clearance agent as we had to obtain a form E72. The agent sent us to the Department of Transport in Aradippou to get a certificate showing the CO2 emissions for the car. We misunderstood and thought we needed to get a CO2 test done, fortunately we didn't! We then took the form back to the clearance agent and waited for two days whilst she got the E72. When she got the form she called us, we had to pay her 109 Euros for completing it.
> 
> We then took the car, the logbook & the emissions certificate to an MOT garage. It took about 3/4 hour to do the MOT and cost 34 Euros. As part of the MOT they check all the VIN numbers, and the engine number against the logbook and record the gearbox number. One problem we had here was that the garage couldn't find the engine number as the car is old and had years of salt over it... fortunately he managed to clean it enough to see it! We then had to take the car and the forms to the Department of Transport in Aradippou for a technical inspection, this was effectively a rubber stamp on the form as the MOT had only been done minutes earlier. Once the technical inspection was complete we went to the office to get the forms stamped and a registration number allocated.
> 
> We then went to the Department of Transport with all the forms, our passports, alien cards and proof of address. The lady, who spoke good English, completed all the paperwork, relieved us of 850 Euros for the registration fee based on the size of the car's engine and the tax disk plus six euros for official stamps. If we had delayed registering our car we would have had to pay all the back road tax too!
> 
> We then had to take all the papers to a car accessories shop who made up and attached our new Cypriot number plates. This cost 20 Euros.
> 
> If you have any questions please ask away !
> 
> BabsM



Is it really worth all of that? Would like to know as I intended to sell my car in the UK which is an estate and buy a smaller hatch back there?
Regards
Michael Wilkes.


----------



## Veronica

MRW said:


> Is it really worth all of that? Would like to know as I intended to sell my car in the UK which is an estate and buy a smaller hatch back there?
> Regards
> Michael Wilkes.


Hi Michael,
The smaller the car and engine the less tax etc you pay here. 
If your present car is over 1.6litre engine it is certainly well worth considering selling it and buying something smaller.
It might be worth doing that now and bringing a car with you though as used cars (and new ones) are much more expensive here.

Veronica


----------



## Veronica

Take a look at this link. It explains the tax rates etc.

Driving in Cyprus - Vehicle Circulation licence (road tax), rates of tax and rebates - (also known as Road fund licence, vehicle excise licence, VEL)


----------



## alison3333

*reselling imported car*

Hi, I have been reading the posts about importing cars from the UK; we are considering bringing in our car but it is a 2002 beetle which is 2L and has 95,000 miles on the clock. I can't believe how much similar cars are going for in Cyprus. We are trying to decide whether it is worth bringing it in. Are they very common in Cyprus in case we needed spare parts/repairs?

Also what happens if we import a car and then want to sell it later? Will we have to pay back any duties?


----------



## themermaid

Edge111 said:


> I can bring my car to Cyprus for 6 months with no problem, then it must leave the country. I don know if I can just ferry it to Turkey, drive for a few days, then ferry it back to Cyprus and start the Six month period all over.
> 
> ]


I wonder if driving over to north Cyprus counts as "leaving the country?' After all you do need to show your passports to go over there.


----------



## mansaclaire

Hi

This is my first time on here so hello everyone!

We are moving over in two weeks and hope to ship our 5 year old 2L merc e class, we wont be working in cyprus as we have businesses etc at home to sustain our income. Will we still have to pay Duty, as I've read somewhere that if your not intending to work your you are exempt? is this the case?

We also tried to drive over but it seems that you cant get a ferry from anywhere in Europe anymore to Cyrpus, has anyone else has this experience??

Thanks


----------



## potamiou

themermaid said:


> I wonder if driving over to north Cyprus counts as "leaving the country?' After all you do need to show your passports to go over there.


No, it doesn't


----------



## Knupz

Hi everybody,i have a little problem and i hope you guys gonna help me out !

How much the register cost in Cyprus for Civic 2007,engine 1799cmc LHD? including all taxes and everything? The car curently is registered in a EU country.

Thanks !


----------



## potamiou

LHD may be a problem. They may allow you to register it, but you will almost certainly have trouble with the insurance.


----------



## Knupz

or another thing,i only be allowed 6 months to drive the car,after that i need to take the car outside the coutry? any country ? how about the Turkey?


----------



## maewing

*Re-registering a car*

Dear BabsM, 

We are considering bringing our car from the US. We have permanent residence in Cyprus but had to leave for medical reasons for over two years. We bought our car at the beginning of that time. It is a 2001 Lexus RX300 (that is, a 3 liter engine). Our concern is:

--Will our permanent residence help or hinder the registration process as you know it? For example, we own property in Cyprus, with a bank account and pay bills regularly. Would we have to prove that again or, to your knowledge, can we just show our permanent residence permits?

--Do you believe we would be treated differently (in a cost of import fashion) being that the car is coming from outside the EU?

--How did you find out the prospective costs of importing the car in advance?

--Is it worth paying someone to do all of this work?

Thanks, 

maewing


BabsM said:


> We often have questions on the costs of bringing cars to and re-registering them in Cyprus. We have just completed the whole process so I thought I would tell people how we did it and what we paid.
> 
> Our car is a Land Rover Freelander TD4 Automatic. It was originally registered the UK in Aug 2003. It had done over 140,000 miles. It would have had little value in England had we sold it and would have cost well over 10,000 Euros to buy here. As the container was coming anyway and had space in it, we brought the car. We wanted to register the car without paying the excise duty as we are both retired.
> 
> The container arrived in early May. The clearance documents were all completed by Burke Bros and MK Worldwide so I don't know what they involved, however the representative handed over quite a few documents when we went to customs to collect the car, whilst all we did was hand over the log book, our passports and our driving licences and sign a few documents. We were told that, until registration was complete, it must not be driven by anyone other than the owner & his spouse, we couldn't take it into Northern Cyprus and we couldn't sell or dispose of it. We paid 172 Euros to clear the car and the container.
> 
> We were given a yellow C104 form that had to be kept in the car. It gave us a month before we had to go to Nicosia to renew the form. To complete this document customs calculated how much time we had already spent in Cyprus over the last year and deducted that from a 6 month's allowance. This told us how long we had before the car could be re-registered.
> 
> We went to Nicosia Customs Office a month later (June) with copies of all the documents we thought we needed to re-register the car. Maria, who does the re-registration, looked at the documents and identified what was missing. She gave us a document (in English) to complete when we came back. Then the registration department renewed the C104 and told us to return in early October, with all the documents, to complete registration.
> 
> We then went back to Nicosia Customs Office in October with a large file of documents and the form. we sat with Maria for an hour or more as she went through and checked every document. She was looking for proof that we have lived, worked, paid utility bills and tax in the UK for over a year. She also looked for proof that we had moved our home and finances to Cyprus, that we were receiving pensions here and that we had started paying utility bills here. She required copies of our Cyprus bank statements, certified by the bank, to prove we had an income. She wanted to see our Alien Registration and our passports and the health card, in effect proof that we were now permanent residents of Cyprus. She wanted proof that we had owned, taxed and insured the car in England for the time that the log book showed that we had owned the car. This was for every year on the logbook showed, not just six months! In our case, we no longer had the insurance certificates for all years so she accepted copies of the insurance schedules. She had a document with lots of tick boxes, when she was satisfied that every box was ticked she told us that she would put the car forward for registration and that we should receive the papers in the post within a month. Believe me, every box had to be ticked! We had one box missing at one point and she wasn't going to accept the car but then I found the missing document.
> 
> Within the month, as promised, we received a letter saying that we had been granted exemption from excise duty and we could register the car. The document could be taken to a Customs office of our choice for the next step. We went to Larnaca Customs but they sent us to a clearance agent as we had to obtain a form E72. The agent sent us to the Department of Transport in Aradippou to get a certificate showing the CO2 emissions for the car. We misunderstood and thought we needed to get a CO2 test done, fortunately we didn't! We then took the form back to the clearance agent and waited for two days whilst she got the E72. When she got the form she called us, we had to pay her 109 Euros for completing it.
> 
> We then took the car, the logbook & the emissions certificate to an MOT garage. It took about 3/4 hour to do the MOT and cost 34 Euros. As part of the MOT they check all the VIN numbers, and the engine number against the logbook and record the gearbox number. One problem we had here was that the garage couldn't find the engine number as the car is old and had years of salt over it... fortunately he managed to clean it enough to see it! We then had to take the car and the forms to the Department of Transport in Aradippou for a technical inspection, this was effectively a rubber stamp on the form as the MOT had only been done minutes earlier. Once the technical inspection was complete we went to the office to get the forms stamped and a registration number allocated.
> 
> We then went to the Department of Transport with all the forms, our passports, alien cards and proof of address. The lady, who spoke good English, completed all the paperwork, relieved us of 850 Euros for the registration fee based on the size of the car's engine and the tax disk plus six euros for official stamps. If we had delayed registering our car we would have had to pay all the back road tax too!
> 
> We then had to take all the papers to a car accessories shop who made up and attached our new Cypriot number plates. This cost 20 Euros.
> 
> If you have any questions please ask away !
> 
> BabsM


----------



## Steve-R

*Import car*



BabsM said:


> Hi Anski,
> On one of the Cyprus government websites (sorry I can't remembere which) it says that you can't import a left hand drive into Cyprus, unless its a classic car or of historical value. There are probably other exceptions. I'll see if I can find the site.


Hi lots of differnet views regarding this subject I actually went to the Official Ministry of Finance site to obtain all the info. 

(_I am trying to send the URL but error message say's I need to post 4 posts before I can send URL's strange that I have posted 20 perhaps an aministrator can help!)

Also call them if can not find the info really helpful!_
Steve


----------



## Veronica

Steve-R said:


> Hi lots of differnet views regarding this subject I actually went to the Official Ministry of Finance site to obtain all the info.
> 
> (_I am trying to send the URL but error message say's I need to post 4 posts before I can send URL's strange that I have posted 20 perhaps an aministrator can help!)
> 
> Also call them if can not find the info really helpful!_
> Steve


According to your profile this is your only post


----------



## Steve-R

Veronica said:


> According to your profile this is your only post



Hi Veronica
We have many times, copied from my posts stats!
Regards 
Steve 

Total Posts
Total Posts: 20 
Posts Per Day: 0.06 
Find all posts by Steve_R 
Find all threads started by Steve_R 
Visitor Messages
Total Messages: 2 
Most Recent Message: 9th May 2010 03:03 PM 
Visitor Messages for Steve_R 
General Information
Last Activity: 13th May 2010 02:15 PM 
Join Date: 29th August 2009 
Referrals: 0


----------



## Veronica

Steve-R said:


> Hi Veronica
> We have many times, copied from my posts stats!
> Regards
> Steve
> 
> Total Posts
> Total Posts: 20
> Posts Per Day: 0.06
> Find all posts by Steve_R
> Find all threads started by Steve_R
> Visitor Messages
> Total Messages: 2
> Most Recent Message: 9th May 2010 03:03 PM
> Visitor Messages for Steve_R
> General Information
> Last Activity: 13th May 2010 02:15 PM
> Join Date: 29th August 2009
> Referrals: 0


your stats now show 20 posts
I thought it was odd as I remembered your name so it must have been a glitch.
Its now sorted itself out.


----------



## berraco58

So ... I don't really have anything of value to add to this conversation but I just needed an outlet to release:

I miss my ESCALADE !!!!!  My mom is back in Miami, USA driving around my 2007 Cadillac Escalade. My wife and I moved to Cyprus last month (she is from here). We had to leave my SUV back in the states and I miss it. I don't know if I had the right information but it looked like it was going to cost $30,000 just in taxes and registration. It is a 6.2L V8. Thats 6,200 cc's. It is friggin huge too. I wonder if it would have qualified as a cargo truck by Cyprus standards. 

Babs's description of trying to get her vehicle in sounds like the drama I had to go through to get my temporary residency extended. I want to avoid that at all costs.

Yes it's a LH car, yes it's huge, yes it's a gas guzzler ... yes I know that there are some two lane roads it wouldnt fit in and I know that it would inconvenience all of the lane-splitting motorcyclists and I don't even want to think about using it in a round about but if I had it here, it'd be like a little taste of home every day.


----------



## steveg63

Hi, we are looking at moving over in January 2011, I looked at the government web site where they have a spread sheet to work out the import duty, I put our 3yr old 2.7td Discovery in there to work out the cost.................over 10000 euros!!!!!! Guess I wont be bringing that when I come. Looked at the Autotrader Cyprus last night and could not believe the prices for used cars. On with the hunt...........

Steve


----------



## voltron

Hello all,

Im thinking of getting a vw transporter van in the UK and bringing it to cypru as soon as the v5 is in my name. It wont be a camper, just a people bus for my growing family! 

