How much is the customs duty from the USA to Poland?
Importing cars and motorcycles from the USA is very popular despite the fact that it involves the need to pay VAT, transport costs, excise duties, customs duties and prepare the vehicle to meet the conditions of admission to traffic on Polish roads. The duty on goods from the USA is regulated officially and depends on their type and value. How much are customs duties from the USA?
Table of contents
1. When do you have to pay the duty?
2. The amount of duty for vehicles imported from the USA
3. Cars from the United States exempt from customs duties
4. Tariff on electric cars from the USA
5. Customs duty on vessels from the USA
6. How much is the duty on other goods from the United States?
7. Goods exempt from customs duties
Customs duties on goods imported from outside the European Union are designed to protect European markets. Customs rates depend on the type of goods and their value. There are also cases that the dream car can be brought with zero duty. The duty on products from the United States is levied the moment they arrive at the border with the European Union. Vehicles are subject to customs control at the ports of destination.
According to the current legislation, customs duties are levied both on goods imported for personal use and those intended for further resale. The customs duty from the United States is the same throughout the European Union. The law distinguishes three ranges of the value of the consignment:
- goods with a value of up to EUR 22 — exempt from duties, with the exception of products subject to excise duty;
- goods worth from 22 to 150 EUR - you have to pay handling customs duties and VAT and excise duty (if required);
- goods worth more than 150 EUR — you have to pay customs duties, handling duties, VAT and excise duty (if required).
To begin with, we must emphasize that the value of the duty is the same throughout the European Union, regardless of where the port of destination is located. However cars from the USA Most people come to Germany because of the lower VAT rate, which is 19%. So if we count the US duty and VAT together, our western neighbors are the most favorable.
The amount of duty depends on the type of vehicle. Sample duty rates for vehicles imported from the USA are as follows:
- Passenger car — 10%. ;
- motorcycle — 6 per cent for engine capacity up to 250 cm3 and 8 per cent for engine capacity above 250 cm3;
- quad — 10 percent ;
- Truck — 22%
To this must be added handling fees, which are set individually, since they include, for example, a fee for storing goods at an official warehouse, unloading a container, etc.
There are two cases in which passenger cars are exempt from customs duties.
The first group of vehicles exempt from customs duties are vintage cars. This makes many people decide to import classics from the United States. In order for a car to be classified as a monument, it must meet certain requirements. In cases where a car is imported from the US, it is considered a vintage if it is more than 30 years old, has at least 75 percent of the original parts, and at least 15 years have passed since its completion.
Duty exemption is also granted to those who import a car as resettled property. Here, too, certain conditions must be met. This applies only to the situation when we are talking about a passenger car, which is registered as a resettlement for at least 12 months before moving, and also will not be used in Poland for earning purposes for 12 months after being brought to Poland. Polish law also does not allow lending or renting such a car.
In the case of electric cars, Polish customs procedures do not provide for exemption of the importer from fees. However, the US duty and tax are lower because electric cars are not subject to excise duty. This means that in the case of electricians Importing cars from the USA is very profitable. The amount of duty is the same as for passenger cars, so it is 10%, and the amount of VAT depends on the country of the destination port.
Poles also import floating structures from the USA and here it is also worth knowing how much the duty is. In this case, it is much lower than for cars and, of course, depends on the type of construction.
For vessels, the following duty rate converters shall apply:
- yacht — from 1.7 to 2.7 percent
- boat — from 1.7 to 2.7 percent. ;
- jet ski — 1.7 percent.
Cars, motorcycles and boats are just some of the goods that are brought to Poland from overseas. Poles also buy telecommunications equipment, office machines, medical devices and other products in the USA for their own use or for further resale. Some of them are also subject to customs duties.
Customs rates for the most popular products:
- hand and machine tools — 1.7 percent ;
- Tobacco products — 11.2% ;
- Optical products — 3%. ;
- Office machines — 0 to 2.2% ;
- chemical products — 0 to 6 percent;
- Automotive parts — 4.5%.
As with cars, in some cases of other goods imported into Poland from the USA, importers are exempt from customs duties.
Exemption from customs duties covers, among others:
- medical devices;
- electronic equipment (laptops, smartphones, etc.);
- therapeutic products;
- medication;
- products made of base metals.
According to the Budget Lexicon published on the pages of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, customs duty is a tax imposed by the state on goods in connection with their export and import through the customs borders of the state, as well as their transit outside its customs territory.
Products with a shipment value of up to 22 euros are exempt from customs duties. The exception is products subject to excise duty, here additional fees are inevitable. For goods with a value of 22 to 150 euros, only handling customs duties, VAT and possibly excise duty apply.
The amount of duty is calculated according to the value of the product from the purchase confirmation document and the rate applicable to the product group in question. For example, in the case of a passenger car, this will be 10% of the value of the vehicle entered on the sales document.
Not all goods are subject to customs duty and even for certain types of vehicles you can be exempted from having to pay customs duty. This applies to vintage cars and passenger cars imported as resettled property, the importation of which is not of a commercial nature. However, they are still subject to excise duty and VAT.
The customs duty on cars imported from the USA is the same in all countries of the European Union. However, many importers choose to pick up vehicles in Germany because the VAT is lower there at 19%.
