Case Study 5 – Importing a Hyundai Ioniq 5 Electric from Germany

This Hyundai Ioniq 5 was about as straightforward as imports get. A company, referred by one of our other clients, contacted us about importing a brand-new electric company car from Germany.

Tax-Free Import Not Necessary for Electric Vehicles

Since electric vehicles aren’t subject to import taxes in Portugal, there was no need for a tax-free import process. We proceeded with a standard import, which comes with fewer paperwork requirements and lower service costs.

The vehicle hadn’t been purchased yet, so we waited for the purchase and shipping arrangements to be finalized. Meanwhile, we started preparing the homologation process while the car was en route to Portugal. Once it arrived, it went straight to inspection, which it passed easily. (Why brand-new vehicles need inspection is a question we’re still pondering!)

The shipping document

When a vehicle is transported by trailer to Portugal, a shipping document is required. During the inspection, they also check the car’s mileage; if a car shows zero kilometers, it’s clear it wasn’t driven into the country.

During the customs application, there was only a brief back-and-forth regarding the purchase invoice and shipping document, as the original plan had been for the car to be driven to Portugal. Other than that, everything was approved without issue. And the customer had his plates within a few weeks.

No Additional IVA for the Import

Typically, importing a new car involves paying both IVA and ISV. However, because this was a company car, the customer could purchase the vehicle in Germany without sales tax and only paid IVA in Portugal, a process their accountant handled smoothly.

Key Takeaways:

• Importing an electric vehicle means no ISV taxes are applied.
• When buying a new company car, it may be possible to avoid paying IVA in the purchase country and handle it only in Portugal.