So can somone please give the definitive answer on if you still need to own for 6 months in the UK before shipping? Also as my personal car will i pay duty (its will be a 1.9 TDI T30 2007 is)


----------



## mikewool

*regestering my british car in cyprus*



BabsM said:


> We often have questions on the costs of bringing cars to and re-registering them in Cyprus. We have just completed the whole process so I thought I would tell people how we did it and what we paid.
> 
> Our car is a Land Rover Freelander TD4 Automatic. It was originally registered the UK in Aug 2003. It had done over 140,000 miles. It would have had little value in England had we sold it and would have cost well over 10,000 Euros to buy here. As the container was coming anyway and had space in it, we brought the car. We wanted to register the car without paying the excise duty as we are both retired.
> 
> The container arrived in early May. The clearance documents were all completed by Burke Bros and MK Worldwide so I don't know what they involved, however the representative handed over quite a few documents when we went to customs to collect the car, whilst all we did was hand over the log book, our passports and our driving licences and sign a few documents. We were told that, until registration was complete, it must not be driven by anyone other than the owner & his spouse, we couldn't take it into Northern Cyprus and we couldn't sell or dispose of it. We paid 172 Euros to clear the car and the container.
> 
> We were given a yellow C104 form that had to be kept in the car. It gave us a month before we had to go to Nicosia to renew the form. To complete this document customs calculated how much time we had already spent in Cyprus over the last year and deducted that from a 6 month's allowance. This told us how long we had before the car could be re-registered.
> 
> We went to Nicosia Customs Office a month later (June) with copies of all the documents we thought we needed to re-register the car. Maria, who does the re-registration, looked at the documents and identified what was missing. She gave us a document (in English) to complete when we came back. Then the registration department renewed the C104 and told us to return in early October, with all the documents, to complete registration.
> 
> We then went back to Nicosia Customs Office in October with a large file of documents and the form. we sat with Maria for an hour or more as she went through and checked every document. She was looking for proof that we have lived, worked, paid utility bills and tax in the UK for over a year. She also looked for proof that we had moved our home and finances to Cyprus, that we were receiving pensions here and that we had started paying utility bills here. She required copies of our Cyprus bank statements, certified by the bank, to prove we had an income. She wanted to see our Alien Registration and our passports and the health card, in effect proof that we were now permanent residents of Cyprus. She wanted proof that we had owned, taxed and insured the car in England for the time that the log book showed that we had owned the car. This was for every year on the logbook showed, not just six months! In our case, we no longer had the insurance certificates for all years so she accepted copies of the insurance schedules. She had a document with lots of tick boxes, when she was satisfied that every box was ticked she told us that she would put the car forward for registration and that we should receive the papers in the post within a month. Believe me, every box had to be ticked! We had one box missing at one point and she wasn't going to accept the car but then I found the missing document.
> 
> Within the month, as promised, we received a letter saying that we had been granted exemption from excise duty and we could register the car. The document could be taken to a Customs office of our choice for the next step. We went to Larnaca Customs but they sent us to a clearance agent as we had to obtain a form E72. The agent sent us to the Department of Transport in Aradippou to get a certificate showing the CO2 emissions for the car. We misunderstood and thought we needed to get a CO2 test done, fortunately we didn't! We then took the form back to the clearance agent and waited for two days whilst she got the E72. When she got the form she called us, we had to pay her 109 Euros for completing it.
> 
> We then took the car, the logbook & the emissions certificate to an MOT garage. It took about 3/4 hour to do the MOT and cost 34 Euros. As part of the MOT they check all the VIN numbers, and the engine number against the logbook and record the gearbox number. One problem we had here was that the garage couldn't find the engine number as the car is old and had years of salt over it... fortunately he managed to clean it enough to see it! We then had to take the car and the forms to the Department of Transport in Aradippou for a technical inspection, this was effectively a rubber stamp on the form as the MOT had only been done minutes earlier. Once the technical inspection was complete we went to the office to get the forms stamped and a registration number allocated.
> 
> We then went to the Department of Transport with all the forms, our passports, alien cards and proof of address. The lady, who spoke good English, completed all the paperwork, relieved us of 850 Euros for the registration fee based on the size of the car's engine and the tax disk plus six euros for official stamps. If we had delayed registering our car we would have had to pay all the back road tax too!
> 
> We then had to take all the papers to a car accessories shop who made up and attached our new Cypriot number plates. This cost 20 Euros.
> 
> If you have any questions please ask away !
> 
> BabsM


 hello i own a place in peyia but am thinking of coming out for 6 mths at a time but not to live, i want to bring my british car out is the procedure the same if as i was living on the island permently.


----------



## Veronica

mikewool said:


> hello i own a place in peyia but am thinking of coming out for 6 mths at a time but not to live, i want to bring my british car out is the procedure the same if as i was living on the island permently.


Depending on what sort of car it is at this time it might not be wise to bring it out with you.
The roads are in a horrendous condition due to the installation of main sewers and it is set to go on for a few years. We recently had to change one of our cars as it was being wrecked by the roads, costing us a fortune in repairs to the suspension etc. We now have 2 4x4s as they stand up to the conditions better.


----------



## Geraldine

Veronica said:


> Depending on what sort of car it is at this time it might not be wise to bring it out with you.
> The roads are in a horrendous condition due to the installation of main sewers and it is set to go on for a few years. We recently had to change one of our cars as it was being wrecked by the roads, costing us a fortune in repairs to the suspension etc. We now have 2 4x4s as they stand up to the conditions better.


Hi, 

Does your car need to have a UK tax disc on when it arrives in Cyprus or can you obtain a refund after it is loaded on the container? Also, do you need to get Cypriot insurance organised before you leave the UK or do you need your UK insurance for the crossing or is that covered by the shipping company? 

Many thanks.


----------



## Geraldine

Hi, Does anyone have the answer to the question I posted please?


----------



## Veronica

Geraldine said:


> Hi, Does anyone have the answer to the question I posted please?


Geraldine you probably need to check with the shipping company whether your car is covered by them. 
Uk insurance won't cover you for driving your car over here. You will need to get insurance here.
I am sure that if you read some of the older posts on this thread you will find answers to some of your questions. Especially the first post by Babs.


----------



## Geraldine

Veronica said:


> Geraldine you probably need to check with the shipping company whether your car is covered by them.
> Uk insurance won't cover you for driving your car over here. You will need to get insurance here.
> I am sure that if you read some of the older posts on this thread you will find answers to some of your questions. Especially the first post by Babs.


Thank you.


----------



## zeeb0

Hello,

An extreemly good fellow called voltron never ot his question answered and it would be grat to know.

Is the "you need to on a car or 6mths+ in uk before bringing" still in place?? Rather than speculat could someone post the link to the importation restrictions? Im about to buy a car to bring over so could waste lots of money if i get this wrong.

Cheers


----------



## lutondave

hi we have just registrated our uk car in cyprus honda hrv 1.6 . the whole thing took 1 day to sort out the total cost was in taxes. log book .mot was 750 euros all this was done in the paphos area by my wife alone and said the whole thing was pretty easy to do . the car now has more than doubled its price than when brought in the uk .


----------



## zeeb0

lutondave said:


> hi we have just registrated our uk car in cyprus honda hrv 1.6 . the whole thing took 1 day to sort out the total cost was in taxes. log book .mot was 750 euros all this was done in the paphos area by my wife alone and said the whole thing was pretty easy to do . the car now has more than doubled its price than when brought in the uk .


Did you own i for 6months in the UK and or did they ask you about that?


----------



## lutondave

yes did own for six months . but that was not even mentioned. but like i said was done buy my wife no problem


----------



## Veronica

A Romanian client who bought a villa from us went to the UK and bought a mercedes sports car just before moving here and had no problems with not having owned it for 6 months.


----------



## Geraldine

Veronica said:


> A Romanian client who bought a villa from us went to the UK and bought a mercedes sports car just before moving here and had no problems with not having owned it for 6 months.


I seem to think I have read on the threads somewhere that that particular rule is no longer valid.


----------



## zeeb0

Yo,

Im bringing either a 2 or 2.5 litre diesel vw transporter over.. it will be setup as a people carrier and not a van.. assuming the v5 is in my name and paperwork is sorted this end, what kind of duty can i expect.. This will be imported as a personal car and not for sale and I will also benefit from relief on duty because of having 4 kids.. Anyone know where i can check or how much this will be>?


----------



## Veronica

zeeb0 said:


> Yo,
> 
> Im bringing either a 2 or 2.5 litre diesel vw transporter over.. it will be setup as a people carrier and not a van.. assuming the v5 is in my name and paperwork is sorted this end, what kind of duty can i expect.. This will be imported as a personal car and not for sale and I will also benefit from relief on duty because of having 4 kids.. Anyone know where i can check or how much this will be>?


No one can say how much it will be as it varies from one vehicle to another. A 2litre or higher engine size will be quite expensive and if the emmission tests which it will have to go through are bad that will also make a difference.
Unless it is a fairly new vehicle with low emissions expect to pay a hefty duty.


----------



## zeeb0

hmm.. i knowi get some dispention as it is my personal car and if i ever sell it is get forked.. also as i am now familie numerosa i get other allowences... would be nice to know before thogugh... the worst case is that it is classed a camper!! that is v v bad!...


----------



## steveg63

Here Zeeb0 or Voltron.... try this link, you can work out the tax. CUSTOMS & EXCISE - Vehicles - Vehicles from member states of the European Union - Software for the calculation of the excise duty for vehicles

Steve


----------



## steveg63

This might be of interest in helping on the duty, tax and relief from these: http://[URL="http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/customs/customs.nsf/ced01_en/ced01_en?OpenDocument"]www.mof.gov.cy/mof/customs/customs.nsf/ced01_en/ced01_en?OpenDocument[/URL]

If it works let me know how to understand it!

Steve


----------



## zeeb0

Im sure i have said this before so apologies for repitition if i have!

Ok i have the official rules about car shipping from my removals company. you DO need to own it for 6 months to not have to pay massive tax.


----------



## xen

BabsM said:


> We often have questions on the costs of bringing cars to and re-registering them in Cyprus. We have just completed the whole process so I thought I would tell people how we did it and what we paid.
> 
> Our car is a Land Rover Freelander TD4 Automatic. It was originally registered the UK in Aug 2003. It had done over 140,000 miles. It would have had little value in England had we sold it and would have cost well over 10,000 Euros to buy here. As the container was coming anyway and had space in it, we brought the car. We wanted to register the car without paying the excise duty as we are both retired.
> 
> The container arrived in early May. The clearance documents were all completed by Burke Bros and MK Worldwide so I don't know what they involved, however the representative handed over quite a few documents when we went to customs to collect the car, whilst all we did was hand over the log book, our passports and our driving licences and sign a few documents. We were told that, until registration was complete, it must not be driven by anyone other than the owner & his spouse, we couldn't take it into Northern Cyprus and we couldn't sell or dispose of it. We paid 172 Euros to clear the car and the container.
> 
> We were given a yellow C104 form that had to be kept in the car. It gave us a month before we had to go to Nicosia to renew the form. To complete this document customs calculated how much time we had already spent in Cyprus over the last year and deducted that from a 6 month's allowance. This told us how long we had before the car could be re-registered.
> 
> We went to Nicosia Customs Office a month later (June) with copies of all the documents we thought we needed to re-register the car. Maria, who does the re-registration, looked at the documents and identified what was missing. She gave us a document (in English) to complete when we came back. Then the registration department renewed the C104 and told us to return in early October, with all the documents, to complete registration.
> 
> We then went back to Nicosia Customs Office in October with a large file of documents and the form. we sat with Maria for an hour or more as she went through and checked every document. She was looking for proof that we have lived, worked, paid utility bills and tax in the UK for over a year. She also looked for proof that we had moved our home and finances to Cyprus, that we were receiving pensions here and that we had started paying utility bills here. She required copies of our Cyprus bank statements, certified by the bank, to prove we had an income. She wanted to see our Alien Registration and our passports and the health card, in effect proof that we were now permanent residents of Cyprus. She wanted proof that we had owned, taxed and insured the car in England for the time that the log book showed that we had owned the car. This was for every year on the logbook showed, not just six months! In our case, we no longer had the insurance certificates for all years so she accepted copies of the insurance schedules. She had a document with lots of tick boxes, when she was satisfied that every box was ticked she told us that she would put the car forward for registration and that we should receive the papers in the post within a month. Believe me, every box had to be ticked! We had one box missing at one point and she wasn't going to accept the car but then I found the missing document.
> 
> Within the month, as promised, we received a letter saying that we had been granted exemption from excise duty and we could register the car. The document could be taken to a Customs office of our choice for the next step. We went to Larnaca Customs but they sent us to a clearance agent as we had to obtain a form E72. The agent sent us to the Department of Transport in Aradippou to get a certificate showing the CO2 emissions for the car. We misunderstood and thought we needed to get a CO2 test done, fortunately we didn't! We then took the form back to the clearance agent and waited for two days whilst she got the E72. When she got the form she called us, we had to pay her 109 Euros for completing it.
> 
> We then took the car, the logbook & the emissions certificate to an MOT garage. It took about 3/4 hour to do the MOT and cost 34 Euros. As part of the MOT they check all the VIN numbers, and the engine number against the logbook and record the gearbox number. One problem we had here was that the garage couldn't find the engine number as the car is old and had years of salt over it... fortunately he managed to clean it enough to see it! We then had to take the car and the forms to the Department of Transport in Aradippou for a technical inspection, this was effectively a rubber stamp on the form as the MOT had only been done minutes earlier. Once the technical inspection was complete we went to the office to get the forms stamped and a registration number allocated.
> 
> We then went to the Department of Transport with all the forms, our passports, alien cards and proof of address. The lady, who spoke good English, completed all the paperwork, relieved us of 850 Euros for the registration fee based on the size of the car's engine and the tax disk plus six euros for official stamps. If we had delayed registering our car we would have had to pay all the back road tax too!
> 
> We then had to take all the papers to a car accessories shop who made up and attached our new Cypriot number plates. This cost 20 Euros.
> 
> If you have any questions please ask away !
> 
> BabsM


I heard the Cyprus Government might be getting rid of customs tax on vehicles imported into Cyprus in the New Year. Has anybody heard any truth to this?


----------



## steveg63

Just had an update from our shipping company, if you are bringing in a vehicle to Cyprus from UK you must have 'lived in the UK for at least 12 months and have owned the car for the past 6 months, if you pass both of these then there will be no import duty, hope this is correct????

Also he did state that the EEC are trying to get Cyprus to abide by their laws on import duty so that they fall in line with other members, if and when this happens will make the more expensive items cheaper.

Steve


----------



## chrisjac

*Retiring to Cy - import car or buy on arrival?*



steveg63 said:


> Just had an update from our shipping company, if you are bringing in a vehicle to Cyprus from UK you must have 'lived in the UK for at least 12 months and have owned the car for the past 6 months, if you pass both of these then there will be no import duty, hope this is correct????
> 
> Also he did state that the EEC are trying to get Cyprus to abide by their laws on import duty so that they fall in line with other members, if and when this happens will make the more expensive items cheaper.
> 
> Steve




Hi, we are a couple retiring to Cyprus and we simply want to know whether it is more economical to import a car we own already from the UK, i.e bring one over in a container, or alternatively buy a car on the island when we arrive, we understand that we would not need to pay duty on a new car in Cy as we would be retired, but which is the cheaper option? can anyone clarify please..

P.S Does anyone know if it is possible to get to/from Cy by ferry now and do they take pets and cars?


----------



## Veronica

chrisjac said:


> Hi, we are a couple retiring to Cyprus and we simply want to know whether it is more economical to import a car we own already from the UK, i.e bring one over in a container, or alternatively buy a car on the island when we arrive, we understand that we would not need to pay duty on a new car in Cy as we would be retired, but which is the cheaper option? can anyone clarify please..
> 
> P.S Does anyone know if it is possible to get to/from Cy by ferry now and do they take pets and cars?


Hi welcome to the forum.
This subject has been well covered in several threads.
It might help you if you were to take some time looking through some of the threads and then ask any other questions you might have.

Veronica


----------



## chrisjac

Thanks Veronica, we have been looking at the responses etc on the forum but none seem to answer the question definitively, we are hoping someone out there may be able to advise from experience simply whether importing is a viable option or whether it is cheaper and easier to just buy something on the island when we arrive since we would be retired and as such exempt from taxes..


----------



## Veronica

chrisjac said:


> Thanks Veronica, we have been looking at the responses etc on the forum but none seem to answer the question definitively, we are hoping someone out there may be able to advise from experience simply whether importing is a viable option or whether it is cheaper and easier to just buy something on the island when we arrive since we would be retired and as such exempt from taxes..


