Taking my LHD UK Plates car to Spain

Hi All,

Ok!

Purchased a LHD car here in the UK on the 4th of June this year. It is a 2002 BMW on British plates and was 1st registered in France and then re-registered in the UK a year later.

We are moving to Spain at the end of the Month and the car will be on Spanish soil from the 1st December, therefore I will have owned the car for almost six months prior to it's arrival in Spain.

Now I have read all the posts in this section of the forum about re-registering the car onto Spanish plates, however I just want to check my facts:

If I re-register the car within ONE month of becoming a Spanish resident AND at the POINT of becoming a Spanish resident I have owned the car for OVER SIX MONTHS, then I don't have to pay the matriculation tax as I can classify the car as a 'personal possession'.

However, is there a time limit after which the car has been imported into Spain in order to do this, as I have heard it can take some time to get your Spanish Residencia sorted out?

Good question. I think your "facts" are correct, but I must say, I've never actually heard of anybody successfully re-registering a car without paying the matric. tax. It will be very interesting to hear if you manage it! You may need professional help to deal with it. As for how long it takes to get your residencia, maybe this is the catch - they make sure you  can't comply with all the requirements to avoid the tax! But I would think that the application for your residencia should be sufficient? Presumably you already have an NIE? And anyway, since doing away with residency cards for EU citizens, the new green certificate which replaces it should be issued immediately at your local foreigners office / national police station.

Hi Roberto,

Yes! We already have or NIE's. had them for well over two years now.

Thanks for the quick reply, I thought I had got it rought, just wanted tio check.

Well, if I manage to save the matriculation tax, I'l  let everyone know.

Hi

I "imported" a left hand drive car on English plates and have re-registered it. The point that the authorities say you entered Spain is when you get your Padron. If you register within 60 days of getting your Padron then you only pay the matriculation. Unless you speak good Spanish it is worth getting a company to do it for you. The cost of the ITV, Spanish MoT, the paperwork, number plates etc. will be in the region of 500€ plus the matriculation.  If you are in the Alicante/Murcia area drop me a line and I can let you know the name of the  company I used.

Good luck

And if you don't register it within 60 days, what else do you pay? I'm confused dot com.

I do not know exactly what the import duty is but I think it is 12% of their value of the car. Gets a bit painful at that rate. However so long as the car is fully legal in the country of plating then it is legal here. That means tax, MOT and insurance. However as a RESIDENT you are not allowed to own a foreign plated car. Welcome to the paper chase in Spain.

That Import Duty you are talking about is I believe the Matriculation Tax that we are talking about.

For cars over 2.0l in Engine size it is 12%, however under that I believe iit is 8% and is based on the current value of the car.

I'm not 'Importing' a car as I 'Own' the car and am moving to Spain, so therefore I can classify the car as part of my 'Personal Possesion's' when I move to Spain.

Therefore, If I get the timing right, I shouldn't have to pay this tax!?!

Appologies. The import tax is now called matriculation tax and it is based on the CO2 emmissions of your car. It is on a sliding scale depending on these emmissions. As  said if you re-plate the car within 60 days of "entering" Spain then you do not pay this tax as it is p[art of your household possessions.  However you might need to get a document form the British Consulate that states that you have just brought the car here. This "letter" costs 158€!!!!. and takes 10 minutes for them to issue it. All that happens is you state that you have just driven the car over. We think the Spaniards are good at ripping us off but the UK authorities are nearly as bad. Once again it is advisable to get a specialist to do this for you and the costs will be in the region of 500€ for everything, except for the equilivant of road tax.

No apoologies needed buddy

I wasn't sure of my facts, that's why I asked the 1st question and am very greatful for your input.

Thanks from the info from you and Roberto, I think that I MAY be able to get away without paying the Matriculation tax, but we shall see!

So, it looks like I have to re-register and re-plate the car within 60 days of entering Spain, at which time I will have owned the vehicle for more than 6 months. However I can ONLY do so if I am at that time a Spanish Resident and I have my Residencia!?!

I think Roberto was right when he said confused dot com - and then some !?!?!

Now the other question is, the Mrs wants us to drive over in her RHD car, as it's bigger and more room for the dog, so therfore I was going to have MY LHD car sent over with the removals company who are taking all our other stuff. As I'm not driving the car over, and it is coming over with all my other possesions, and I've owned the car for almost 6 motnhs, I'm pretty sure this still means that I can declare the vehicle as part of my possesions and not that I am buying the car AFTER getting to Spain and therefore Importing it!

PS. Also, I purchased the car on the 04th June and it won't arrive with the removals company until 5th December. So, does the date of arrival go from when it arrives with me in Spain and I sign for the delivery or does it go by the date the transporter arrived on Spanish soil?

