Are you considering buying a new electric car and are you attracted to models from China? This is not surprising, as Chinese electric cars are cheap, fast, stylish and also have a great power reserve. However, what if you live in the European Union? This is not a problem, because individuals can self-customize a Chinese electric car (new and used) in the EU.
In this article we want to take a closer look at the process of customs clearance and registration of cars from China on the Polish territory. We have prepared a guide, which will be useful to read to learn the features and pitfalls.
China's dominance in the electric vehicle market
It remains a mystery to most people today why Chinese electric cars are literally crowding European cities. BYD, Geely, Zeekr, JAC – these are all Chinese brands of electric cars that you may have already seen in EU countries. According to official statistics, China is confidently leading in the production of vehicles with electric batteries. All this was the reason for several important factors.
The first is the cheap production of batteries (the main component for EV cars). Such batteries are made from lithium. China has one of the largest reserves of this material. That is why about 80% of all batteries in the world are produced in this country. China also independently provides itself with other components that are necessary for the assembly line production of electric cars. And certainly – demand, as huge sales volumes allow manufacturers to set low prices.
All you need to know about customs clearance of Chinese cars in Europe for individuals
Customs clearance of Chinese cars in Europe is quite a complicated process. To avoid additional costs or problems, we divide this process into several stages. You can import a car from China to any country of the European Union. As an example, we will talk about Poland in this article.
1. Primary customs clearance in Lithuania
![[object Object]](https://images.ctfassets.net/o5pzd75oy6c1/5gEuTO8uAVp8r76UgHJZPp/561077e7893e9ffdb5d5ec89605b704f/Lithuania.jpg)
No matter which country you need to ship your Chinese electric car to, we recommend starting the whole process in Lithuania. Why this country? First of all, it is one of the few countries where you can get transit license plates to legally move your car to other countries. Such transit license plates are usually issued for a period of 3 months, after which you should get permanent license plates by registering your car.
And so, you have to deliver the car from China to Lithuania and go through the clearance process. For this purpose, VAT (21%) is applied, as well as import duties (10%) and additional fees for new cars (35.5%). Also, don't forget to prepare the necessary documents, including proof of car purchase (it can be an invoice). In this case, the CoC certificate for a new car will not be needed for its clearance. However, everything depends on the specific case. Nowadays, there are legal tricks to avoid this. You should also consider that cars from China are delivered in different ways: by land, railroad connection and even air flights. For example, if you want to deliver a car by sea to Lithuania, then the best option for you is the Klaipeda port. Cars will take longer to be delivered to other ports.
2. Re-clearance in Poland
![[object Object]](https://images.ctfassets.net/o5pzd75oy6c1/tG5sCgyxeQdwRhBfXcTHh/6f1e9116bffb6c92c2385e6c9edc56d1/custom_poland.jpg)
After you have cleared your new electric car from China in Lithuania, you have received transit license plates. This means that you can freely transport it to any of the European Union countries. Next, you need to clear the car within the EU - in the country where you live. We will take Poland as an example. In order to re-clear the car in Poland, you will need the following package of documents:
Passport of the owner or company. A new one, not the one on which the original customs clearance was made. This is necessary so that you can obtain a hamolgacja certificate. Simply speaking, the vehicle is considered second-hand, so it is legally required to pass technical inspection.
Documents for the vehicle (sales contract or invoice).
Customs declaration obtained during customs clearance in Lithuania.
Proof of payment of taxes and fees.
Once all documents have been submitted, the re-clearance procedure takes only a few days on average. The owner receives authorization to register the vehicle without additional excise taxes.
How do Chinese electric cars get registered in the EU?
The next point is the official registration of a car from China on Polish license plates. Here you may face various difficulties, so we recommend reading this article to the end.
Registering an electric car from China in the EU is a step where you will need to provide a СoC certificate. Nothing special, however, some Chinese manufacturers do not provide this certificate or give it partially. What to do in such a case? You need to go to a special institute where your car will be fully checked for compliance with European norms and requirements. You can even call specialists to make all measurements and tests on the spot.
You need to submit the documents to one of the organizations. We recommend contacting Pimot Lukasiewicz because we already have certificates for many cars thanks to this organization. After certification and approval by Pimot, the collected documents are submitted to the Ministry of Transport of Poland Transportowy Dozór Techniczny (TDT) and in a month you receive an official document, which is quoted for domestic or European roads. Documents are prepared both in English and local language thanks to the Geneva Convention. In our case, the documents are prepared in English and additionally in Polish.