As things stand at the present time time you can buy a car duty free if you are retired. However you cannot then sell it unless you pay the duty on it. The same applies if you bring a car in.
It is far easier just to pay the duty as it saves problems later. However as the rules seem to be subject to change once the Cyprus government comes into line with EU laws duty should be abolished anyway.
At the moment the whole thing is very much a muddle and no one really seems to have a definitive answer.


----------



## chrisjac

Veronica said:


> As things stand at the present time time you can buy a car duty free if you are retired. However you cannot then sell it unless you pay the duty on it. The same applies if you bring a car in.
> It is far easier just to pay the duty as it saves problems later. However as the rules seem to be subject to change once the Cyprus government comes into line with EU laws duty should be abolished anyway.
> At the moment the whole thing is very much a muddle and no one really seems to have a definitive answer.


Thx again Veronica, clarification of sorts eh! looking at the forum use you seem to be very knowledgable around Cypriot affairs! don't suppose, bearing in mind we are dealing with the Cypriot pace of things, that any timescales are known re: importation etc rule changes?
NB: Any info on the ferry question per chance?


----------



## Veronica

chrisjac said:


> Thx again Veronica, clarification of sorts eh! looking at the forum use you seem to be very knowledgable around Cypriot affairs! don't suppose, bearing in mind we are dealing with the Cypriot pace of things, that any timescales are known re: importation etc rule changes?
> NB: Any info on the ferry question per chance?


Think of a timescale and quadruple it


----------



## Veronica

In spain they say Manana, here they say Siga siga(slowly slowly) or Avrio (tomorrow.)
The Cypriot mindset is everything will happen in good time, but no onecan say when that will be
We hate dealing with cypriots as we almost always find ourselves hanging around waiting because to them an appointment time is just a rough guide which can be anything up to 2 before the time they will actuially bother to show up. 
On the other hand they might not show up at all and don't bother to ring to say they can't come.


----------



## zin

Veronica said:


> In spain they say Manana, here they say Siga siga(slowly slowly) or Avrio (tomorrow.)
> *The Cypriot mindset is everything will happen in good time,* but no onecan say when that will be
> We hate dealing with cypriots as we almost always find ourselves hanging around waiting because to them an appointment time is just a rough guide which can be anything up to 2 before the time they will actuially bother to show up.
> On the other hand they might not show up at all and don't bother to ring to say they can't come.


The expression you are looking for is "me to kalo"


----------



## Veronica

zin said:


> The expression you are looking for is "me to kalo"


with good?


----------



## zin

with the good.

i.e. with some good luck.


----------



## zeeb0

Hello,

Just an update.. I was at the port and went through the paperwork a while back.. you 100% DO need to have owned the car in the UK previously for 6 months before importing and qualifying for duty free status. 

I have the red information booklet i can scan (when i find a scanner)..


----------



## chrisjac

*Car imports to Cyprus*



zeeb0 said:


> Hello,
> 
> Just an update.. I was at the port and went through the paperwork a while back.. you 100% DO need to have owned the car in the UK previously for 6 months before importing and qualifying for duty free status.
> 
> I have the red information booklet i can scan (when i find a scanner)..


Thanks for your reply, do you happen to know the answer to the other issue, i.e. Being retirees to Cyprus, and as such eligable for duty exemption in on any car purchase, is it more economical to import a car to the island rather than buying one there? Thx


----------



## zeeb0

Hi,

I didnt see anything specifically for retiring but the idea is "are you settling in cyprus as a permenant resident".. if yes then you can apply for duty free on importing a car that:

a) you have owned for 6 months IN the uk prior to comming to Cy
b) It is more than 6mnths old
c) it has more than 6000 miles on the clock

YOu will need to pay about 200 euros at the port to get your car out and logged as a c104 (imported pending duty free application). Then you have one month to go to the office in nicosia and prove you live here by showing utility bills and tenancy agreements or bankstatements etc. Then your car will need to me MOT'd and taxed and filanny they will release the c104 status and you will have cypriot plates. 

It may well be that the duty on your car is low so it paying it might just be the best option.. also if you sell it you need to warn the buyer they must pay the duty etc if you have it as duty free. 

In answer to your second question, yes importing is much much cheaper than buying locally.. i see rubbish cars like a vauxhall astra from 1996 here for like 3k.. its madness!! WHo buys these cars? to get an idea look on Home page :: Autotrader Cyprus Magazine

On lastly its one car import per person for life! so you can only do it once as duty free!


----------



## dave&carrie

*It may well be that the duty on your car is low so it paying it might just be the best option.. also if you sell it you need to warn the buyer they must pay the duty etc if you have it as duty free. *

How can we find out what the duty is likely to be. Is there a definative table based on emmissions engine capacity age etc.?


----------



## steveg63

There is a link here of the government web site, a simple excel spreadsheet that will enable you to calculate what duty is payable, CUSTOMS & EXCISE - Vehicles

Steve


----------



## zeeb0

Looks like the duty on mine is 250 Euros.. its tempting to just pay it and then not have to go through the agro... mind you i bet it will take a day of standing around in govt offices to pay the damn thing!!


----------



## dave&carrie

Thanks for that Steve. Very useful.

For an older smaller car it seems easier to just pay the duty. It would then need to be registered in Cyprus, is there a simular calculation (ie based on engine size etc.) or is it a fixed cost?


----------



## Veronica

steveg63 said:


> There is a link here of the government web site, a simple excel spreadsheet that will enable you to calculate what duty is payable, CUSTOMS & EXCISE - Vehicles
> 
> Steve


I have added this link to the sticky lists of useful websites.


----------



## Veronica

dave&carrie said:


> Thanks for that Steve. Very useful.
> 
> For an older smaller car it seems easier to just pay the duty. It would then need to be registered in Cyprus, is there a simular calculation (ie based on engine size etc.) or is it a fixed cost?


It varies according to engine size and also emmissions.


----------



## ZACH999

*Speedometer in KPH or MPH*



BabsM said:


> We often have questions on the costs of bringing cars to and re-registering them in Cyprus. We have just completed the whole process so I thought I would tell people how we did it and what we paid.
> 
> Our car is a Land Rover Freelander TD4 Automatic. It was originally registered the UK in Aug 2003. It had done over 140,000 miles. It would have had little value in England had we sold it and would have cost well over 10,000 Euros to buy here. As the container was coming anyway and had space in it, we brought the car. We wanted to register the car without paying the excise duty as we are both retired.
> 
> The container arrived in early May. The clearance documents were all completed by Burke Bros and MK Worldwide so I don't know what they involved, however the representative handed over quite a few documents when we went to customs to collect the car, whilst all we did was hand over the log book, our passports and our driving licences and sign a few documents. We were told that, until registration was complete, it must not be driven by anyone other than the owner & his spouse, we couldn't take it into Northern Cyprus and we couldn't sell or dispose of it. We paid 172 Euros to clear the car and the container.
> 
> We were given a yellow C104 form that had to be kept in the car. It gave us a month before we had to go to Nicosia to renew the form. To complete this document customs calculated how much time we had already spent in Cyprus over the last year and deducted that from a 6 month's allowance. This told us how long we had before the car could be re-registered.
> 
> We went to Nicosia Customs Office a month later (June) with copies of all the documents we thought we needed to re-register the car. Maria, who does the re-registration, looked at the documents and identified what was missing. She gave us a document (in English) to complete when we came back. Then the registration department renewed the C104 and told us to return in early October, with all the documents, to complete registration.
> 
> We then went back to Nicosia Customs Office in October with a large file of documents and the form. we sat with Maria for an hour or more as she went through and checked every document. She was looking for proof that we have lived, worked, paid utility bills and tax in the UK for over a year. She also looked for proof that we had moved our home and finances to Cyprus, that we were receiving pensions here and that we had started paying utility bills here. She required copies of our Cyprus bank statements, certified by the bank, to prove we had an income. She wanted to see our Alien Registration and our passports and the health card, in effect proof that we were now permanent residents of Cyprus. She wanted proof that we had owned, taxed and insured the car in England for the time that the log book showed that we had owned the car. This was for every year on the logbook showed, not just six months! In our case, we no longer had the insurance certificates for all years so she accepted copies of the insurance schedules. She had a document with lots of tick boxes, when she was satisfied that every box was ticked she told us that she would put the car forward for registration and that we should receive the papers in the post within a month. Believe me, every box had to be ticked! We had one box missing at one point and she wasn't going to accept the car but then I found the missing document.
> 
> Within the month, as promised, we received a letter saying that we had been granted exemption from excise duty and we could register the car. The document could be taken to a Customs office of our choice for the next step. We went to Larnaca Customs but they sent us to a clearance agent as we had to obtain a form E72. The agent sent us to the Department of Transport in Aradippou to get a certificate showing the CO2 emissions for the car. We misunderstood and thought we needed to get a CO2 test done, fortunately we didn't! We then took the form back to the clearance agent and waited for two days whilst she got the E72. When she got the form she called us, we had to pay her 109 Euros for completing it.
> 
> We then took the car, the logbook & the emissions certificate to an MOT garage. It took about 3/4 hour to do the MOT and cost 34 Euros. As part of the MOT they check all the VIN numbers, and the engine number against the logbook and record the gearbox number. One problem we had here was that the garage couldn't find the engine number as the car is old and had years of salt over it... fortunately he managed to clean it enough to see it! We then had to take the car and the forms to the Department of Transport in Aradippou for a technical inspection, this was effectively a rubber stamp on the form as the MOT had only been done minutes earlier. Once the technical inspection was complete we went to the office to get the forms stamped and a registration number allocated.
> 
> We then went to the Department of Transport with all the forms, our passports, alien cards and proof of address. The lady, who spoke good English, completed all the paperwork, relieved us of 850 Euros for the registration fee based on the size of the car's engine and the tax disk plus six euros for official stamps. If we had delayed registering our car we would have had to pay all the back road tax too!
> 
> We then had to take all the papers to a car accessories shop who made up and attached our new Cypriot number plates. This cost 20 Euros.
> 
> If you have any questions please ask away !
> 
> BabsM


Hi BabsM,

We are planning to move to Cyprus later this year and we plan to bring our car, but we have a question: On the CYPRUS SVA website it says that the speedometer should be in miles, yet ont the Advanced Driving Site it states that the Speedometer if in MPH should be changed to KPH.

Do you have any experience or problem with changing speedomoter and would you know which is correct MPH or KPH.

Thanks and Regards,
ZACH999


----------



## Veronica

ZACH999 said:


> Hi BabsM,
> 
> We are planning to move to Cyprus later this year and we plan to bring our car, but we have a question: On the CYPRUS SVA website it says that the speedometer should be in miles, yet ont the Advanced Driving Site it states that the Speedometer if in MPH should be changed to KPH.
> 
> Do you have any experience or problem with changing speedomoter and would you know which is correct MPH or KPH.
> 
> Thanks and Regards,
> ZACH999


Most cars sold here have KPH on the clock but both of our cars as they are imported have MPH and we have had no problems.
A friend of ours imported a car last year with MPH on the clock without any problems.
Road signs are predominantly in KPH with miles underneath on some of them.

Veronica


----------



## zin

Veronica said:


> Most cars sold here have KPH on the clock but both of our cars as they are imported have MPH and we have had no problems.
> A friend of ours imported a car last year with MPH on the clock without any problems.
> Road signs are predominantly in KPH with miles underneath on some of them.
> 
> Veronica


Did they have MPH and KPH or just MPH?

Also the road signs don't have miles underneath them (although the conversion makes it seem that way), that blue speed sign which I believe you are referring to on motorways is the minimum speed allowed


----------



## dave&carrie

ZACH999 said:


> Hi BabsM,
> 
> We are planning to move to Cyprus later this year and we plan to bring our car, but we have a question: On the CYPRUS SVA website it says that the speedometer should be in miles, yet ont the Advanced Driving Site it states that the Speedometer if in MPH should be changed to KPH.
> 
> Do you have any experience or problem with changing speedomoter and would you know which is correct MPH or KPH.
> 
> Thanks and Regards,
> ZACH999


Hi Zach,

Wherabouts in Doncaster are you from? We are also from Doncaster and hoping to move to Cyprus with our car later this year.

Dave


----------



## steveg63

Zin, am I reading this correctly, the motorway speed signs are a minimum not maximum?

Steve


----------



## Toxan

This is an excellent website for information on cars and traffic laws. The Cyprus Automobile Association Cyprus Automobile Association Just contact them with any questions you may have, and beowse the website.


----------



## zin

steveg63 said:


> Zin, am I reading this correctly, the motorway speed signs are a minimum not maximum?
> 
> Steve


I'm referring to the motorway speed signs that say 100 at the top and 65 at the bottom. This is not a conversion to miles from 100 to 65. This is the maximum and minimum speeds allowed in kph


----------



## ZACH999

zin said:


> I'm referring to the motorway speed signs that say 100 at the top and 65 at the bottom. This is not a conversion to miles from 100 to 65. This is the maximum and minimum speeds allowed in kph



Hi Steve,

Good information on the max/min speeds,

Regards,

ZACH999:clap2:


----------



## Veronica

I alway thought it was strange when we were told that it was MPH under the KPH because 100 KPH translates into 62.1MPH not 65MPH


----------



## ZACH999

Veronica said:


> I alway thought it was strange when we were told that it was MPH under the KPH because 100 KPH translates into 62.1MPH not 65MPH


Hi,

Just food for thought but how do drivers of vehicles with only MPH speedometers judge the kilometer per hour restrictions/limits ?? Some may have a dual read out or they just guess what speed they are doing.

Hence the question on importing a vehicle with only Miles per hour from UK to Cyprus.

Regards,

ZACH999


----------



## steveg63

20kph refers to 12 miles.

Steve


----------



## zeeb0

Ok so i got my c104... wot now?


----------



## derekpen

Hi,
I have read the previous posts and think I understand most of the advice on offer, thank you all.

My Question:
I intend to import my seven year old Vauxhall Vectra to Cyprus next month. In order to have the vehicle released from the customs and in order to drive the vehicle in cyprus [ Pending registration upon proof of residence] do I need to have a UK Tax disc and Valid MOT for a specific length of time. I read somewhere that the vehicle needs to have at leat six months MOT and UK Tax disc??

What is the insurance situation? Would i need to arrange Insurance in Cyprus for the vehicle whilst driven on a UK Plate or can a British Insurance compay provide such cover?

