My experience importing a car from germany to switzerland....

Transportation, Travel and Trips
81
Hi everybody and thank you Bobo for this post. May I ask you more in depth detail about the documents you have to show at the German custom?

To be more precise as long as I know there are different kinds of export documents (T2, etc.), which one were you given? Does this document have to be signed also at the custom office of the dealer's town?

Can one make this process also at another border? Such as at an Austrian or Italian custom office?

Furthermore, of course one has to check what are the opening hours of customs, right? What if one finds the custom closed?

82
Any main German dealer will know exactly what papers are required, you can make a temporary import then declare/pay at your local customs office within 48 hours of crossing the border.

If the customs is closed.........well you didn't check very carefully, did you !

83
And you will have to leave it in Germany until they open the next working day.

BTDT.

Tom

84

hope this won't happen! where did you check opening hours?

http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs...me.jsp?Lang=en

here right?

85
I had to do it bringing a motorcycle back from Italy, left it overnight in Gaggiolo.

Fortunately, my wife lived 100m on the Swiss side, and we were friendly with a bar in Gaggiolo with a gated parking lot who let us park the car, bike, and trailer there and walked to her place (I was too lazy to separate the car, and it was dark out as it was February).

The normal customs was open, but the commercial customs was closed, and vehicles (as well as anything over EUR 600 in the case of Italy) have to pass through the commercial customs.

Tom

86
So to give the end of the story, in case somebody would have a similar case later.

In summary, i wanted to bring a company car that i used when working at a company (i do not own it) in Germany to CH. The questions was 1) can i get my German VAT back and 2) do i have to pay Swiss import tax.

1) I had to pay German VAT and the leasing company that manage our company cars didnt want to return me the VAT. So No

2) I contacted the Swiss custom office and they were extremely helpful. They said if one can prove he/she has *used* the car for more than 6-months, doesnt have to *owned* it (could be company car like mine or borrowed car from parents, etc...) can bring the car in as household goods and pay no tax. the car only has to be declared as in this site: http://www.ezv.admin.ch/zollinfo_privat/04381/04382/04383/index.html?lang=en

My proof was a confirmation of the company that i have been using it for more that 6 months.

So the process was:

- I bought an export license plate (Ausführkenzeichen) in Lörrach with insurance on it. Costed 30mins ( includes asking more than 5 random people to borrow a screw driver to remove my old license plates as i didnt know i have to do it)

- Drove to Basel custom on A5 highway, stamped the household export form at the German counter. Moved 2meters to the Swiss import counter. Gave my household form, two car papers and company confirmation to a nice lady. She prepared everything and gave me back a set of documents with the form 13.20A on top. She told me just give the set to the car office where i live. Costed 20mins and CHF20,-

- 3 weeks later, I bought car insurrance. Then on a friday i went to Fahrzeugkontrolle in my kanton, gave them the document set. They asked when would i like to do the MFK test, i told them next Weds. On Weds I washed my car (then a bird sh*ted on it on my way back from the wash station, no joke!!!), came to their office, they took my car, did some tests then said everything is ok then sold me license plates. The total time was 45mins, CHF245,-

Now I should install my license plates but i dont know how to do it yet (probably I will google it)

In short im really happy with the efficency of all officers who involved in the process. They are all extremely helpful and kind.

87
May I confirm the steps as follows, as I collected from reading this thread:

- Step 1: Purchase car with German dealership, get the export plate with temporary insurance on it (best to get 2 weeks)

- Step 2: Go to German border. Hand the papers the dealership had prepared to German customs. Wait for German customs to give them back after stamping export form.

- Step 3: Go to Swiss border.

• Hand in all the paper to Swiss customs

• Receive the set of documents back with the form 13.20A on top

• Pay 4% of the purchase price (without VAT) and then another 8%. You also have to pay 60CHF for the admin fee

- Step 4: Buy insurance

- Step 5: Go to car registration office (Fahrzeugkontrolle), give them the document set and make an appointment for MFK (car inspection) test

- Step 6: Take the test, then get new plate

- Step 7: Contact the dealership after you registered the car (Step 3). Send them the necessary paper and get your VAT pack

If anyone can let me know if these steps are correct would be much appreciated, especially Step 7. Also I'd like to know how long it took you to get your VAT back from the dealer? Did you post the registration paper to the dealer or you have to go back there? Also I'd like to check how they repaid the VAT? Was it via bank transfer?

Thanks

88
1) quite likely you may need more than 2 weeks if Swiss test is delayed a little, best to take 1 month to be sure, as with 2 weeks, once the 14 days are up, you can no longer drive the car.

3) Best to use a customs broker, there are plenty at the border, to prepare papers, costs Chf 150-200.-- for about 10 minutes work, but without them, it's a giant headache; pay and smile.

7) The customs send the papers electronically to the big dealers, Merc, BMW, VW group who centralise all this. Took 12 days, money is refunded to the account where it came from

89
Hi,

Just to share some more of my experience. In the meanwhile, while trying to get back the VAT in Romania, they said that this cannot e done because Switzerland is not in the EU... I will try at other authorities but just a head's up.

90
The VAT has nothing to do with Swtzerland being in the EU, exactly the opposite, as if Switzerland was in EU you certainly could not claim VAT back.

You have exported the vehicle outside of the EU, so it should have been sold without VAT, providing of course, your seller was VAT registered and agreed to refund the VAT via an export document.

91
Hi guys, sorry for reviving this old post, but there is anywhere where I can get around how much would it cost to import "X" car?

92
From Germany, -19% VAT into Switzerland, + 4% car tax + 8% VAT + Chf 150 for customs broker to do paper, + eventual CO2 tax is car is less than 6 months old from first registration

93
Thing is, who says how much your car is worth as a base price to charge those %?

94
Bill of sale. Custom relevant depreciation in 6 months is zero.

95
If the customs don't think the receipt matches the true value of the car in Switzerland they will research the value - and tax based on that.

Ask BB2 for details

96
It's on your invoice and if you think you can be cute importing a Chf 200k car with an invoice for Chf 100k, the customs will see it, and then levy the taxes on their estimation of the car...

Plus of course the fine for fraud and tax evaision, and, yes, in general they know moe tricks that you.

97
And for used cars there is the Schwake-Liste, Eurotax, Kelly Blue Book, Parkers etc.

98
There is a Eurotax price for a Ferrari 250GTO???

99
Of course there is . This is Switzerland after all... My guess it would be pretty close to 55m CHF.

100
My question comes since, Im thinking on moving to Basel due to a job offer, problem comes when i just bought a 350z '06 (no Ferrari here, just a lovely and reliable japaneese car) from UK, planning to bring it here to Spain to then import it, and then move in 3 months to Basel to then re-import it again wouldnt make much sence to spend so much cash... what you think guys?

Btw, thanks for all the previous answers!