Case Study 2 – Renault Megane with Taxes from the Netherlands

Early 2024 a customer from the U.S., who had been living in the Netherlands, reached out to us about a steuerfrei import to Portugal. She was planning to move to Portugal and bring along her trusty 2015 Renault Megane. Time was of the essence—tax-wise, it was ideal if she could unregister in the Netherlands sooner rather than later.

Sometimes an import with taxes is better than tax-free

After crunching some numbers, we discovered that a regular import (with taxes) would only cost her about €50 more than a tax-free import. The higher service fees for a tax-free import practically balanced out the difference. To top it off, the tax-free route involves more paperwork and a longer timeline. In short, it’s a real hassle for anyone who’s not thrilled about collecting a small mountain of documents.

The customer quickly decided the €50 was worth avoiding the extra paperwork, so we went for an import with taxes instead.

Waiting for parts

Right before the Inspektion, she decided to have a mechanic give the car a once-over. A minor repair was needed to pass inspection, but getting the part took nearly a month, delaying the process.

Once the part arrived, the application went pretty smoothly.

High quality photos make the import more smoothly

Zollbehörden did ask one question because they couldn’t read the Certificate of Conformity (COC) properly. Honestly, it looked perfectly clear to me, but I can only assume that the person processing it might need a new pair of glasses!

Despite these minor speed bumps, we successfully completed the import, and the customer is now happily cruising around Portugal. And since it was imported with taxes, she’s free to sell the car anytime—no need to wait a year, as with a tax-free import.

Wichtigste Erkenntnisse:

• Sending high-resolution photos can prevent unexpected delays.
• If your car needs repairs, do so in advance if you can.