Many Thanks,
Derek


----------



## Phil & Anne

Well done to Babs, we admire you for your effort. We are moving to Cyprus asap! What are second hand car prices like compared to UK? Thanks


----------



## Veronica

Phil & Anne said:


> Well done to Babs, we admire you for your effort. We are moving to Cyprus asap! What are second hand car prices like compared to UK? Thanks


Prices are higher here although they are now coming down. If you look around you can now get some bargains.
Many dealers have been feeling the pinch lately and are willing to discount fairly heavily.


----------



## zeeb0

Hello,

please be warned that those going for the duty free should bring EVERYTHING FROM THE UK!!

THis is the list i have to get:
- V5
- Insurance for a full year in uk before arrival
- Utility bills for year
- bank statements showing 'regular activity'
- proof i have rented or sold or selling my uk house
- council tax bills for the year
- school reports for the kids proving they were in the uk for the year
- payslips
-P60
-p45
- passports for the whole family

I also need from cyprus
- tenancy agreement
- proof of employment
- school reports from cy school
- immigration/resident (yellow) slip
- utility
- C104
- New MOT

WOw!! all to get the 300Euro duty removed! then i have to look forward to a registration fee (any ideas how much that is now?) 

Im supprised they didnt want DNA tests, my bronze swimming certificate and my badges from when i was in scouts... Insane!


----------



## anski

zeeb0 said:


> Hello,
> 
> please be warned that those going for the duty free should bring EVERYTHING FROM THE UK!!
> 
> THis is the list i have to get:
> - V5
> - Insurance for a full year in uk before arrival
> - Utility bills for year
> - bank statements showing 'regular activity'
> - proof i have rented or sold or selling my uk house
> - council tax bills for the year
> - school reports for the kids proving they were in the uk for the year
> - payslips
> -P60
> -p45
> - passports for the whole family
> 
> I also need from cyprus
> - tenancy agreement
> - proof of employment
> - school reports from cy school
> - immigration/resident (yellow) slip
> - utility
> - C104
> - New MOT
> 
> WOw!! all to get the 300Euro duty removed! then i have to look forward to a registration fee (any ideas how much that is now?)
> 
> Im supprised they didnt want DNA tests, my bronze swimming certificate and my badges from when i was in scouts... Insane!


Get used to it. Same here in Spain cannot use debit/credit card either without passport


----------



## cliveost

chrisjac said:


> Thx again Veronica, clarification of sorts eh! looking at the forum use you seem to be very knowledgable around Cypriot affairs! don't suppose, bearing in mind we are dealing with the Cypriot pace of things, that any timescales are known re: importation etc rule changes?
> NB: Any info on the ferry question per chance?


Grimaldi Freighter cruises I think they are called. They sail from Southhampton and other ports in Europe. Its really a freight ship with basic cabins.

Here is a link to the website.

Ferry to and from Cypus


----------



## Acestan

*



Moving a car to Europe to be made simpler

Click to expand...

*This was a heading in the March 2011 newsletter. Will it apply to Cyprus, or will they find away around it?


----------



## Toxan

They will probably try to get around it, as they need the money, but the EU is threatening to fine them more than usual.


----------



## Acestan

*Importing a car into Cyprus*



Toxan said:


> They will probably try to get around it, as they need the money, but the EU is threatening to fine them more than usual.


Hello Toxan
I have customers based here in H M Forces who import tax-free cars from UK, and would like to meet someone who can assist them in doing so. They eventually take the cars back to UK. Any suggestions? 
Regards
Acestan


----------



## Acestan

*Grimaldi*



cliveost said:


> Grimaldi Freighter cruises I think they are called. They sail from Southhampton and other ports in Europe. Its really a freight ship with basic cabins.
> 
> Here is a link to the website.
> 
> Ferry to and from Cypus


Don't mention Grimaldi to me. They let us down badly in the UK when we moved out to Cyprus. The shipping container we had booked failed to arrive, and we had to make our own arrangements to deliver all our possessions to Southampton docks at very short notice. No mean feat, I can tell you. That was nearly 5 months ago, and so far we have yet to receive an apology....


----------



## Toxan

Acestan said:


> Hello Toxan
> I have customers based here in H M Forces who import tax-free cars from UK, and would like to meet someone who can assist them in doing so. They eventually take the cars back to UK. Any suggestions?
> Regards
> Acestan


I thought that the services have their own subsidised help for forces personnel.


----------



## Acestan

*Importing a car into Cyprus*



Toxan said:


> I thought that the services have their own subsidised help for forces personnel.


We have been supplying tax-free cars to H M Forces for over 30 yrs, and I have recently semi-retired to Cyprus. The help they receive does not seem to cover importing a car into Cyprus, unless a colleague who has done it previously offers to help them. There is not a central office that can do it, as far as I am aware. That's why I need to find someone who has experience of importing cars into Cyprus to help them. They can get pamphlets from the Hive, but you can't beat having someone who's done it before to help you.


----------



## Dyson

*Help!*

Hi
I am new to this and need help!!
I asked a question on the 17th March and subsequently saw a very useful reply but am now unable to find either my original enquiry or the response!
I think I might have used the wrong thread but don't know how to find the right one!

I'm not too bright with computers, so please can someone guide me through this website?

Would be very grateful for any help!
Dyson


----------



## Veronica

Dyson said:


> Hi
> I am new to this and need help!!
> I asked a question on the 17th March and subsequently saw a very useful reply but am now unable to find either my original enquiry or the response!
> I think I might have used the wrong thread but don't know how to find the right one!
> 
> I'm not too bright with computers, so please can someone guide me through this website?
> 
> Would be very grateful for any help!
> Dyson


Its on this thread
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/cy...living-cyprus/67902-buy-car-uk-shipp-cyp.html

Just click on the link


----------



## karentuppence

Edge111 said:


> I can bring my car to Cyprus for 6 months with no problem, then it must leave the country. I don know if I can just ferry it to Turkey, drive for a few days, then ferry it back to Cyprus and start the Six month period all over.
> 
> ]



My folks are moving to Cyprus and i want to take my car over for when i stay with them, i heard about this 6 months rule too and wondered if it is indeed the case that i could have it in Cyprus for so long then over to Turkey and when im back the 6 month rule starts all over again? Can anyone clarify? Thanks.


----------



## lauramay

*Driving to cyprus and shipping a van to cyprus*

Whats the best way to get a car to cyprus (driving)

Whats the best way to get a Van to cyprus (through shipping)

Any help muchly appreciated! 

Thanks

Laura


----------



## steveg63

Hi Laura, for the van send this via ship, what van r you sending, have you got this?

Steve


----------



## lauramay

steveg63 said:


> Hi Laura, for the van send this via ship, what van r you sending, have you got this?
> 
> Steve


Yes, we already have it - a ldv maxus lwb. 

Just wondered if there were any recommended companies etc. And are we allowed to load it?

Thanks


----------



## lauramay

steveg63 said:


> Hi Laura, for the van send this via ship, what van r you sending, have you got this?
> 
> Steve


Yes, we already have it. Ldv maxus.


----------



## Aaric7546

Do you know the rate of taxation and customs fees to bring a US registered car to Cyprus? I know trhat there is a 6 month limitation but, I would take the car to eithere Turkey or Italy for a wekk or two, then return to Cyprus. Would that start the 6month clock again? The carf is a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a 4.0 litre motor.
_______________________


----------



## Veronica

Aaric7546 said:


> Do you know the rate of taxation and customs fees to bring a US registered car to Cyprus? I know trhat there is a 6 month limitation but, I would take the car to eithere Turkey or Italy for a wekk or two, then return to Cyprus. Would that start the 6month clock again? The carf is a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a 4.0 litre motor.
> _______________________


I would think that what you are asking about is completely illegal and if caught you would end up owing a huge amount in fines. 
A 4 litre vehicle will cost an arm and a leg to tax here and as you would be coming from a non EU country the import duty would also be prohibitive.


----------



## recycle

Aaric7546 said:


> Do you know the rate of taxation and customs fees to bring a US registered car to Cyprus? I know trhat there is a 6 month limitation but, I would take the car to eithere Turkey or Italy for a wekk or two, then return to Cyprus. Would that start the 6month clock again? The carf is a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a 4.0 litre motor.
> _______________________



greetings!

i saw your question and i feel i had to share my knowledge with you

You CAN'T import a car over 5 year old in cyprus unless it comes from an EU country. of course there is no restriction if you want to register your car first in any other EU country and then ship it to cyprus. if the car is LHD, and been american propably is then the best choice to register is Czech Rep (20% VAT and around 25 euros car registration, insurance included on the road tax). if the car is RHD then Germany (export plate) is your best option. have in mind that if you have a tax-less export plate from Germany you will pay 15% VAT in cyprus on the estimated value of the car and I guess it will be much more than the 20% of Czech VAT. Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0 my 2000 has 372g/km CO2 and is 3956cc

if the car was imported today in cyprus and assuming 100.000 miles on the clock and EU registered, then you will have to pay around 7000 euros on import tax plus 4867 euro for registration plus 933euro anual road tax plus insurance of your choice (500-800 euro annually for comprehensive insurance, if you are over 25 and accident free, depends on the insurance company)

and all this for a car worth 2000 usd? does it really worth it?


----------



## Veronica

Also it is illegal to import a left hand drive car into Cyprus unless it is a classic and then you need a special licence to import it.


----------



## recycle

Veronica said:


> Also it is illegal to import a left hand drive car into Cyprus unless it is a classic and then you need a special licence to import it.


not true. you can import any car from any EU country no matter the age or the wheel possition. the rule applies only to non EU registered cars under 5 years old that have not been manufactured in RHD. for example you can import most american cars under the age of 5 directly in cyprus on the basis that they were never manufactured with a wheel on the right. for the cars over 25 this rule does not apply as long as you have a FIVA


----------



## Guest

recycle said:


> not true. you can import any car from any EU country no matter the age or the wheel possition. the rule applies only to non EU registered cars under 5 years old that have not been manufactured in RHD. for example you can import most american cars under the age of 5 directly in cyprus on the basis that they were never manufactured with a wheel on the right. for the cars over 25 this rule does not apply as long as you have a FIVA


Most cars have been manufactured as right hand drive and for sure the Jeep. 

And what I know you cant import and drive a car in Cyprus that is eft hand drive. If so you must show me where it is written because suddenly a huge new market opens up for EU mainland cars

Anders


----------



## recycle

the market is wide open but cypriots are either stupid or afraid of lhd cars. 
jeep doesnt make all cars in rhd , but most of them yes. but if you look on all other american car makers you will see that after 1994 and the fall of apartheid in south africa that most american cars were build in small numbers as rhd for the south african market, most of them are not officially made rhd, but factories produce rhd dashboards and conversion kits for use mostly by american embassies but also by us post offices


----------



## Guest

Because one of the businesses I am involved in is re-import of cars between EU countries I have ordered new Jeep Chreroke for some english customers with RHD and its no problem for any model. And again show me where it says that LHD is allowed to register in Cyprus. Sorry, but I simply dont belive you

Anders


----------



## recycle

i really hope you can read greek so i will get an apology soon

http://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/rtd/rtd.nsf/All/1FC7BF3002AD1857C225767F002896F2/$file/%CE%95%CE%B3%CE%B3%CF%81%CE%B1%CF%86%CEhttp://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/rtd/rtd.nsf/All/1FC7BF3002AD1857C225767F002896F2/$file/%CE%95%CE%B3%CE%B3%CF%81%CE%B1%CF%86%CE%AE%20%CE%BF%CF%87%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%AC%CF%84%CF%89%CE%BD1%20(2).doc?Openelement


----------



## Guest

recycle said:


> i really hope you can read greek so i will get an apology soon
> 
> http://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/rtd/rtd.nsf/All/1FC7BF3002AD1857C225767F002896F2/$file/%CE%95%CE%B3%CE%B3%CF%81%CE%B1%CF%86%CE%AE%20%CE%BF%CF%87%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%AC%CF%84%CF%89%CE%BD1%20(2).doc



Point 5 in the document states the following in english

5) Vehicles with left hand steering
The registration of a motor vehicle left steering is permitted only if-
• follow the procedure (2) or (3) above,
• the vehicle is subjected to a single vehicle control left guideway and issued a certificate TOM 139 (b) and have any of the following forms:
o Certificate of approval of single vehicles
o Certificate of Registration of a Member State (MS) of the European Union to prove the existence of Type Approval MS.
o Certificate of Compliance MS.

First if I read in 2 and 3 it only talks about RHD. so I really dont understand 

And I only know that we have tried to register 2 2-year old MB Sprinters and got rejected because of the LHD


----------



## recycle

2 and 3 says that if its from europe doesnt apply and from outside europe up to 5 year old. TOM139 is what you get from the sva test saying that your lights for rhd car and you have stoplights and european turning signals (amber not american red).

but if you see the second dot says clearly Certificate of Registration of a Member State (MS) of the European Union and i quess this means i am right and if you didnt manage to register the sprinters means that they were either from a country outside of eu and over 5year old or you need to search more before you do something for the first time. i have registered around 40 LHD cars, american and european and i have tried many of the routes to get a car over 5yo in cyprus


----------



## Guest

What I understand of this is that a LHD can only be registered if you can prove that no RHD models is produces. As I understand it this can only be done by a certificate from the producer.
I am also quite sure that the Cyprus Road Transport Department have lists of all brands produced as RHD and this TOM 139 will not be issued to cars that is in the list.

As I see it Cyprus would otherwise be flooded with LHD cars coming with all non-UK expats

So the apology has to wait a while until we have sorted this out

Anders


----------



## Guest

recycle said:


> 2 and 3 says that if its from europe doesnt apply and from outside europe up to 5 year old. TOM139 is what you get from the sva test saying that your lights for rhd car and you have stoplights and european turning signals (amber not american red).
> 
> but if you see the second dot says clearly Certificate of Registration of a Member State (MS) of the European Union and i quess this means i am right and if you didnt manage to register the sprinters means that they were either from a country outside of eu and over 5year old or you need to search more before you do something for the first time. i have registered around 40 LHD cars, american and european and i have tried many of the routes to get a car over 5yo in cyprus


the Sprinters are both 2 years old and registered as new in Germany and as far as I know Germany is a MS


----------



## recycle

bare in mind that the insurance for a LHD car in cyprus is almost double for the same RHD car. 

the list is for car under 5 year old that have never been registered in european country. if it has been registed in europe then it will be registered in cyprus too


----------



## recycle

if the sprinters are still in cyprus i can help you register them.


----------



## Veronica

My understanding has always been that LHD vehicles are not permitted to be imported except under specific circumstances and then with a special licence.
I do hope that you are wrong recycle because we have enough bad driving here without an influx of LHD vehicles which make it hard for the driver to see what is ahead and is basically an accident waiting to happen.


----------



## Guest

recycle said:


> if the sprinters are still in cyprus i can help you register them.


