Case Study 49 – Citroën C4, C2, and Berlingo from Belgium

This customer was in the process of relocating from Belgium to Portugal and wanted to import three vehicles: a Citroën C4, a Citroën C2, and a Citroën Berlingo. Our goal was to design an import strategy that would result in the lowest possible total tax cost.

Maximizing Savings with a Tax-Free Import

Because the customer was officially relocating, he was eligible to import one vehicle tax-free. We analyzed the expected tax amounts for each vehicle and determined that the Citroën C4 had the highest taxes if imported normally. For that reason, we used the tax-free import option for the C4.

The Citroën C2, being a smaller vehicle, was subject to lower taxes, while the Citroën Berlingo, classified as a work vehicle, qualified for a tax discount. This combination resulted in the most tax-efficient overall solution.

Two Different Types of Import Processes

A tax-free import requires significantly more documentation than an import with taxes. In this case, we collected the full set of documents needed for the tax-free import of the C4, along with the individual vehicle documents for all three cars.

The customer’s personal documentation could then be reused across the different import processes, keeping the workload as efficient as possible.

Certificates of Conformity (COC)

We generally do not recommend purchasing a COC directly from Citroën, as they typically charge over €200 per document. In most cases, we can obtain a valid substitute document through a Portuguese engineer at a lower cost. While third-party COC providers also exist, these documents are often not accepted by IMT and can cause delays.

In this particular case, the customer already had the original COCs for all three vehicles, which allowed us to schedule the inspections immediately without any additional steps.

Different Processing Speeds

The Citroën C2 and Berlingo were both approved within a few weeks. The Citroën C4, being a tax-free import, took approximately twice as long to process. Despite this difference, all three vehicles received their Portuguese license plates relatively quickly, and none of the cases involved unusual complications.

Final Outcome

All three vehicles were successfully imported and registered in Portugal, using a strategy that minimized taxes while keeping the process as smooth as possible.

Key Takeaways

• A tax-free import requires significantly more documentation than an import with taxes
• When importing multiple vehicles, we structure the process to keep total taxes as low as possible
• Imports with taxes are generally approved faster than tax-free imports