Import terms, explained

B Bakkie

The South African word for a pick-up truck, single or double cab. South Africa builds and buys them in large numbers.

Bakkies and 4x4s

C CDS Customs Declaration Service

HMRC’s system for declaring goods coming into the UK. Our in-house customs agents use it to declare your car and work out the duty and VAT.

What it costs

Classic rate

A car over 30 years old, in original condition and of historical interest, can qualify for no import duty and 5% VAT instead of 10% duty and 20% VAT. HMRC conditions apply.

Classic cars

Customs value

The figure duty and VAT are worked out on: what you paid for the car plus the cost of shipping and insuring it to the UK.

Rand, pounds and the value we declare

D Dedicated container

A 20ft shipping container to yourself. It is usually chosen by people relocating, because the car can travel with their household goods.

Shipping from South Africa

DVLA Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

The UK agency that registers vehicles and issues number plates. We register imported cars through our dealer-level account, usually in around 10 working days.

IVA, MOT and registration

E eNaTIS electronic National Traffic Information System

South Africa’s national vehicle register. The car’s record there is part of the paperwork before it can be exported.

South African export paperwork

H Historic vehicle tax class

A car built before 1 January 1986 can go into the historic vehicle tax class; the date moves on a year every 1 April. Built more than 40 years ago, a car also needs no MOT before it is registered.

Classic cars

I Import duty

The tax HMRC charges on a car coming into the UK: 10% of the customs value for most cars. Transfer of Residence, the classic rate, Returned Goods Relief and the UK and SACUM agreement can reduce or remove it.

What it costs

Import VAT

20% of the customs value plus the duty, so the duty is taxed as well. It falls to 5% for cars on the classic rate, and to nothing under Transfer of Residence.

Duty and VAT calculator

IVA Individual Vehicle Approval

The test that checks a car not built for the UK market meets UK standards. Cars under 10 years old need it. We run IVA tests every week on our own lane, the first privately owned IVA testing centre for passenger vehicles in the UK.

IVA, MOT and registration

M MOT

The UK roadworthiness test. An imported car over 10 years old needs an MOT before it can be registered; a car over 40 years old does not.

IVA, MOT and registration

N NOVA Notification of Vehicle Arrivals

The customs notification that tells HMRC a vehicle has arrived. DVLA needs to see it before it will register anything, so our customs agents lodge it for you.

IVA, MOT and registration

P Police clearance

A clearance the car needs in South Africa before it can be exported. You book the appointment, and we tell you how.

South African export paperwork

R Returned Goods Relief

If a UK car left the UK within the last three years and has not been altered, it may come back without duty and VAT. HMRC decides; we prepare the case.

Bringing a UK car back home

RoRo roll-on, roll-off

Shipping where the car is driven on and off the vessel rather than packed in a container. South Africa’s main ports handle it, but we usually ship cars in containers.

Shipping from South Africa

S SARS South African Revenue Service

South Africa’s tax and customs authority. The car’s export clearance goes through SARS before it leaves the port, handled by our agents there.

South African export paperwork

Shared container

A container shared with other cars going the same way, which keeps the cost down. It is how we usually ship from Cape Town.

Shipping from South Africa

T Transfer of Residence (ToR)

Relief from duty and VAT when you move your home to the UK and bring your car. You need to have lived outside the UK for at least 12 months and owned and used the car for at least 6 months, and you must not sell, lend or hire it out for 12 months after it arrives. You apply online to HMRC on form ToR01, ideally before the car arrives.

Moving to the UK

U UK and SACUM agreement Economic Partnership Agreement with the Southern African Customs Union and Mozambique

The UK’s trade agreement covering South Africa. A car built in South Africa may qualify for zero duty if its origin can be evidenced. That proof is the hard part, and VAT still applies.

What it costs

V V55/5

The DVLA application to register a used imported vehicle. It goes in with the foreign registration document, proof of identity and address, the NOVA reference and the IVA or MOT certificate. We send it on our dealer account.

IVA, MOT and registration

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