Thank you for the offer but when its time we will order 2 new with RHD. In the long run its better for the Left side traffic anyway

But still its an interesting discussion and I am surprised that no other forum member joined it


----------



## recycle

in around the change of the millenium a man from sotira in famagousta district went to germany for holidays. he saw there a toyota hilux pickup, felt in love with it. bought it and brought it to cyprus. he tried to register it with no luck and challenged the goverment to court that they ban him from the right of ownership and using his property. it was like "you want me to pay more i will but you cant ban me from drving my car". the man won the challenge and the court desided that the fee for registering the car would be the same as for a RHD car. unfortunatelly the next guy who imported an (american) LHD lost the challenge and mcw (Ministry of Communications and Works) made two different rules for european registered cars and 3rd country registered cars. this rule has nothing to do with cyprus in EU. Czech republic for example does not allow RHD cars to be registered. 

the tricky part is to change the headlights so it will pass the SVA. after that all is very simple. as i said insurance for LHD cars is almost double than for a RHD car and the money you will save buying the car and shipping from the continental europe you will pay them to insurance companies


----------



## Guest

As we are planning to stay both in mainland and in Cyprus and spend the time 50/50 in each country it could be interesting to know if it is possible to use my LHD during the stay in Cyprus or I have to take a trip to Turkey somewhere in the middle. We will be recidents of Cyprus


----------



## recycle

it is very possible to use your car in europe and in cyprus. and as the car is street legal in the country of origin no need to register it in cyprus (technical inspection and road tax).


----------



## Veronica

You can only use a car here without registering it provided that you spend MORE THAN 185 days per year in another country.


----------



## recycle

Veronica said:


> You can only use a car here without registering it provided that you spend MORE THAN 185 days per year in another country.


veronica... as cyprus is a district of europe and we are european citizens you dont have to re-register your car as long as the road tax is paid in its home district. you can use the car as long as it is street legal. if you share a car between cyprus and its home country and by quessing that is street legal in its home country then you can use it in cyprus also. this is what europe is all about. and these 185 days you are talking about start when? when it was the last time u had your passport stamped entering a european country?


----------



## Guest

This thread really make many things confusing. I just dont know what to believe. Much is of course logical and how it works in the rest of Europe, but Cyprus has proven special many times

So some digging is a must before we can be sure this is correct

Anders


----------



## steveg63

Might belief is that you can only use an imported car for 6 months of any year in Cyprus, after which it should either be registered or taken out of the country for the next 6 months.

Steve


----------



## recycle

steve you are thinking about the V and E registered cars that are banned from cyprus since 2004


----------



## mike on tour

*bringing vehicles in to Cyprus*



Bab
If you have any questions please ask away !
BabsM :D[/QUOTE said:


> Hiya Babs !
> Glad to hear that you had such a good experience !
> I am registered disabled ( 10 Years Now ) and shipped my Disabled Adapted Mercedes Sprinter to Cyprus 2 Years ago - having first checked with Customs and Government Offices - I was told it would be Duty Free , Road Tax Exempt !
> 
> When it arrived at Lemasol i had to pay a Bribe of 550 euros to get it out of the Port , Paphos Customs decided it was a Luxury Vehicle and I paid more thinking at least its all over ...But NO ... Vehicle Reg want cash ( unknown amount ) and 600 Euros a year for Road Tax ...No one recognises my Cypriot Disabled Blue Badge - I " have ended up Parking it Half Way up a Mountain to avoid it being impounded !
> 
> I gather that now i should try to get British Embassy to talk to Customs !
> 
> But after looking at the way Mice have eaten their way inside .....suspect i will not bother and let it Rot where it is !
> 
> For an E.U. Country - Cyprus seems to pay little attention to Disabled Issues !
> 
> Mike


----------



## mstrike

Can someone tell me what and how much it will cost to import the car from UK with these specs:
- 2008 year
- 3.0 engine
- 12,000 Eur price

Also if you know some good agency to ask for prices and shipping.
Regards


----------



## Acestan

TRy this link for calculating car duty:
C:\Documents and Settings\Stanley Bateman\Desktop\Car dealers\Cyprus car reg\Cyprus customs fees for registering a car.mht

(If link doesn't work, Google Cyprus Customs & Excise)

And contact Nigel Cutler at Cutler Freight Forwarding, for a shipping quote.
[email protected]


----------



## briancy

I advise people not to bother and buy here in Cyprus as we did.


----------



## Acestan

Maybe so, but I can get cars from UK with around 20% discount off basic price, so importing a tax-free car and paying VAT in Cyprus makes good sense.


----------



## steveg63

Its not the VAT you pay but IMPORT TAX, worked out on the age, co2, engine and current mileage, to avoid this you have to have owned the car in the UK for at least 6 months.

Steve


----------



## Acestan

Hello Steve
If we buy a brand new, tax-free 1.4 car with CO2 emmissions below 120, and we bring it from UK to Cyprus, I don't see why they should charge inport tax. I know that they charge VAT, customs clearance, a registration fee, and even an MoT (on brand new cars!), but I wasn't aware of any import tax.


----------



## steveg63

Hi Acestan, use this link, CUSTOMS & EXCISE - Vehicles - Software for the calculation of the excise duty for vehicles,
just ran the quote for you and you would need to pay 527.80 euros to bring the car into Cyprus, unless you were 'retired' - no members of your family were taking up or intended to take um employment within Cyprus. On top of this you pay the VAT - providing you did not pay the VAT in the member state you bought the car from, if you pay the VAT in the UK you wont pay it again over here. 
Reg fee: 300 ish euro
MOT Fee: 50e I think
Road tax fee: dont know, not done this bit yet with ours, we have applied for duty free.

Steve


----------



## Acestan

Thanks Steve
Not sure how they get away with charging duty on a car imported from another EU country, but seems that they do what they like in Cyprus.
I pay around 100 Euros per year road tax for the car we have now, a Peugeot 206 1.6, so the 1.4 should be less.


----------



## Guest

Acestan said:


> Thanks Steve
> Not sure how they get away with charging duty on a car imported from another EU country, but seems that they do what they like in Cyprus.
> I pay around 100 Euros per year road tax for the car we have now, a Peugeot 206 1.6, so the 1.4 should be less.
> 
> The EU commission fines Cyprus every year a lot of money for doing this but they go on as long as the fees give more than they pay in fines. However I now read on some EU page that EU now want to keep some of the money Cyprus get from EU until they stop this fees. EU dont allow them because they are not paid by Cyprus citizens and that is discrimination.


----------



## steveg63

Acestan said:


> Thanks Steve
> Not sure how they get away with charging duty on a car imported from another EU country, but seems that they do what they like in Cyprus.
> I pay around 100 Euros per year road tax for the car we have now, a Peugeot 206 1.6, so the 1.4 should be less.
> 
> 
> 
> Hi, yes its wrong but they do it, we have been here since March and have still not registered our car, we are moving towards it but they wanted 4700e for our Zafira 1.8i on a 59 plate! met with a very nice customs man in Nicosia who is helping us get 'around' this!
> Yea we do a lot of vans, 100% in the UK.
> 
> Keep in touch.
> 
> Steve


----------



## Acestan

Thanks for info. Maybe by the time we bring in our car next year, they may have stopped imposing this illegal fee.


----------



## Annabel

*Very complex*

Hi I find it so helpful to know all this info...but its so involved I have trouble deciphering...is it worth bringing our Brit car to Cyprus it is a Rav 4 automatic Petrol.. 6 yrs old petrol... we are pensioners...or would it be better to buy a car in Cyprus are they expensive in comparison?

What would be the cost approx of shipping it etc and paying the duty in Cyprus

Thanks you helpful people 

Annabel




QUOTE=BabsM;75061]We often have questions on the costs of bringing cars to and re-registering them in Cyprus. We have just completed the whole process so I thought I would tell people how we did it and what we paid.

Our car is a Land Rover Freelander TD4 Automatic. It was originally registered the UK in Aug 2003. It had done over 140,000 miles. It would have had little value in England had we sold it and would have cost well over 10,000 Euros to buy here. As the container was coming anyway and had space in it, we brought the car. We wanted to register the car without paying the excise duty as we are both retired.

The container arrived in early May. The clearance documents were all completed by Burke Bros and MK Worldwide so I don't know what they involved, however the representative handed over quite a few documents when we went to customs to collect the car, whilst all we did was hand over the log book, our passports and our driving licences and sign a few documents. We were told that, until registration was complete, it must not be driven by anyone other than the owner & his spouse, we couldn't take it into Northern Cyprus and we couldn't sell or dispose of it. We paid 172 Euros to clear the car and the container.

We were given a yellow C104 form that had to be kept in the car. It gave us a month before we had to go to Nicosia to renew the form. To complete this document customs calculated how much time we had already spent in Cyprus over the last year and deducted that from a 6 month's allowance. This told us how long we had before the car could be re-registered. 

We went to Nicosia Customs Office a month later (June) with copies of all the documents we thought we needed to re-register the car. Maria, who does the re-registration, looked at the documents and identified what was missing. She gave us a document (in English) to complete when we came back. Then the registration department renewed the C104 and told us to return in early October, with all the documents, to complete registration. 

We then went back to Nicosia Customs Office in October with a large file of documents and the form. we sat with Maria for an hour or more as she went through and checked every document. She was looking for proof that we have lived, worked, paid utility bills and tax in the UK for over a year. She also looked for proof that we had moved our home and finances to Cyprus, that we were receiving pensions here and that we had started paying utility bills here. She required copies of our Cyprus bank statements, certified by the bank, to prove we had an income. She wanted to see our Alien Registration and our passports and the health card, in effect proof that we were now permanent residents of Cyprus. She wanted proof that we had owned, taxed and insured the car in England for the time that the log book showed that we had owned the car. This was for every year on the logbook showed, not just six months! In our case, we no longer had the insurance certificates for all years so she accepted copies of the insurance schedules. She had a document with lots of tick boxes, when she was satisfied that every box was ticked she told us that she would put the car forward for registration and that we should receive the papers in the post within a month. Believe me, every box had to be ticked! We had one box missing at one point and she wasn't going to accept the car but then I found the missing document.

Within the month, as promised, we received a letter saying that we had been granted exemption from excise duty and we could register the car. The document could be taken to a Customs office of our choice for the next step. We went to Larnaca Customs but they sent us to a clearance agent as we had to obtain a form E72. The agent sent us to the Department of Transport in Aradippou to get a certificate showing the CO2 emissions for the car. We misunderstood and thought we needed to get a CO2 test done, fortunately we didn't! We then took the form back to the clearance agent and waited for two days whilst she got the E72. When she got the form she called us, we had to pay her 109 Euros for completing it. 

We then took the car, the logbook & the emissions certificate to an MOT garage. It took about 3/4 hour to do the MOT and cost 34 Euros. As part of the MOT they check all the VIN numbers, and the engine number against the logbook and record the gearbox number. One problem we had here was that the garage couldn't find the engine number as the car is old and had years of salt over it... fortunately he managed to clean it enough to see it! We then had to take the car and the forms to the Department of Transport in Aradippou for a technical inspection, this was effectively a rubber stamp on the form as the MOT had only been done minutes earlier. Once the technical inspection was complete we went to the office to get the forms stamped and a registration number allocated. 

We then went to the Department of Transport with all the forms, our passports, alien cards and proof of address. The lady, who spoke good English, completed all the paperwork, relieved us of 850 Euros for the registration fee based on the size of the car's engine and the tax disk plus six euros for official stamps. If we had delayed registering our car we would have had to pay all the back road tax too!

We then had to take all the papers to a car accessories shop who made up and attached our new Cypriot number plates. This cost 20 Euros.

If you have any questions please ask away !

BabsM [/QUOTE]


----------



## Annabel

Hi I find it so helpful to know all this info...but its so involved I have trouble deciphering...is it worth bringing our Brit car to Cyprus it is a Rav 4 automatic Petrol.. 6 yrs old petrol... we are pensioners...or would it be better to buy a car in Cyprus are they expensive in comparison?

What would be the cost approx of shipping it etc and paying the duty in Cyprus

Thanks you helpful people 

Annabel


----------



## anski

Annabel said:


> Hi I find it so helpful to know all this info...but its so involved I have trouble deciphering...is it worth bringing our Brit car to Cyprus it is a Rav 4 automatic Petrol.. 6 yrs old petrol... we are pensioners...or would it be better to buy a car in Cyprus are they expensive in comparison?
> 
> What would be the cost approx of shipping it etc and paying the duty in Cyprus
> 
> Thanks you helpful people
> 
> Annabel


Hi Annabel,

We bought a Honda HRV Automatic 2002 with 60,000 km genuine mileage when we first arrived in Cyprus in September 2009 for €6,500 & sold it 1 year later to friends for €5,900 when we left Cyprus. We had the use of the car right up to the moment we left & they paid us cash a month before we left.
The vehicle never gave us a moments problem & drove it all over including across the border. Friends also had no problems since we left.
We bought it from a large car dealer in Limassol who knew the vehicle's history. PM me if you want his details.
So to answer your question I don't think it's worth the expense & hassle of shipping.


----------



## wheelmaniatuning

The Cyprus government are still breaking eu regulations by still charging people outrageous amounts of tax and duty when they bring there vehicles from the uk. Cyprus is now part of the eu and should simply charge for registering vehicles just as they do in Spain for example. Thay have been caught a few times and fined by the eu for illegally doing this. Unfortunately the fines are far outweighed by the money they are illegally making in charges. They will continually break eu regulations until the fines are more than the illegal charging. Iam surprised no one has touched on this subject.
To put it in laymans terms, I have a bar and charge 6 euros for a pint of beer.
I get warned that the maximum I should be charging is 3 euros. I get a fine of one euro per pint I have sold. I have broke the rules but Iam still 2 euros per pint in profit so I will continue to charge 6 euros. This is exactly the method the cypriot government are using with regards to vehicle imports.
Someone needs to take them to the european courts to stop this corruption


----------



## sjg-uk

We are arriving next week. I am importing a Merc 1.6 Kompressor . The import tax should be ok , just registration fees. I'm using an agent , so let's see how it goes ?
I'm told it will be ok on UK plates , then will be transferred onto Cyprus plates within 7-10 days !
Like I said , let's see ? 
I also wanted to bring over a Triumph Tiger , put because it's over 600cc , the import tax will be huge. 
Best advise is buy a car with under 1.6 engine with Kompressor or Turbo power and under 600 cc sports bike or quad bike. 
If anyone is interested on how the import and registration goes , just contact me.