Estimated time and costs
Duty for issuing an EU vehicle type approval certificate. Its maximum cost can reach 1,600 PLN.
Duty for amendments to the EU vehicle type approval certificate. The cost is not more than 400 PLN.
However, that is not all. Before that, you need to close all the nuances to the institute that conducts the certification. There can also be several of them, where each is responsible for specific tasks. That is why the final cost of the certification procedure can reach the cost of a new car.
![[object Object]](https://images.ctfassets.net/o5pzd75oy6c1/7oFQ069fpaTaubDrFZ4Hte/4141acb65213449ee27d17ca65f1a505/custom_clearence.jpg)
What about the timing? Let's assume that the Chinese manufacturer did not provide you with any data, so the whole process will start from scratch. In this case, the whole process may take you about 6-9 months. Note that we are talking about a private car, i.e. the M1.
What tricks can you use?
As you may have already realized, importing a new car from China to Europe on your own is quite expensive. European authorities are trying to save local manufacturers, so they raise rates on cars from China and introduce anti-dumping regulations. However, there are still some real ways to save money when clearance of a car from China and it is realistic if you understand the process.
New/old vehicle. As we mentioned above, the additional duties only apply to new vehicles. If your vehicle is considered used, you are exempt from additional taxes (10+35.3%).
Specified vehicle value. Imagine if you buy a car for 100 thousand dollars and you have to pay about 50% of taxes. To save money, the official price of the vehicle is significantly understated, so you pay less customs duties and taxes.
These methods are utilized by many people who bring cars from China for personal use. This will save you a considerable amount of money in customs clearance and registration.
A real example of customs clearance and registration of a car from China
So, above we have told a lot of information about the peculiarities of customs clearance and registration of cars in the EU imported from China. For many people, this may seem quite a complicated topic, so we decided to consider a real-life example with specific prices. We propose to take as an example an electric car of Geely brand, which is based and manufactured in China. Its declared cost is 20 thousand euros. Let's calculate all the costs:
VAT payment - EUR 4,200 (20,000 × 0.210)
Customs payment (CŁO) - 2,000 euros (20,000 × 0.1)
Transit license plate issuance - about 200 euros
Registration fees - about 150 euros (including license plates and technical passport)
Technical inspection - about 100 euros
As a result, the total cost for this vehicle is €7,120. If you are considering bringing Chinese electric cars to Europe for further sales, you should read the article about the WVTA certificate to find out the current rates.
Customs clearance for dealers
![[object Object]](https://images.ctfassets.net/o5pzd75oy6c1/3v2Jr6i9D3oosHMCNPDaAW/93bb2954b1973b170b213f1a58ce2e99/dealers.jpg)
Many people are wondering how to become a dealer for reselling Chinese electric cars in the EU. Of course, the scale is already big here, so you need more resources and opportunities. To date, the dealer model of the Chinese manufacturer is radically different from others. Already this year you will see a huge number of BYD cars, because their business model is organized differently. But we will not tell in this article how their business works, but will tell you by example how cars are imported to Europe.
As we pointed out earlier, there is dumping, which reaches up to 35+%. Therefore, in order to have an official VAT and registration of a new car at the dealer's company, he has a contract with the manufacturer. Based on the list at this link: https://ec.europa.eu/tran.. (274-276 pages). The TARIC numbers are there, those companies and holdings that allow for price dumping.
For example, in the case of Geely, it will be 18.8%. Based on the cooperation agreement with one of these companies, you perform customs clearance according to the collateral procedure. In other words, you pay all the fees and taxes and can receive the goods. The only nuance is that you will need to bring in this case a certificate of CIC for customs within a year with the possibility of extension. With the certificate in hand, the customs will confirm the full customs clearance, and then you can go to Urząd Transportu to register the car. As you can see, the processes are changing dynamically every day. Today, there are also solutions to transfer a car at an adequate price for personal use or for resale. We wish you luck in your business activities!
Where to get help with Chinese car registration in Europe?
Dreaming of a new or used electric car from China? This is a great decision, as cars assembled in China are a bargain compared to their European counterparts. However, bringing in a car on your own and getting it cleared can be quite a daunting task. You can get professional help from aksis agents who have dozens of realized cases. We will advise you, help you to understand the tax peculiarities and pass customs clearance without any problems. Contact aksis to get your dream electric car sooner!
