Case Study 27 – Nissan X-Trail from the Netherlands

This customer came to us after being let down by not just one, but two other companies.

When companies make a mess…

The first company he contacted in the Algarve started the process for a tax-free import of his 2015 Nissan X-Trail. They began collecting documents and asked the customer to collect a few as well. However, they didn’t ask for all the required documents needed for a tax-free process.

Once the documents were sent… silence. No more replies. Nothing.

The customer kept chasing them for months. It really looks like the company took his money and disappeared. We genuinely hope he gets a refund, but it’s not looking great.

On top of that, it was unclear whether customs had been involved at all. He was completely left in the dark.

Missed deadline = no more tax-free import

He then tried another company, also in the Algarve, but weeks went by with no response. Meanwhile, time was ticking…

You only have 12 months after moving to Portugal to start the customs process for a tax-free import. By the time he reached out to us, that window had already closed.

We contacted Faro customs on his behalf and confirmed: no application had ever been submitted.

At that point, the only options were:
a) import the car with taxes, or
b) bring the car back to the Netherlands.

The customer decided to give it one more shot and import it with taxes. Fortunately he was able to get some BPM taxes back from the Netherlands, which eased the loss at least to some extent.

Finally, some progress

Luckily, because he had already collected most of the documents, we were able to get everything processed within 1–2 weeks. The car was finally approved and registered. It was an easy import but the taxes weren’t cheap, but at least it’s now properly resolved.

Key Takeaways

• Start early with a tax-free import. Delays can ruin your chances.
• Work with people who reply. Silence is a red flag.
• If things go wrong, we’re happy to jump in and fix the mess.