----------



## Acestan

sjg-uk said:


> We are arriving next week. I am importing a Merc 1.6 Kompressor . The import tax should be ok , just registration fees. I'm using an agent , so let's see how it goes ?
> I'm told it will be ok on UK plates , then will be transferred onto Cyprus plates within 7-10 days !
> Like I said , let's see ?
> I also wanted to bring over a Triumph Tiger , put because it's over 600cc , the import tax will be huge.
> Best advise is buy a car with under 1.6 engine with Kompressor or Turbo power and under 600 cc sports bike or quad bike.
> If anyone is interested on how the import and registration goes , just contact me.


I'd be very interested in how it goes. Is the Merc new and UK tax-free, or used and UK tax-paid?


----------



## sjg-uk

I have now completed my import , everything went really well. My Merc is now on Cyprus plates.
The import clearing at Limassol , customs tax payment in Pafos , MOT , duty paid , inspections done and finally tax disc , Cyprus log book and number plates fitted , all in 10 days from arriving in Limassol ....absolutely great !
My import duty was only 451 euros !


----------



## Acestan

Hello SGJ
Yes please, I'd like a blow by blow account of what happened, if you have time.
/SNIP/
Stan Bateman


----------



## xabiaxica

sjg-uk said:


> I have now completed my import , everything went really well. My Merc is now on Cyprus plates.
> The import clearing at Limassol , customs tax payment in Pafos , MOT , duty paid , inspections done and finally tax disc , Cyprus log book and number plates fitted , all in 10 days from arriving in Limassol ....absolutely great !
> My import duty was only 451 euros !
> For details or advise on locating a car in the uk , please feel free to email me.


why not just post the info freely on the forum?


----------



## Acestan

Fine by me.


----------



## sjg-uk

Ok , here's the quick story , are you sitting comfortably , then I'll begin ;
From my home in Ukraine I desired to buy and send to my new property in cyprus a car. 
Saw a nearly new Mercedes on main wesite in uk , Mercedes UK ,
Spoke to sales manager , arranged price , paid bank transfer. 
They arranged delivery to Southampton ,
Agent there sent to Cyprus , cost about £450
Got call from shipping agent in Limassol to collect car , went over , met him in customs house , paid 600 euros.
Drove car away in 15 minutes.
Got papers to pay import duty etc in Pafos.
Went to Gwenny in Pafos , she arranged everything from there .
Paid import duty , 450 euros .
Then MOT'd car 34 eu.
Then inspection , paid 500 euros , to include road tax , number plates , fees etc etc.
Then same day , got back all papers etc . 
Total cost about 2000 euros on top of the purchase price !
Bloody great and really easy !
The whole thing took , 2 weeks for transport from UK , then less than 10 days to get registered and have plates fitted. 
Ok , I was in the motor trade for many years in the UK , but I have been out of the business for about 7 years now , so this shows that it wasn't really difficult for me. 
Secret is to do your homework and pay the specialists their fee. 
If anyone wants help , please contact me.


----------



## Acestan

*Breakdown of charges?*



sjg-uk said:


> ok , here's the quick story , are you sitting comfortably , then i'll begin ;
> from my home in ukraine i desired to buy and send to my new property in cyprus a car.
> Saw a nearly new mercedes on main wesite in uk , mercedes uk ,
> spoke to sales manager , arranged price , paid bank transfer.
> They arranged delivery to southampton ,
> agent there sent to cyprus , cost about £450
> 
> our shipper charge £495 to ship a mondeo from s'oton to limassol, so would appreciate name of your shippers, as merc is probably bigger than a mondeo.
> 
> Got call from shipping agent in limassol to collect car , went over , met him in customs house , paid 600 euros.
> Was this just customs clearance?
> 
> Drove car away in 15 minutes.
> Got papers to pay import duty etc in pafos.
> Went to gwenny in pafos , she arranged everything from there .
> Paid import duty , 450 euros .
> 
> Is this based on engine size?
> 
> Then mot'd car 34 eu.
> Then inspection , paid 500 euros , to include road tax , number plates , fees etc etc.
> 
> Seems a lot for road tax & plates. Can you explain the fees?
> 
> Then same day , got back all papers etc .
> Total cost about 2000 euros on top of the purchase price !
> Bloody great and really easy !
> The whole thing took , 2 weeks for transport from uk , then less than 10 days to get registered and have plates fitted.
> Ok , i was in the motor trade for many years in the uk , but i have been out of the business for about 7 years now , so this shows that it wasn't really difficult for me.
> 
> I've been supplying new, tax-free cars since 1979. My military customers in cyprus tend to do much of the work in cyprus themselves and save quite a bit in fees. Secret is to do your homework and pay the specialists their fee.
> quote]
> 
> my comments in BLUE BELOW your summary points above.


----------



## sjg-uk

Hi , are you going to spring bash ? , I'll tell you face to face , don't want moderator to think I'm touting for business !


----------



## Veronica

If you have nothing to hide why can't you share information on the forum like everyone else does?


----------



## sjg-uk

I think the detailed explanation I gave before was more than enough information , for people.
It was not rocket science , just a simple basic import of one car. Looking at the profile of the members on here , I thought all this was old news and boring to everyone. I don't want to come on here and be slated for telling you lot how to suck eggs !


----------



## Veronica

Everyone has a different experience, some have no problems at all while others have a nightmare. So it dosnt do any harm for people to give thier own experiences. 
But I agree it is all out there already. This is a long thread and if people want to the information all they have to do is read the posts. 
Your experience seems to have been very free of problems and I think that over the years it has probably got easier. 
When we came over 7 years ago, we were told it would cost us 7K in import duty to bring our 3 year old Mercedes so we decided not to bother.


----------



## sjg-uk

Veronica said:


> Everyone has a different experience, some have no problems at all while others have a nightmare. So it dosnt do any harm for people to give thier own experiences.
> But I agree it is all out there already. This is a long thread and if people want to the information all they have to do is read the posts.
> Your experience seems to have been very free of problems and I think that over the years it has probably got easier.
> When we came over 7 years ago, we were told it would cost us 7K in import duty to bring our 3 year old Mercedes so we decided not to bother.


My experience was very simple , mainly due to the fact that I paid experts to handle this for me. I used Gweeny from Red Tape Services . Gweeny and Cathy are fantastic , after arranging the MOT , inspections , duty payment , tax , number plates , etc etc . They even gave me back 215 euros , that was over paid. Absolutely superb ladies. 
Because I fully paid my duty , I am free to sell this Mercedes and do it again That's if I wanted too !


----------



## Guest

Hi all!

The registration fee for cars, is it also if you import a new car or only when you import an old one

Anders


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## Ostrav

*Importing Land Rovers fro uk*

Hello there....
I would like to know if you have any information about...
I am starting a Jeep Safari company in Cyprus and would like to import 3 land rovers defenders from London, do I have to pay custom duties, or not because it is in the EU.
If I do, do you happen to know what is the percentage being paid...
thank you






BabsM said:


> We often have questions on the costs of bringing cars to and re-registering them in Cyprus. We have just completed the whole process so I thought I would tell people how we did it and what we paid.
> 
> Our car is a Land Rover Freelander TD4 Automatic. It was originally registered the UK in Aug 2003. It had done over 140,000 miles. It would have had little value in England had we sold it and would have cost well over 10,000 Euros to buy here. As the container was coming anyway and had space in it, we brought the car. We wanted to register the car without paying the excise duty as we are both retired.
> 
> The container arrived in early May. The clearance documents were all completed by Burke Bros and MK Worldwide so I don't know what they involved, however the representative handed over quite a few documents when we went to customs to collect the car, whilst all we did was hand over the log book, our passports and our driving licences and sign a few documents. We were told that, until registration was complete, it must not be driven by anyone other than the owner & his spouse, we couldn't take it into Northern Cyprus and we couldn't sell or dispose of it. We paid 172 Euros to clear the car and the container.
> 
> We were given a yellow C104 form that had to be kept in the car. It gave us a month before we had to go to Nicosia to renew the form. To complete this document customs calculated how much time we had already spent in Cyprus over the last year and deducted that from a 6 month's allowance. This told us how long we had before the car could be re-registered.
> 
> We went to Nicosia Customs Office a month later (June) with copies of all the documents we thought we needed to re-register the car. Maria, who does the re-registration, looked at the documents and identified what was missing. She gave us a document (in English) to complete when we came back. Then the registration department renewed the C104 and told us to return in early October, with all the documents, to complete registration.
> 
> We then went back to Nicosia Customs Office in October with a large file of documents and the form. we sat with Maria for an hour or more as she went through and checked every document. She was looking for proof that we have lived, worked, paid utility bills and tax in the UK for over a year. She also looked for proof that we had moved our home and finances to Cyprus, that we were receiving pensions here and that we had started paying utility bills here. She required copies of our Cyprus bank statements, certified by the bank, to prove we had an income. She wanted to see our Alien Registration and our passports and the health card, in effect proof that we were now permanent residents of Cyprus. She wanted proof that we had owned, taxed and insured the car in England for the time that the log book showed that we had owned the car. This was for every year on the logbook showed, not just six months! In our case, we no longer had the insurance certificates for all years so she accepted copies of the insurance schedules. She had a document with lots of tick boxes, when she was satisfied that every box was ticked she told us that she would put the car forward for registration and that we should receive the papers in the post within a month. Believe me, every box had to be ticked! We had one box missing at one point and she wasn't going to accept the car but then I found the missing document.
> 
> Within the month, as promised, we received a letter saying that we had been granted exemption from excise duty and we could register the car. The document could be taken to a Customs office of our choice for the next step. We went to Larnaca Customs but they sent us to a clearance agent as we had to obtain a form E72. The agent sent us to the Department of Transport in Aradippou to get a certificate showing the CO2 emissions for the car. We misunderstood and thought we needed to get a CO2 test done, fortunately we didn't! We then took the form back to the clearance agent and waited for two days whilst she got the E72. When she got the form she called us, we had to pay her 109 Euros for completing it.
> 
> We then took the car, the logbook & the emissions certificate to an MOT garage. It took about 3/4 hour to do the MOT and cost 34 Euros. As part of the MOT they check all the VIN numbers, and the engine number against the logbook and record the gearbox number. One problem we had here was that the garage couldn't find the engine number as the car is old and had years of salt over it... fortunately he managed to clean it enough to see it! We then had to take the car and the forms to the Department of Transport in Aradippou for a technical inspection, this was effectively a rubber stamp on the form as the MOT had only been done minutes earlier. Once the technical inspection was complete we went to the office to get the forms stamped and a registration number allocated.
> 
> We then went to the Department of Transport with all the forms, our passports, alien cards and proof of address. The lady, who spoke good English, completed all the paperwork, relieved us of 850 Euros for the registration fee based on the size of the car's engine and the tax disk plus six euros for official stamps. If we had delayed registering our car we would have had to pay all the back road tax too!
> 
> We then had to take all the papers to a car accessories shop who made up and attached our new Cypriot number plates. This cost 20 Euros.
> 
> If you have any questions please ask away !
> 
> BabsM


----------



## Guest

First I assume you are not Resident of UK. Am I right?

If you are not you cant claim the change of Residency inside EU to be able to Get one car Exice Duty free

Then it get tricky. Following EU regulations, moving of goods inside the union should be free of charges

But it seem that Cyprus break this regulation so Cyprus Custom must be asked


----------



## Veronica

As posted yesterday by Algy.

Hi Guys,

Just to put the record straight re 'Illegal taxes' by the Cyprus Goverment.
I hear it daily. The most common version is the Govt gets fines each year for the illegal import duties but get more in revenue than the fine so continue to impose it. Sorry guys. Bullsh*t.

Let me say from the start. I do NOT agree with it, enjoy paying it or seeing others pay it BUT the facts is. It is legal.

How do I know for sure? I gave it a run thats how.

Sitting comfortably ( as stated by a fellow author on this thread). Jan 2010 I decided that I would deliberately give the system a run.

I imported my own BMW, my name was on the UK V5 registration document. It arrived in Limassol paid all other fees and then I refussed to pay the import fees. I allowed customs to seize my car and explained to the head of Limassol Customs what I intended to do. I allowed them the oppurtunity to withdraw. They didnt. I then paid the import fees and asked for receipts. I sent the documents and receipts which I insisted read import taxes on them and sent all to the EU Head of Customs in Belguim.

I copied in several other EU departments and my MP in the UK.

I received back a personal full 3 page letterfrom the head of department. It concluded that the taxes were legal and legally enforceable. I paid a 420 euro fine.

I also do see several guys asking re the 6x month rule. You do NOT have to own the car for importing from the UK into Cyprus for any stated time. The only time a time condition is applied is if you want the exemption as you are importing the vehicle as part of your personal possession as a permanent resident. HQ Customs Nicosia need to grant the exemption and I believe in that case yes you need to have owned the car for 6 months. Always best to check with them though as I do know some have done it without that condition. Generally if you want to register and not have any exemption then NO time limit applies.

