|
Tax free importation
Anyone, EU or non-EU, moving to Spain to take up official residence gets a break if they want to bring with them a car they already own.
This car will be exempt from import duties, from Spanish WA of 16 per cent, and from Spain’s own special registration tax of 12 per cent or 7 per cent, a noteworthy saving of 28 per cent.
If the vehicle has less than 1600 cubic centimetres, the special tax is only seven per cent. The 7 per cent also applies to diesel vehicles under 2,000 cubic centimetres.
For Europeans, of course, there are no duties in any case, but for other nationalities the exemption from Spain’s 10-per cent import duty comes in handy.
The conditions for the exemption are that you must have owned the car for at least six months, you must have paid VAT in the country of origin and you must obtain a certificate of baja de residencia, a certificate of non-residence, from the country you are leaving.
Some nationalities can obtain this certificate from the town hall where they live. It can also consist of a declaration made to the Spanish consulate in your home country, declaring your intention to leave your residence and reside officially in Spain. Or you can make the declaration to your own consulate inside Spain after you arrive, stating that you are taking up residence in Spain.
The consulate will then issue the certificate, allowing you to apply for tax-exempt importation of your car.Warning: Procedures to import a car this way must be started within one month from the date of issue of the residence permit. Be careful here because you may very well receive your actual r~esidence permit, which you must present, several months after the issue date stamped on it
Really, it is best to apply for the car exemption at the same time you apply for your residence card. Because of this complication and the rest of the red tape involved in this application, you will need the services of an expert gestor, but it can be done.
Even without paying any taxes, the procedure will cost you around €700 for the various papers involved.
Remember that any concession on the duty-free import of cars applies only to people who take out an official residence permit. Such persons have always been able to import their household effects and furniture into Spain free of duty (see section on “Importing Your Possessions”), but automobiles formerly were not included.
|
