Query re. UK VAT refund on a Euro-sourced LHD T6.1

Corradobrit · May 15, 2021

Not sure if this is best sub forum to ask this question but seems as good as any. A little background. I currently live in the USA and will be moving back to Europe in Sept/Oct, around the time my T6.1 is supposed to be delivered. Dealer is Campers.eu in Amsterdam. They provide the Cali free of taxes and documentation, insurance etc for 7 days, after which time I'll be required to register the Cali in my country of residence and pay the VAT. Not sure where that will be at this moment in time. So Plan B, assuming thats not established at time of delivery, is to register it in the UK (I have UK and US citizenship), using my parents address and pay taxes etc in UK. Question is now that the UK is a Third Country with respect to the EU post-Brexit, if I find a job in Europe (hopefully France, Italy, Spain or Portugal) and need to register the Cali in that country I will have to pay EU VAT too from what I understand. Question is can I request a refund of the UK VAT paid and if so, what is the time limit when the vehicle is exported out of the UK?

Tarquers · May 16, 2021

Not sure if this applies but you may be able to avoid paying VAT if you export from U.K. within a period of time, see here.
I suspect like most things Brexit at the moment, going to be hard to get a definitive answer. Have you looked into registration in the EU? I found I did not need to have residence in Poland to register a new car, just some basic docs easily obtained. I know this won’t work in Germany however so rules differ. May be worth asking campers.eu to store it as a demo until you can register? Good luck.

Loz · May 16, 2021

Are you saying that you will pay the vat in EU then import to UK

Corradobrit · May 16, 2021

Loz said:
Are you saying that you will pay the vat in EU then import to UK

No. If I register the Cali in the UK I will not need to pay EU VAT. If I re-export it back to Europe it will require a change of registration and EU VAT will be due. So I'm trying to figure out the best way to avoid double dipping. I'll get some definitive advice from Camper.eu closer to the time of delivery at the dealership.

Corradobrit · May 16, 2021

Tarquers said:
Not sure if this applies but you may be able to avoid paying VAT if you export from U.K. within a period of time, see here.
I suspect like most things Brexit at the moment, going to be hard to get a definitive answer. Have you looked into registration in the EU? I found I did not need to have residence in Poland to register a new car, just some basic docs easily obtained. I know this won’t work in Germany however so rules differ. May be worth asking campers.eu to store it as a demo until you can register? Good luck.

Not sure if that applies to a vehicle purchased in the UK and then exported. Plan B is buy in Europe, register in UK and then more than likely export back to the EU.

Tarquers · May 16, 2021

Corradobrit said:
Not sure if that applies to a vehicle purchased in the UK and then exported. Plan B is buy in Europe, register in UK and then more than likely export back to the EU.

Worth reading as it talks about deferring the need to pay VAT which implies bought outside and imported. In the good old days (2020) importing into the EU was VAT exempt if you owned the vehicle for more than 6 months, it has more than 5,000 km and you don’t sell for 12 months. I am in process of bringing a jeep from Dubai to Poland under these rules so would imagine same applies.

WelshGas · May 16, 2021

Corradobrit said:
Not sure if that applies to a vehicle purchased in the UK and then exported. Plan B is buy in Europe, register in UK and then more than likely export back to the EU.

As far as I am aware VAT is only payable on 1st Registration. So if you import into UK, without having paid EU VAT. you will have to pay UK VAT on Registration. If you subsequently move to a EU country with your vehicle you are in fact importing a 2nd Hand vehicle that has already been registered in the UK, so no EU VAT is payable, but there maybe time and milage conditions, just the cost of registration.

However, be aware you may not be able to import a LHD vehicle and get it registered without some additional costs eg: Headlights, fog lights being changed to UK requirements. Can be expensive.

If the vehicle is registered in the EU, EU VAT paid, then you can bring the vehicle to the UK, as a tourist would. for an extended period without having to register it or make any lighting changes. However, insurance could be problematic from a UK company, not because it is LHD but the fact it is not registered in the UK. You would have to have EU Insurance which might have length of stay conditions attached.

Tarquers · May 17, 2021

WelshGas said:
As far as I am aware VAT is only payable on 1st Registration. So if you import into UK, without having paid EU VAT. you will have to pay UK VAT on Registration. If you subsequently move to a EU country with your vehicle you are in fact importing a 2nd Hand vehicle that has already been registered in the UK, so no EU VAT is payable, but there maybe time and milage conditions, just the cost of registration.

However, be aware you may not be able to import a LHD vehicle and get it registered without some additional costs eg: Headlights, fog lights being changed to UK requirements. Can be expensive.

If the vehicle is registered in the EU, EU VAT paid, then you can bring the vehicle to the UK, as a tourist would. for an extended period without having to register it or make any lighting changes. However, insurance could be problematic from a UK company, not because it is LHD but the fact it is not registered in the UK. You would have to have EU Insurance which might have length of stay conditions attached.

This is not correct. The EU classify a car as “new” if it has less than 6000 kms and VAT will be payable, regardless of if VAT has been paid in the U.K.

WelshGas · May 17, 2021

Tarquers said:
This is not correct. The EU classify a car as “new” if it has less than 6000 kms and VAT will be payable, regardless of if VAT has been paid in the U.K.

As I said in my post above " but there maybe time and milage conditions " . It all depends on how long the vehicle is kept and used in a non-EU country before importing into the EU.