Hope that helps a few

Algy


----------



## angela dobson

BabsM said:


> We often have questions on the costs of bringing cars to and re-registering them in Cyprus. We have just completed the whole process so I thought I would tell people how we did it and what we paid.
> 
> Our car is a Land Rover Freelander TD4 Automatic. It was originally registered the UK in Aug 2003. It had done over 140,000 miles. It would have had little value in England had we sold it and would have cost well over 10,000 Euros to buy here. As the container was coming anyway and had space in it, we brought the car. We wanted to register the car without paying the excise duty as we are both retired.
> 
> The container arrived in early May. The clearance documents were all completed by Burke Bros and MK Worldwide so I don't know what they involved, however the representative handed over quite a few documents when we went to customs to collect the car, whilst all we did was hand over the log book, our passports and our driving licences and sign a few documents. We were told that, until registration was complete, it must not be driven by anyone other than the owner & his spouse, we couldn't take it into Northern Cyprus and we couldn't sell or dispose of it. We paid 172 Euros to clear the car and the container.
> 
> We were given a yellow C104 form that had to be kept in the car. It gave us a month before we had to go to Nicosia to renew the form. To complete this document customs calculated how much time we had already spent in Cyprus over the last year and deducted that from a 6 month's allowance. This told us how long we had before the car could be re-registered.
> 
> We went to Nicosia Customs Office a month later (June) with copies of all the documents we thought we needed to re-register the car. Maria, who does the re-registration, looked at the documents and identified what was missing. She gave us a document (in English) to complete when we came back. Then the registration department renewed the C104 and told us to return in early October, with all the documents, to complete registration.
> 
> We then went back to Nicosia Customs Office in October with a large file of documents and the form. we sat with Maria for an hour or more as she went through and checked every document. She was looking for proof that we have lived, worked, paid utility bills and tax in the UK for over a year. She also looked for proof that we had moved our home and finances to Cyprus, that we were receiving pensions here and that we had started paying utility bills here. She required copies of our Cyprus bank statements, certified by the bank, to prove we had an income. She wanted to see our Alien Registration and our passports and the health card, in effect proof that we were now permanent residents of Cyprus. She wanted proof that we had owned, taxed and insured the car in England for the time that the log book showed that we had owned the car. This was for every year on the logbook showed, not just six months! In our case, we no longer had the insurance certificates for all years so she accepted copies of the insurance schedules. She had a document with lots of tick boxes, when she was satisfied that every box was ticked she told us that she would put the car forward for registration and that we should receive the papers in the post within a month. Believe me, every box had to be ticked! We had one box missing at one point and she wasn't going to accept the car but then I found the missing document.
> 
> Within the month, as promised, we received a letter saying that we had been granted exemption from excise duty and we could register the car. The document could be taken to a Customs office of our choice for the next step. We went to Larnaca Customs but they sent us to a clearance agent as we had to obtain a form E72. The agent sent us to the Department of Transport in Aradippou to get a certificate showing the CO2 emissions for the car. We misunderstood and thought we needed to get a CO2 test done, fortunately we didn't! We then took the form back to the clearance agent and waited for two days whilst she got the E72. When she got the form she called us, we had to pay her 109 Euros for completing it.
> 
> We then took the car, the logbook & the emissions certificate to an MOT garage. It took about 3/4 hour to do the MOT and cost 34 Euros. As part of the MOT they check all the VIN numbers, and the engine number against the logbook and record the gearbox number. One problem we had here was that the garage couldn't find the engine number as the car is old and had years of salt over it... fortunately he managed to clean it enough to see it! We then had to take the car and the forms to the Department of Transport in Aradippou for a technical inspection, this was effectively a rubber stamp on the form as the MOT had only been done minutes earlier. Once the technical inspection was complete we went to the office to get the forms stamped and a registration number allocated.
> 
> We then went to the Department of Transport with all the forms, our passports, alien cards and proof of address. The lady, who spoke good English, completed all the paperwork, relieved us of 850 Euros for the registration fee based on the size of the car's engine and the tax disk plus six euros for official stamps. If we had delayed registering our car we would have had to pay all the back road tax too!
> 
> We then had to take all the papers to a car accessories shop who made up and attached our new Cypriot number plates. This cost 20 Euros.
> 
> If you have any questions please ask away !
> 
> BabsM


Do you think it was worth all the trouble to get your car regd in Cyprus as i have a vw polo and want to take it with us in sept


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## Guest

If you meet the demands for taking it as personal goods you only have to pay for the transport. If its worth it depends ofc on the cars condition

Anders


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## Guest

I see it is a Polo. If it has a small engine and normal miles on the meter the tax will not be that high. The transport will probably be the biggest part


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## triggerhappykev

Not sure if this is the right forum, however there seems to be alot of wise chaps on here. What is to stop me buying a cheap transit van in the UK, jumping on the Grimaldi ferry from Southampton with van full of my non furniture possesions. i.e tv's, mac, dishasher etc. Arriving in Cyprus and delivering it to my new door. And then selling the Van? I've read in a few places that commercial vehicles i.e vans arn't liable to the import tax in Cyprus. Just a thought. Worked out that total cost of ferry for self and van from Southampton to be around 1500euros. Am I missing a trick when it comes to shipping?


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## Guest

If the car meet this conditions:

vans of tariff heading 87.04(vehicles for goods transport) having a gross weight exceeding 2032 kg and a net cargo space exceeding 2 m³

You should not pay excice duty so theoretically it should work.


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## triggerhappykev

Thanks for the prompt reply, just a little curious why people havn't done such a thing. Or maybe I just havn't seen the posts. In theory, as long as you don't mind roughing it a bit and don't mind reading lots of books, then a 13 day freighter trip could end up paying dividends.


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## Guest

I really think that people dont think in this way. I would do it but in the end its much work. Boat trip, selling car etc. But you would probably be able to go with your goods for free or perhaps even get a small profit doing it this way

Anders


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## Boltongirl

I have been searching this thread to see if my question has already been asked and answered but have only found someone else who asked the question - but I have not found the reply. We have arranged for our car to be shipped out to Cyprus to arrive the week after we do - it should be in Cyprus around the 10th of Sept. The problem is that the road tax runs out on 31st August.
Will it need a current GB tax disc for when it lands at Limassol or can we just register it on Cyprus plates strainght away? The MOT is current and will have 6 months to run.


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## terry&jane

You will need to remove your GB tax disc when you leave your car for shipping, and inform the tax office via the log book that you are exporting your car.
The GB MOT is invalid in Cyprus. You will have to get a Cypriot MOT done before you can register and tax the car with the Transport Dept.
The customs at the port give you 14 days to pay the duty and register the car,this can however be extended up to a maximum of 6 months.This has to be done through the customs office.
We found that Gwenny's Red Tape Services were very helpful, and saved us a lot of time, trouble and hassle with all the paperwork.

Hope this helps.


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## Boltongirl

Thanks for the reply. We thought (hoped) we would not need a current UK tax disc but wanted to be sure. One less thing to worry about. 
I don't know why I put in the post that our car has a 6 month UK MOT. I know from reading various other threads that it would need a Cyprus MOT, I must have been having a senior moment. We are coming over in Sept - too much to do- too little time to do it all in!!
I have seen lots of posts recommending Gwennys. Does she have an office in Paphos?


----------



## Guest

Hi!

Here is the homepage link

Car imports, Importation Duty, Car Registration, Customs and Excise, Passport Renewals, Driving Licences, Alien Cards, Immigration Permits, Paphos, Pafos, Cyprus

Anders


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## Boltongirl

Thanks for this.


----------



## lotuseater

Hi BabsM,
We're going to be moving to Cyprus and thinking of taking our 4 x 4. It's a Mercedes ML280. I read your lengthy account of taking your own car over. My god! I can't believe the stuff you had to provide especially where you said, "She wanted proof that we had owned, taxed and insured the car in England for the time that the log book showed that we had owned the car. This was for every year on the logbook showed, not just six months!" I mean, who keeps all that stuff? I usually dispose of old documentation as soon as the new certificates arrive. The process you described was horrendous! It gives me pause for thought.


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## Guest

The easiest way to deal with all this is to use Gwenna's Red Tape to sort it out.

And the ownership of the car more then 6 months before arrivel is not anyones business and I am sure if Gwenny is involved these questions will not be asked

Anders


----------



## lotuseater

Vegaanders said:


> The easiest way to deal with all this is to use Gwenna's Red Tape to sort it out.
> 
> And the ownership of the car more then 6 months before arrivel is not anyones business and I am sure if Gwenny is involved these questions will not be asked
> 
> Anders



Hi Anders,
Gwenny only deals with 'Red Tape' in the south. I'm trying to find the easiest way to get my car into the north.

I've been reading various posts on this forum, and the experiences people have had differ greatly. For some it's been a smooth ride while for others, an absolute nightmare....and this is for both the Turkish north as well as the Greek south!

I was over there two months ago and spoke to a couple who'd settled in TRNC several years ago - they ended up paying £6000 in import duty for their 4x4!! I'm not sure if the north operates a vastly different system to the south. It would seem so.


----------



## Guest

lotuseater said:


> Hi Anders,
> Gwenny only deals with 'Red Tape' in the south. I'm trying to find the easiest way to get my car into the north.
> 
> I've been reading various posts on this forum, and the experiences people have had differ greatly. For some it's been a smooth ride while for others, an absolute nightmare....and this is for both the Turkish north as well as the Greek south!
> 
> I was over there two months ago and spoke to a couple who'd settled in TRNC several years ago - they ended up paying £6000 in import duty for their 4x4!! I'm not sure if the north operates a vastly different system to the south. It would seem so.


But if it is the process of import to the north you want to know, you are sure on the wrong forum. I am sure the north have a different system if they have a system at all.

And the import duty for a 4x4 with big engine is not cheap in south either. Can be more then 6000n for a quite new car.


----------



## Guest

mikehump3 said:


> I wanted to know the latest info concerning importing a car, specifically into the Republic although had I seen a post concerning the North I would have noted and ignored it. So why am I reading about an argument about the housing and political situation in the island of Cyprus instead of about the latest info concrning car imorts. A moderator involved as well!!


There is no news about how to import a car to the Republic of Cyprus that I am aware of. So all can be read on goverment homepages


Anders


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## Chichero

I heard today on the radio that there is no more Import duty on used cars can anyone verify this ?


----------



## Guest

Chichero said:


> I heard today on the radio that there is no more Import duty on used cars can anyone verify this ?


Considering the economic problems Cyprus have and will have to cut very hard to get the bailout from EU I very much doubt that they will cancel a big income source like the Excise duty.
But the time for surprises is not over it seems if its true

Anders


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## clemberry

Shew !!!! ok i will not be bringing the car .....


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## h1bda00

*bringing a car back to cyprus*

I've searched the many posts on this topic, and couldn't find a previous answer to my particular car importation issue, so I'd like to see if anyone out there has any experience with this:

I bought a brand new car in Cyprus in 2006 from a dealer, so VAT and all duties / taxes were duly paid at the time.

In 2008, I left Cyprus to work in Luxembourg, and "exported" the car. It has been officially registered in Luxembourg, on Luxembourg plates since early 2008. I actually still have the original CY plates, but the Luxembourg authorities took my Cypriot issued title deed for the car (claimed they mailed it back to the CY authorities) and issued me a new one from Luxembourg. (All very easy to do by the way, very little paperwork, no taxes etc., exactly as it should be when moving within the EU).

Now, for various reasons, I am interested in bringing this car back to Cyprus to leave in Limassol for our many return visits to family. 

However, I obviously do not want to have to pay duty on a car, for which duty has already been paid. Has anyone ever done this before? Any info would be appreciated.

Also - is there currently any ferry option other than Grimaldi from Salerno?


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## Guest

This seem to be an impossible task, but perhaps a laywer can fix it. If not the excise duty is not very high on a car that old.

For the ferry, there is Salamis Lines from Athens/Lavrio to Limassol. 42 hours. And the "new" ferry are quite comfortable. You can also ship the car alone and fly over. Its also cheaper

Anders


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## MartynKSA

Hi Babs

I know it's a long time since you posted this, but she who must be obeyed plans to move to Cyprus this December, taking her car with her.

In your post, you mention "She had a document with lots of tick boxes". Were you able to get the form before you went to Nicosia Customs Office? If so, where from? There seems to be a lot of pitfalls (like evidence of Insurance for the time you've owned the car) that would be easy to fall into, especially if (like we are) you are using moving to Cyprus as an opportunity to de-clutter (for which read throw loads of old rubbish away!)


----------



## Guest

MartynKSA said:


> Hi Babs
> 
> I know it's a long time since you posted this, but she who must be obeyed plans to move to Cyprus this December, taking her car with her.
> 
> In your post, you mention "She had a document with lots of tick boxes". Were you able to get the form before you went to Nicosia Customs Office? If so, where from? There seems to be a lot of pitfalls (like evidence of Insurance for the time you've owned the car) that would be easy to fall into, especially if (like we are) you are using moving to Cyprus as an opportunity to de-clutter (for which read throw loads of old rubbish away!)


Hi!

If the car shoud be taken is as personal property from another EU countra then you can read here Import of Car as Personal Property

There is also the link to the form you are looking for


Anders


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## harveyfreedman

*Taking my Honda accord into northern Cyprus*

Hi 
I am moving to Northern Cyprus next March, and would like to know the procedures of importing my Honda Accord 2.4i, my wife holds a Turkish ID as she was born in Cyprus many years ago, with the fact that she holds this ID help us to smooth the way, and maybe reduce the costs of importation
Many thanks
Harvey


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## Guest

I am sorry but I doubt that you will get an answer in this forum. a wast majority of the forum members live in the Republic of Cyprus

Anders


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## harveyfreedman

Any idea were I may get an answer to my question


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## mike5111

Can anyone help and tell me is it the same to import a 650cc motorbike or is it easier.
we hope to move over early 2013


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## Guest

If you want to take it as personal property it is the same regulations as for a car.

If you just want to import it and pay excise duty you can calculate it here:
Cyprus Excise Duty for Motorbikes over 600 cc in Cyprus

Its over 600 cc so it will cost some small amount


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## Sequence

Is it still cheaper to import a car to Cyprus from the U.K.?


----------



## Guest

Sequence said:


> Is it still cheaper to import a car to Cyprus from the U.K.?


How do you mean. There is no difference in import taxes between UK and any other country

Anders


----------



## Guest

Many posts in many forums are about the illegal excise duty on cars that Cyprus charge when importing cars to Cyprus, new or old.

To find out the truth about this I contacted EU in Brussels to get an answer.

The fact is that EU has NEVER challenged the Duty, they have challenged that it was a difference between who could import a car duty free. For returning Cypriots all could get this tax free import as personal property, for other EU nationals it was only if you would not work or be involved in any economic activity you were allowed this. This law is now changed and everyone can get this taxfree car if you fill the criteria.

The confusion and rumors about this is many and live its own life.

However what Cyprus was dragged to EU court of Justice about was the Registration Tax. This tax could many times be higher then the value of the vehicle.

This is now changed and registration cost 150 € fixed fee for all vehicles.

Anders


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## mdekkers

Vegaanders said:


> This is now changed and registration cost 150 € fixed fee for all vehicles.


Do you have a source for this? We are taking in a car and two motorbikes, and are looking at a _lot_ of money to taker them in....

Many thanks!!

Martijn :ranger:


----------



## Guest

mdekkers said:


> Do you have a source for this? We are taking in a car and two motorbikes, and are looking at a _lot_ of money to taker them in....
> 
> Many thanks!!
> 
> Martijn :ranger:


Its 2 different taxes. There is a registration fee that is now fixed to 150 euro, and there is the excise duty that depends on vehicles age, mileage, emission, cc.

You can take in one vehicle per person if you meet the demands.

More here

Import of Car as Personal Property

In the menu you can also find a page where you can calculate the excise duty

Anders


----------



## mdekkers

Many thanks Anders, as always you are very well informed! The excise duty is what will get us, all 3 vehicles are on my name, so trying to work out with the agent in Cyprus what the best way is to get it all sorted for the least amount of money. 

I was wondering if the excise duty isn't in conflict with the free movement of goods...?

Thanks

Martijn :ranger:


----------



## Guest

mdekkers said:


> Many thanks Anders, as always you are very well informed! The excise duty is what will get us, all 3 vehicles are on my name, so trying to work out with the agent in Cyprus what the best way is to get it all sorted for the least amount of money.
> 
> I was wondering if the excise duty isn't in conflict with the free movement of goods...?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Martijn :ranger:


No that is a misunderstanding. There is a very live rumor that Cyprus pay a lot of fines because of this. But I have investigated and talked to some high ranked official in Brussels and they say that they have never criticized the duty, just that it was not for all EU members. That is now changed and EU is satisfied. 

