How do I know? The friendly cops who just controlled me told me so...
Ok, I just tried to read the customs website and I just didn't find what I am looking for. I am currently driving a car on German plates which is not my property (but my dads). I've been told that I can drive this car for up to a year in Switzerland by which time I'd have to properly import it and register it. If it's just temporary do I apparently still need some sort of paper work from the customs called "Zollbescheinigung". If you don't have those you are in trouble... but the customs website is all about importing and taxing, I cannot find anything about a temporary "Bescheinigung"...
What residency permit are you on L, B, C etc, how long have you been in Switzerland and from which country was your licence issued?
Yes, you have to declare it, even if not in your name. Just re-export it before the year of your residency is up (not that it's been in the country for one year).
The other possibility is to declare it as a temporary import, for up to three days at a time, max 12 times in a year.
All irrelevant.
Tom
So I basically go to the customs at the border, tell them I want to import the car although I don't own it or happen to have a purchase contract about it?
I am European, so I got a B.
I am here for a few months. But since it's not my car... why would that matter?
Why would my license matter? (It's already transferred to a Swiss one)
Depends.
For how long do you plan to use it?
Tom
For the first 12 months after your B permit was issued you can drive a foreign car with customs permission. Form costs about 20 CHF (or did 21 years ago)
Less than a year. Just a temporary solution.
"It's irrelevant. You have to declare it." :P
Actually it is not. Even I got so far: If it's over a year do you need to be on Swiss plates. Up to a year on foreign plates is ok (although this clearly worked like a magnet on the cops that just controlled me, so I am considering to expedite my car purchase plans...).
Then you have to do the first of the two options I gave (and which FMF also stated), i.e. declare and use it for up to a year after your arrival date, and then re-export it, but you cannot simply use it for 12 months without declaring it!
If you only borrowed it max 12 times a year for a couple days at a time, there is the other option, but that won't work in your case.
It works the same way for EU residents withing to use CH registered vehicles in the EU.
It residency and place of registration of the vehicle that matter, not which license or nationality you have.
Tom
My missus was driving her German plated car around for about 3 years in Switzerland without issue. She even got pulled over once or twice in that time period by the police and got told the same as you though the police never bothered following it up. Car was also registered in her dad's name.
Guess the point is, yes you probably should do as what's been said already though you most likely could carry on doing nothing and get away with it.
Yeah I was taking the piss.
You do not have to own something to import it.
You will need Form 15.30 from customs, which permits use of the vehicle w/o paying duty.
Depending on permit, and for how long you have been in Switzerland already the permited useage period can be anywhere from 3 days up to 2 years.
Usage of the vehicle w/o Form 15.30 may lead to prosecution by customs and to a penalty of up to 4 x (~12%) of cars value.
Well, I know several cases who did the same. But again: if that paper costs me 20 CHFs... that's money well invested given how fines in CH typically look like.
So is this something I can do the next time I cross the CH border or does this cost me some days running from one office to another?
Exactly. The info is here. See also the PDF document on the right.
http://www.ezv.admin.ch/zollinfo_pri...x.html?lang=en
There is written there nothing about 12 times per but does mention several times "The temporary use of foreign private vehicles by persons resident in Switzerland is prohibited in principle."
If you're on a C permit you're unlikely to qualify for "foreign worker". If you still had a (valid) German licence you could probably do the old "I'm on holiday" thing.
Classic case: The son of a resident of Muralto CH lives in Italy, and borrowed dad's Swiss-plated car to go back to Italy one weekend. He was stopped, car was confiscated, and a EUR 1000 fine, equal to 20% of the value of the car, paid.
http://www.varesenews.it/2012/03/tor...abbando/94998/
Tom
I'd strongly advise against it. They know with one phone call whats up. This isn't the 80s anymore... I know cause I have seen it today.
Beeing a resident here, you should have indeed stopped at the border and declared it.
https://www.admin.ch/opc/de/classifi.../index.html#a7
Zollgesetz Art. 7, 9. 118 and others
Zollverordnung Art. 35 (Where the 3 days x 12 are mentioned)
https://www.admin.ch/opc/de/classifi...index.html#a35
Only tourists can drive through w/o any formalities.
Are you sure what Trev intends is legal?
If it was his car (owned abroad for a certain amount of time, 12 months if memory serves) AFAIK what you are talking about would be ok.
But it's his dad's car. I may be wrong of course, but AFAIK residents must not drive foreign plated cars in CH (a few exceptions apply, none matches here).
So if Trev registered residency here and drove his dad's foreign plated car (with or without change in ownership) it would be illegal. OTOH driving it here without him registering his residency would be legal. No?