Importing cars into North Cyprus

Lady Penelope


Joined: 24/07/2007
Posts: 12

Message Posted:
09/05/2011 18:34

Would be grateful for some confirmation about the latest regulations about importing a vehicle from the UK, as I have looked through several threads and am still a little unclear.



I have a 5 1/2 year old car in the UK, owned from new, which is in good nick and very low mileage. I asked at the customs office today, and got the import taxation costs, from their glass's guide, which were pretty reasonable because of the "low market value" of the car.



However, they couldn't clarify if the car would be too old now that it has passed the 5 year mark. Was directed to the trade office, but unfortunately managed to get a bit lost trying to find this place in Nicosia, so came home without an answer



Can anybody help??



Thanks all

fiendishpaul


Joined: 18/05/2008
Posts: 1720

Message Posted:
09/05/2011 18:52

Lady Penelope



My undertanding is that if you have owned the car from new then the age of the car is immaterial. That said, rules here change on a whim and can literally change overnight. I would recommend that you confirm anything with both the customs and trade offices and wherever possible get the confirmation in writing.



I don't suppose your car is a pink Rolls Royce ?? I trust Parker is well.



Regards



Paul

rowlo



Joined: 12/10/2008
Posts: 4796

Message Posted:
09/05/2011 19:41

for a v reg peugot 206 , they wanted 5k , sell your car at home and buy when you get over .

wanderer


Joined: 05/02/2009
Posts: 1653

Message Posted:
09/05/2011 20:01

owned from new imported 2003 Fiesta 23,000 miles from new under £1500 import duty paid in June 2010 Imported sept 2009 ( petrol not diesel ) Road tax was 600 tl for first time registration still cheaper than hiring for 18/20 weeks a year

£650 for the ferry to Cyprus for the car

Jonesy299


Joined: 07/02/2009
Posts: 367

Message Posted:
10/05/2011 19:15

Lady Penelope



Are you able to say what vehicle you were bringing over (make / spec / year of registration) / Glass' Guide price quoted by customs and the import tax you were quoted (just need to compare with my own grand plan for a private vehicle import).



Thanks in advance

cyprusharv


Joined: 16/12/2008
Posts: 423

Message Posted:
11/05/2011 08:02

Yes you can import your car but you must meet the criteria (coming here to settle, haven't been here more than 6 months in the last 12, house contract etc). Don't forget there are other cost too...... shipping, agents costs, registration fee, road tax, emission test etc. You will not be able to sell the car for 2 years (min.) once its in your name and only you and spouse to drive for this period.



The decision is yours!



I can guide you through if you need help (small fee).



Harvey

dwr6rtr


Joined: 15/12/2008
Posts: 95

Message Posted:
11/05/2011 08:25

message 6: i believe that the ruling for eligible drivers in the first two years after importation of the vehicle is that any driver must have the surname of the importer. that is what i was told by my insurer when my 10 year old car was brought here in october 2010.

judyr


Joined: 07/07/2009
Posts: 956

Message Posted:
11/05/2011 08:36

Hi, I imported mine just 2 weeks ago and no problems whatsoever. I have owned mine from new and it will be 6 years old at the end of the month. Mine is a Peugeot 206cc, 1.6 petrol engine, 22,000 miles and very good condition hence me wanting to import it. I paid a total of £2650 in duty and a further 800TL for the registration and road tax, 25TL for the emissions test and 150TL for the runner to do all the paperwork. I thought it was well worth it when you look at the price of second hand cars here with no real knowledge of the history. Also because your car is over 5 years you can claim a further 12% discount - you need to ask at the trade office when you get your permission to import. Good luck!

Chegwin


Joined: 24/03/2009
Posts: 775

Message Posted:
11/05/2011 10:02

judyr

Now that was a good answer.

Thanks.

That should help Lady P.

Jarnac


Joined: 23/11/2010
Posts: 60

Message Posted:
11/05/2011 16:02

judyr - this sounds really positive - please can you let me know where you start with the import and contact details for your runner would be greatly appreciated.

carian


Joined: 13/03/2009
Posts: 336

Message Posted:
11/05/2011 17:13

Judyr, are you sure about the discount? We imported ours and it was classed as new from the date of import and its only this year (the 6th time ) that when we taxed it it had gone down as it was over 5 years old even though it is actually nearly 13 years old. I realise that its a long time since we imported ours but wouldn't like you to go and tax your car next time and its more than you expect.