EU took Cyprus to court about the registration fee that could be higher then the value of the vehicle before and Cyprus changed the law to the flat 150 € that it is today. Cyprus try to obey it seems.

For the moment they are in court for not implementing the new drivers licence decree that should be done latest in Feb this year. Because of this it is almost impossible to exchange a Cyprus drivers license to another EU country licence.

Check in my calculator on the web which car will cost most in duty and take that in as private property. 

The regulation gives some very strange results depending on the type of car. If you try to bring a 1 year old Range Rover with a 3.0 liter engine it can cost 19000 euro in Duty, but if you take in a twincab with the same specs it cost 700€. Thats why you see so many twin cabs here.

Correction. They did not really criticize the duty, they criticized that the personal property free import possibility was not for all EU citizens

Anders

Anders


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## mdekkers

Great, re the car/bikes, the agent is saying that Cyprus officials will take the lowest duty car as the personal import, making you pay for the higher duty vehicles. I am thinking of keeping the highest duty vehicle on my name, and transferring the lower duty vehicles to my wife's name - as she wouldn't have "owned" the vehicles for over 6 months, she would have to pay duty on both, meaning we duck the high duty, as that will be mine to take in.


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## Guest

mdekkers said:


> Great, re the car/bikes, the agent is saying that Cyprus officials will take the lowest duty car as the personal import, making you pay for the higher duty vehicles. I am thinking of keeping the highest duty vehicle on my name, and transferring the lower duty vehicles to my wife's name - as she wouldn't have "owned" the vehicles for over 6 months, she would have to pay duty on both, meaning we duck the high duty, as that will be mine to take in.


That is a very good idea! But I doubt that they can choose like that. It must be your choice. But be prepared, it is a lot of paperwork. We just gave up and paid the duty, it was 60 euro on my old passat

Anders


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## mdekkers

Thanks - our agent in Cyprus is dealing with it all.


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## Guest

It seems that Cyprus once again act totally insane!

From the 9 of September the Excise Duty is increased for some types of cars with 2,5 time.

A Honda CVR 2.0 now cost 4400 € instead of 1800 €. INSANE.

No one can soon afford to buy a car here. Perhaps should start to sell donkeys

Anders


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## ya1956

BabsM said:


> We often have questions on the costs of bringing cars to and re-registering them in Cyprus. We have just completed the whole process so I thought I would tell people how we did it and what we paid.
> 
> Our car is a Land Rover Freelander TD4 Automatic. It was originally registered the UK in Aug 2003. It had done over 140,000 miles. It would have had little value in England had we sold it and would have cost well over 10,000 Euros to buy here. As the container was coming anyway and had space in it, we brought the car. We wanted to register the car without paying the excise duty as we are both retired.
> 
> The container arrived in early May. The clearance documents were all completed by Burke Bros and MK Worldwide so I don't know what they involved, however the representative handed over quite a few documents when we went to customs to collect the car, whilst all we did was hand over the log book, our passports and our driving licences and sign a few documents. We were told that, until registration was complete, it must not be driven by anyone other than the owner & his spouse, we couldn't take it into Northern Cyprus and we couldn't sell or dispose of it. We paid 172 Euros to clear the car and the container.
> 
> We were given a yellow C104 form that had to be kept in the car. It gave us a month before we had to go to Nicosia to renew the form. To complete this document customs calculated how much time we had already spent in Cyprus over the last year and deducted that from a 6 month's allowance. This told us how long we had before the car could be re-registered.
> 
> We went to Nicosia Customs Office a month later (June) with copies of all the documents we thought we needed to re-register the car. Maria, who does the re-registration, looked at the documents and identified what was missing. She gave us a document (in English) to complete when we came back. Then the registration department renewed the C104 and told us to return in early October, with all the documents, to complete registration.
> 
> We then went back to Nicosia Customs Office in October with a large file of documents and the form. we sat with Maria for an hour or more as she went through and checked every document. She was looking for proof that we have lived, worked, paid utility bills and tax in the UK for over a year. She also looked for proof that we had moved our home and finances to Cyprus, that we were receiving pensions here and that we had started paying utility bills here. She required copies of our Cyprus bank statements, certified by the bank, to prove we had an income. She wanted to see our Alien Registration and our passports and the health card, in effect proof that we were now permanent residents of Cyprus. She wanted proof that we had owned, taxed and insured the car in England for the time that the log book showed that we had owned the car. This was for every year on the logbook showed, not just six months! In our case, we no longer had the insurance certificates for all years so she accepted copies of the insurance schedules. She had a document with lots of tick boxes, when she was satisfied that every box was ticked she told us that she would put the car forward for registration and that we should receive the papers in the post within a month. Believe me, every box had to be ticked! We had one box missing at one point and she wasn't going to accept the car but then I found the missing document.
> 
> Within the month, as promised, we received a letter saying that we had been granted exemption from excise duty and we could register the car. The document could be taken to a Customs office of our choice for the next step. We went to Larnaca Customs but they sent us to a clearance agent as we had to obtain a form E72. The agent sent us to the Department of Transport in Aradippou to get a certificate showing the CO2 emissions for the car. We misunderstood and thought we needed to get a CO2 test done, fortunately we didn't! We then took the form back to the clearance agent and waited for two days whilst she got the E72. When she got the form she called us, we had to pay her 109 Euros for completing it.
> 
> We then took the car, the logbook & the emissions certificate to an MOT garage. It took about 3/4 hour to do the MOT and cost 34 Euros. As part of the MOT they check all the VIN numbers, and the engine number against the logbook and record the gearbox number. One problem we had here was that the garage couldn't find the engine number as the car is old and had years of salt over it... fortunately he managed to clean it enough to see it! We then had to take the car and the forms to the Department of Transport in Aradippou for a technical inspection, this was effectively a rubber stamp on the form as the MOT had only been done minutes earlier. Once the technical inspection was complete we went to the office to get the forms stamped and a registration number allocated.
> 
> We then went to the Department of Transport with all the forms, our passports, alien cards and proof of address. The lady, who spoke good English, completed all the paperwork, relieved us of 850 Euros for the registration fee based on the size of the car's engine and the tax disk plus six euros for official stamps. If we had delayed registering our car we would have had to pay all the back road tax too!
> 
> We then had to take all the papers to a car accessories shop who made up and attached our new Cypriot number plates. This cost 20 Euros.
> 
> If you have any questions please ask away !
> 
> BabsM


Hi


Appreciate all the details we are moving to Northern Cyprus.
Would you say you saved money and it was worth bringing you car rather than buy when over.
Thanks


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## Guest

ya1956 said:


> Hi
> 
> 
> Appreciate all the details we are moving to Northern Cyprus.
> Would you say you saved money and it was worth bringing you car rather than buy when over.
> Thanks


This only covers the Republic of Cyprus, not the occupied part, that is not an EU member

Anders


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## David_&_Letitia

Vegaanders said:


> This only covers the Republic of Cyprus, not the occupied part, that is not an EU member
> 
> Anders


Anders,

What would your answer be if it was the RoC we are talking about? (This is pertinent to me).

1. Is it financially advantageous to buy a new car in Cyprus, or to import a 'new' (but owned for minimum of 6 months in UK) car as personal property?

2. Is it financially more viable to buy a* nearly new* (ie less than 2 years old) car in Cyprus, or to import as personal property?

Clearly, in each case, the cost of shipping ,registration etc etc needs to be taken into account...


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## Guest

David_&_Letitia said:


> Anders,
> 
> What would your answer be if it was the RoC we are talking about? (This is pertinent to me).
> 
> 1. Is it financially advantageous to buy a new car in Cyprus, or to import a 'new' (but owned for minimum of 6 months in UK) car as personal property?
> 
> 2. Is it financially more viable to buy a* nearly new* (ie less than 2 years old) car in Cyprus, or to import as personal property?
> 
> Clearly, in each case, the cost of shipping ,registration etc etc needs to be taken into account...


For me it depends on when this is done, and what car it is. If it is done before 01-01-2014 when the new registration fee kick in then I think its a good business to import as personal property in both cases.

After this date it can be more economic to buy a car in Cyprus if it is already registered here. The new registration fee can be a heavy burden, and will affect both cars bought here and imported ones.

Cars that is very interesting even after the change will be cars that have low emissions. Cars up to 120 gr/km will be registered without a fee.
The road tax for the same car will be 60 @ per year.

The difference in pricing between UK and Cyprus seem to be in favor of UK even including the costs to get in on the roads of Cyprus
Anders


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## David_&_Letitia

Vegaanders said:


> For me it depends on when this is done, and what car it is. If it is done before 01-01-2014 when the new registration fee kick in then I think its a good business to import as personal property in both cases.
> 
> After this date it can be more economic to buy a car in Cyprus if it is already registered here. The new registration fee can be a heavy burden, and will affect both cars bought here and imported ones.
> 
> Cars that is very interesting even after the change will be cars that have low emissions. Cars up to 120 gr/km will be registered without a fee.
> The road tax for the same car will be 60 @ per year.
> 
> The difference in pricing between UK and Cyprus seem to be in favor of UK even including the costs to get in on the roads of Cyprus
> Anders


Thanks Anders.

I drive an eco friendly car (Suzuki Splash) which emits less than 120 gr/km. In the UK, road tax costs £30 per year tax and I get 70 miles per gallon out of it (diesel). We don't move to Cyprus until later next year. As I do many miles per annum here but do not expect anywhere near the same after I retire, I was considering whether it would have been worthwhile buying the same car here 6 months before moving and importing the car as personal property or whether to wait until we arrive and buy it new. I ddin't realise that low emission cars were not subject to a registration fee. 

We are coming over next week for 2 weeks in Polis, so I guess that I need to find a garage and get a price for a new Suzuki Splash or similar car and compare that with the price in UK plus shipping costs to get a definitive answer.


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## coop1949

*cars*



BabsM said:


> We often have questions on the costs of bringing cars to and re-registering them in Cyprus. We have just completed the whole process so I thought I would tell people how we did it and what we paid.
> 
> Our car is a Land Rover Freelander TD4 Automatic. It was originally registered the UK in Aug 2003. It had done over 140,000 miles. It would have had little value in England had we sold it and would have cost well over 10,000 Euros to buy here. As the container was coming anyway and had space in it, we brought the car. We wanted to register the car without paying the excise duty as we are both retired.
> 
> The container arrived in early May. The clearance documents were all completed by Burke Bros and MK Worldwide so I don't know what they involved, however the representative handed over quite a few documents when we went to customs to collect the car, whilst all we did was hand over the log book, our passports and our driving licences and sign a few documents. We were told that, until registration was complete, it must not be driven by anyone other than the owner & his spouse, we couldn't take it into Northern Cyprus and we couldn't sell or dispose of it. We paid 172 Euros to clear the car and the container.
> 
> We were given a yellow C104 form that had to be kept in the car. It gave us a month before we had to go to Nicosia to renew the form. To complete this document customs calculated how much time we had already spent in Cyprus over the last year and deducted that from a 6 month's allowance. This told us how long we had before the car could be re-registered.
> 
> We went to Nicosia Customs Office a month later (June) with copies of all the documents we thought we needed to re-register the car. Maria, who does the re-registration, looked at the documents and identified what was missing. She gave us a document (in English) to complete when we came back. Then the registration department renewed the C104 and told us to return in early October, with all the documents, to complete registration.
> 
> We then went back to Nicosia Customs Office in October with a large file of documents and the form. we sat with Maria for an hour or more as she went through and checked every document. She was looking for proof that we have lived, worked, paid utility bills and tax in the UK for over a year. She also looked for proof that we had moved our home and finances to Cyprus, that we were receiving pensions here and that we had started paying utility bills here. She required copies of our Cyprus bank statements, certified by the bank, to prove we had an income. She wanted to see our Alien Registration and our passports and the health card, in effect proof that we were now permanent residents of Cyprus. She wanted proof that we had owned, taxed and insured the car in England for the time that the log book showed that we had owned the car. This was for every year on the logbook showed, not just six months! In our case, we no longer had the insurance certificates for all years so she accepted copies of the insurance schedules. She had a document with lots of tick boxes, when she was satisfied that every box was ticked she told us that she would put the car forward for registration and that we should receive the papers in the post within a month. Believe me, every box had to be ticked! We had one box missing at one point and she wasn't going to accept the car but then I found the missing document.
> 
> Within the month, as promised, we received a letter saying that we had been granted exemption from excise duty and we could register the car. The document could be taken to a Customs office of our choice for the next step. We went to Larnaca Customs but they sent us to a clearance agent as we had to obtain a form E72. The agent sent us to the Department of Transport in Aradippou to get a certificate showing the CO2 emissions for the car. We misunderstood and thought we needed to get a CO2 test done, fortunately we didn't! We then took the form back to the clearance agent and waited for two days whilst she got the E72. When she got the form she called us, we had to pay her 109 Euros for completing it.
> 
> We then took the car, the logbook & the emissions certificate to an MOT garage. It took about 3/4 hour to do the MOT and cost 34 Euros. As part of the MOT they check all the VIN numbers, and the engine number against the logbook and record the gearbox number. One problem we had here was that the garage couldn't find the engine number as the car is old and had years of salt over it... fortunately he managed to clean it enough to see it! We then had to take the car and the forms to the Department of Transport in Aradippou for a technical inspection, this was effectively a rubber stamp on the form as the MOT had only been done minutes earlier. Once the technical inspection was complete we went to the office to get the forms stamped and a registration number allocated.
> 
> We then went to the Department of Transport with all the forms, our passports, alien cards and proof of address. The lady, who spoke good English, completed all the paperwork, relieved us of 850 Euros for the registration fee based on the size of the car's engine and the tax disk plus six euros for official stamps. If we had delayed registering our car we would have had to pay all the back road tax too!
> 
> We then had to take all the papers to a car accessories shop who made up and attached our new Cypriot number plates. This cost 20 Euros.
> 
> If you have any questions please ask away !
> 
> BabsM


hi babs, can you tell me if it is cheaper to buy in the uk and ship to cyprus or buy equivalent car incyprus.... coop


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## Guest

coop1949 said:


> hi babs, can you tell me if it is cheaper to buy in the uk and ship to cyprus or buy equivalent car incyprus.... coop


Much of the info in the original post is outdated. Also there will be very big changes 01.01.2014. But if you have a car that you have owned for 6 months or more and you will bring it here this year, it is probably cheaper to bring it with you

Anders


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## Veronica

I think in view of the fact that much of the information on this thread is so much out of date it is time the thread was closed and a new one opened.


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