Hi

Just to clear up another misunderstanding. Resident status has absolutely nothing to do with re-plating a car. The documents you need are a PADRON which you obtain from your local town-hall and its free!!!!!. This states that you are living at the address you say you are. Although the pardon lasts forever, when you use it to buy a car for example, or register one, it needs to be under 3 months old. As a word of advice do not get this until you are ready to re-plate the car because this is the “proof” as to when you came to Spain. It does not matter how the car gets here as to whether you pay the tax on it. If you have a pardon and it is over 60days old then you have to matric your car.

Good luck

Ok!

So, if I get my Padron within say 2 or 3 weeks, and then apply to re-register the car,  as I already OWN the car and have done so for more than 6 months prior to obtaining the padron, then I won't have to pay the matriculation tax!

I think this is getting even more confusing.

1) "The import tax is now called matriculation tax"; when was it called import tax????? There is, and never has been, import tax charged when bringing goods from another EU state. Matriculation, or registration, tax is charged on ALL cars when first registered in Spain.

2) the tax used to be based on engine size, and charged on the depreciated value of the vehicle. It is now based on the CO2 emissions instead:

CO2 emission of less than 120g/Km = 0% of the vehicle value

CO2 emission of between 120-160 g/Km = 4.75% of the vehicle value

CO2 emission of between 160-200g/Km = 9.75% of the vehicle value

CO2 emission of more than 200g/Km = 14.75% of the vehicle value

3) As far as I know, anyone with an NIE can register a car in Spain, so I don't think you necessarily need either residencia or padron.

4) Although I have heard about this exemption rule if you re-register within ??days, it is unclear as to whether it applies to the time from when you arrived in Spain, or when you officially became a resident. Also, as I mentioned before, I've never actually heard of anyone avoiding paying this tax on this basis, and don't really understand why you would be allowed to, since matriculation tax is charged on all cars when first registered in Spain. I wonder, in fact, if it does actually apply to import duty, which would be charged if bringing a vehicle from outside the EU. I will try to find out.

5) The padron is not proof of when you arrived in Spain, since you can get it at anytime. Nor is it proof of when you became a resident - some town halls in fact happily issue padron certificates to non-resident property owners (maybe they shouldn't, but they do!) So even if there is an exemption available for newly arrived residents, I don't think the padron is likely to have any significance.

Hey, Techno......I bet you wish you never asked?!

I was told by one of the many companies who register vehicles that I only need a Padron and copy of my UK passport to register my car.........nothing else.

You would need proof of ID - passport would do that. And something with your NIE - padron would have that.

Was told that I don't need NIE number for Padron??

Hi TechNoApe

I'm in exactly the same position as yourself ... I will be making enquiries within the next couple of weeks.

I too understand that if you bring the car with you from UK as your personal possession (and you have owned it for 6 months)and register it when you register yourself, the matriculation cost is around 500 euros.

I am already in Manilva and have had a recommendation for a local person who may be able to help ... apparently he can deal with everything for a small fee (?) ... I will post further details here as and when I receive the information ....

I look forward to hearing how you get on, because there seems to be so much confusion and contradictory opinions on ths issue. Nobody has yet posted with actual recent experience. (I "imported" a car 11 years ago at the same time as becoming a resident, but I hadn't owned it for more than 6 months, so cannot say whether the tax would have been waived had I owned it more than 6 months).

There seems to be equal confusion over the padron. I think the "rules" vary from one town hall to another. Some have encouraged non-resident foreigners to sign on, in order to secure extra funding from central govt., but I'm doubtful as to the legitimacy of this. My understanding of it, is that it is a census of the actual population living in the town. On my certificate, it has the following statement: Este documento tiene carácter informativa en relacion con la residencia y el domicilio habitual en este municipio. To me, that says that the document is for information purposes in relation to the residence and habitual domicile in this municipality. That last bit surely means you must be resident in Spain, and if you are resident in Spain, you must have an NIE. Perhaps you do not need to provide it at some town halls in order to sign on the padron, but I cannot understand why they would not require proof of your residency status. On the other hand, I have heard that some foreigner departments won't issue the new residency certificate until you are signed on the padron. It's the old chicken and egg conundrum. Perhaps Maria can enlighten us all?

I "imported" my car a little over a year ago.

I had owned it for over a year prior to that and did not pay any import duty on it.

The only spanish paperwork that I needed was my NIE and a recent copy of my padron.

At that time I had not completed the residencia process - having said that I had not even started the process when I signed on the padron.

Again, "import" duty is not charged when bringing goods from another EU state. Do you mean you paid NO taxes or fees to re-register your car on to Spanish plates? No registration fee?

The only fees I paid was for the ITV (MOT) and a pro rata annual road tax.