Case Study 42 – Mercedes GLC 350 to Madeira

A customer from Madeira contacted us because he wanted to bring a Dutch car to the island. While Madeira is officially part of Portugal, importing a car there is a bit different than simply driving it to the mainland.

No ferry

At the time of writing, there are no regular ferries to Madeira, so the customer had to drive his car to Lisbon and put it on a freight ship. He was a little worried about this part of the process, but it turned out to be simple. The car arrived without any problems, and there was no complicated customs procedure. Upon arrival, he got his car back without any hassle.

Documentation and inspection

Because the customer contacted us well in advance, we were able to request a free COC from Mercedes and prepare the inspection documentation ahead of time. Once we knew his arrival date, we scheduled the inspection shortly after. At the time of writing, there is only one inspection center on the island authorized to carry out import inspections (inspection category B). Fortunately, this center is located not far from the airport.

Taxes

Since the car is a plug-in hybrid, the taxes were relatively low. The customer mentioned that the battery no longer held its charge as well as it should and was concerned this might affect the emissions discount. Fortunately, the authorities only consider the official CO2 emissions listed on the documentation, so there was no issue with an unexpected tax increase. It would have been different if there had been no documentation, as a new CO2 test would then have been required.

Approval and registration

The approval process went smoothly. The customer initially considered doing the registration himself, thinking it might be excessive to send physical documents back and forth between Madeira and the mainland. However, once he saw the amount of paperwork involved, he quickly decided it was easier to let us take care of it. Portugal’s bureaucracy tends to surprise anyone coming from northern Europe.

Key takeaways

• Importing to Madeira follows the same process as importing to mainland Portugal. The only real difference is arranging transport to the island.
• If a COC is available, it will be used to determine CO2 emissions, even if the car’s current performance differs slightly.
• We can handle the full registration process, even for customers on Madeira. Wherever you are in Portugal, we can assist with your import.