judyr


Joined: 07/07/2009
Posts: 956

Message Posted:
11/05/2011 17:37

Yes I am sure about the discount. First of all we went to the customs office and saw the person who actually values the car. He is in a large office open plan office at the end of the corridor. He looked through the Glasses guide and wrote down a price - I am assuming that this was the "quoted" sum of 40% of the book value but couldn't see which figure he was using. He then gave me an additional figure which I now know was the cost per cc of the engine size. It is a certain amount per CC depending on your engine size and whether it is petrol or diesel. I can't recall what mine was and all the paperwork was retained by the registration office. but t. I looked at the figure and said it was too much and asked if he could make it less and laughed! This is when he said that when I go to get permission to import the car at the trade office I can ask for 12% discount and he told me that would reduce the cost by a further £185.

Went to the trade office with all supporting documentation

judyr


Joined: 07/07/2009
Posts: 956

Message Posted:
11/05/2011 17:45

and asked about the discount. At first she said I was not eligible but then she realised the car was 5 years old and she confirmed my entitlement to the discount, although she said 10%.

Back to customs and then engaged the services of a runner. I do not have his contact details but there are a few that hang around at the entrance. I found our guy particularly helpful and he also said if we need any further help to come back to him. The only way I can describe him is short, stocky, cropped hair with a kind of a goaty, if that helps! From then on he did the rest and came back with a figure to pay and sure enough it was £185 less than the previous quote.

I hope this helps.

cypgab


Joined: 09/01/2010
Posts: 338

Message Posted:
11/05/2011 19:24

Excellent thread, nice to see the board working as it should.

Is there an age limit to cars - VW polo 2 years old when bought and now 10, but very reliable.

judyr


Joined: 07/07/2009
Posts: 956

Message Posted:
11/05/2011 20:33

Gosh I can't help you with that one, sorry but I don't think they worry about it being reliable. This has to be the first MOTwhere I have just pulled up at the "garage", told to park up outside the office and go in while he completes a form. That was the MOT. Now I know why some of the cars are still on the roads here!!!

Lady Penelope


Joined: 24/07/2007
Posts: 12

Message Posted:
11/05/2011 23:06

Thanks everyone for your helpful replies, sorry for the delay in coming back to you, as have been travelling back to the UK, unfortunately not via pink rolls royce!!



My car details sound very similar to JudyR: it is a 2005 (55 reg) Renault Megane, 1.6 petrol, only 25,000 miles and in good condition due to Lady P's own careful driving. The customs man went through the glass's guide and came up with a value of £2,950, and then wrote down a whole series of calculations of the various % taxes due and another for the engine cc related duty which produced a total of £2,360



Thanks for the useful snippet about the discount, will certainly ask about that, should I be able to find my way to the trade office on my next visit in a couple of weeks. Can anyone give me some directions, or tell me what the building is called, bearing in mind I do not know Nicosia very well??

Lady Penelope


Joined: 24/07/2007
Posts: 12

Message Posted:
11/05/2011 23:10

I must also tally up all of my days in and out of the country as I don't want to fall foul of that rule either.



Still sounds like it could be worth my while going to a bit of trouble, given the prices I have been quoted for 2nd hand cars in the showrooms round Nicosia.



Thanks so much for your help everyone



Lady P

negativenick


Joined: 10/11/2008
Posts: 6023

Message Posted:
12/05/2011 06:17

mess 8 - judy you have truly been tucked up old girl...



why should you pay to import your own car ??



and 150tl to a runner...



you have got a lot to learn about the trnc...............

LaptaGeezer


Joined: 01/06/2010
Posts: 407

Message Posted:
12/05/2011 07:24

Nick, do you sit and wait for the thread placer to get their answers and get to the point of being happy before dropping in your pathetic attempt at bringing them down! If you don't have anything useful to say, which could of course be positive or negative, then perhaps you should keep it all to yourself!

judyr


Joined: 07/07/2009
Posts: 956

Message Posted:
12/05/2011 07:37

I would have said I have learned a lot about the TRNC - to pay £2620 (not £2650 as quoted before) to bring in my reliable car with full service history and a genuine 22,000 miles on the clock rather than pay c £9000 for the equivalent here and have no idea what it will have been through!



Oh ...... and less of the "Old Girl"!





Lady P - you did well. So with the discount that should bring it down to £2200 all in - well worth it don't you think?! ...... and you now have a nice drive down too...

Jarnac


Joined: 23/11/2010
Posts: 60

Message Posted:
12/05/2011 16:09

Thanks Judy R = we are going to start it next week and now have clearer idea thanks to you.