Car import questions, answered.

Complete a short application online and pay the fixed fee of £150. That opens your online portal, with a checklist for uploading the few documents we need.

Once they’re uploaded we process your customs entry and email you the amount to pay HMRC, if anything is due, with a link to pay them directly. As soon as it’s paid we have NOVA issued and emailed to you.

Usually the bill of sale or invoice, the foreign registration document and your driving licence. Your online checklist shows exactly what your import needs, so there’s no guesswork.

No. Whether it comes by RoRo, in a container or by air, or you drive it off the ferry yourself, the process is the same: answer a few questions online and upload your documents.

Our fee is a fixed £150, and that includes NOVA. Any import duty and VAT is paid straight to HMRC through a secure link, and we tell you exactly how much before you pay.

It depends on the car and where it’s coming from. As a guide, a car under 30 years old from outside the EU usually pays 10% import duty and 20% VAT. A car over 30 years old in original condition usually pays no duty and just 5% VAT.

If you’re a private individual buying a used car from the EU, you will usually pay 20% VAT. Cars manufactured in Japan can also come in with 0% duty, as long as the exporter provides a declaration of origin. We confirm the exact amount when we prepare your customs entry.

Usually not. Under the UK–Japan trade agreement, cars manufactured in Japan qualify for 0% import duty, as long as the exporter provides a declaration of origin. Without one, the standard 10% duty applies.

Import VAT is still due: 20%, or 5% for cars over 30 years old in original condition. Our checklist tells you exactly which documents to ask your exporter for.

You may not have to. If you’re moving your home to the UK and have owned and used the car abroad for at least six months, you may qualify for Transfer of Residence relief, with no duty or VAT to pay. We complete the ToR01 application for you as part of your clearance.

NOVA (Notification of Vehicle Arrivals) is how HMRC is told that a vehicle has arrived in the UK. It needs to be done within 14 days of arrival, and the DVLA won’t register an imported vehicle without it.

NOVA is included in our £150 fee. We submit it for you and email you the confirmation for your DVLA registration.

Yes. If your car is already here, for example with a DVLA export marker, we can get it cleared and submitted to HMRC NOVA the very same day.

Yes. Your customers get an online portal where they upload the documents and information you need to move their car to or from the UK.

You see an overview of your current customs entries, which documents you still need from customers and the customs status of every vehicle.