Hello, I am looking around but can not find any related post to my issue.

So 1st of all sorry if there is any...!

My issue is that I have a EU Car (less than 6 months under my name but was from my parents). I am planning to bring it to Switzerland but I am getting confuse with all the Tax and permits thing.

My question:

Can I drive my car from EU to Switzerland, use it until is 6 months under my name and then, do all the Import paper work? Is this legal?

Thanks!

Hi,

I have the same dilemma and at the moment I am driving in Switzerland with a proxy from my mum, original owner of the car. the car is insured in Italy.
Once I am ready I will import the car, within the next 3/4 months. With the help of some local people knowledgeable of this matters, I am trying to see if I have to pay the full import+ VAT or not. As soon as I have some news I will pass them on. Sorry I do not have more at the moment

Hi Elira, thanks!

So I guess you crossed the border with no issues, right???? You just paid the Highway impost...

Anyone with more details? Is OK to come in CH and drive your EU car during the next 12 months... and then do all paperwork...?

Thanks!

No it is not o.k. What you would do and Elira is already doing is tax fraud. A crime. Additionally your insurance may be void if your vehicle is involved in any form of crime.

The problem is that you cannot easily import a car into Switzerland once you have residency in Switzerland. Now, you may tell me that you are not "importing" it, but every time someone drives with a car over the boarder he or she is legally importing the car.

Now, if you are a tourist this is a formless and easy procedure, you just do it under the provision that a) it is for your own personal use b) you will leave the country with the car once your stay is over. Nothing has to be declared, no paper forms, no verbal communication, no duty and no fees, just drive over the border. Zollverordnung Art. 30.

If you are a student or worker on an annual permit you cannot just do it w/o any forms. You would need to fill in Form 15.30.
See Form 15.50 for more details.

If you are neither tourist, student, nor on an annual permit you may have had declared the vehicle on Form 18.44 when you initially crossed the border. Furthermore it would have been tax free only if you had it used for more than six months aboard before you entered Switzerland.

If all of the above is not the right thing you have to declare, import, and pay taxes as everybody else. Failing to do so may end up in a fine which is double of the taxes you would have payed. Additionally to the taxes. This would be approx a third of the cars value in total.

__________________
On Strike - ChatGPT knows more than I, so use it (or doesn't it?)

It only took 4 posts for the misinformation to start spewing forth...

OP, you haven't provided enough information. Take a look through the Stickies in this sub-forum in addition to the countless other threads on this topic. You will find all you need to know (once you wade through the crap).

mmmm... thank you...!!!

I will keep looking in the Forum but in the meantime I think I will leave the car back at home and will bring in to CH once is under my name for more than 6 months...

Thank you!

Sorry, that doesn't work.

You have to own it for 6 months BEFORE YOU MOVED TO SWITZERLAND, NOT 6 months before you bring the car to Switzerland!

Tom

Now I am getting really confused...

OK, I own the car since September... what happen if I bring it in CH in March next year...?

What is the date of entry into Switzerland on your residence permit?

Unless you've owned it for 6 months before you moved here, you pay taxes!

It doesn't matter when the car arrives here, it only matters when YOU arrived here.

Tom

You may call my post BS. But Form 15.50? Whatever rocks your boat.

Here is an official challenge: Show me one one single untrue statement in my above post until midnight today (2012-11-06T23:59:59+01:00) and I will change my signature and avatar to your likening for one month (November 7th 2012 to December 7th 2012) if you fail I will chose your avatar and signature for the mentioned time period. Deal?

I am here since October, 1st.... so I guess that is the date...!

You make the point... instead of bring my car... then, I will bring my wife car... which is under her name for several Years...

But I will have to take it to the mechanic for some brake review...! :S

any way... Thanks again!

Last year when I moved to Switzerland I was in the same situation as you. I had my car only for two months. Here are how things worked for me: I drove my car from Romania to Switzerland. At the Swiss border I've made the papers for importing the car. Fortunately, I was told that I have the option to make a partial import. This means that I have two years to pay the import fees. The paperwork was done very fast. I was allowed to use my Romanian license plates for one year after which it is mandatory to change them to Swiss plates. Since the import was not complete, this year I got special Z plates which are valid just for one year. Next year I must come with proof that I've payed the import fees and the Z plates will be changed with standard plates.

Sorry, not to offend too much. It's obvious that you intended well in your thought out post. Your references to the regulations were of course appropriate. You should have kept it at that however. If you look through the previous threads on this topic, you will find that they are full of erroneous information.

Untrue statements:
1. "What you would do and Elira is already doing is tax fraud"

With the limited information that the OP provided, this is not true. I wasn't even sure if the OP had moved to Switzerland yet.

2. "The problem is that you cannot easily import a car into Switzerland once you have residency in Switzerland."

Huh? It was pretty easy for me and I'm not that smart (I did it based on previous threads in this forum).

Yes, this is fine.

Glad you found a solution!

Tom

Well, I imported a (new) motorcycle a couple years ago (and another 26 years ago when I moved here), and it took me 11 months before I was able to register it!

So, sometimes not so easy.

Tom

Elira said: "Once I am ready I will import the car" and "I am driving in Switzerland [...] car is insured in Italy"furtermore Elira lives in Schaffhausen. So we know that she just drove over the boarder w/o respecting any formalities. Tax and custom fraud. OP wanted to do the same as Elira.

Now we have to look what easily means. It is easy to import a car as a tourist. It is easy to import 500g of fresh meat. Or 1 liter of booze. You just drive over the border and verbally say "Nothing to declare". Thats easily importing. Importing a car means paper work, form 15.whatever, MCO, bill, and finally paying taxes and duty. I wont call that easily importing (especially compared to just driving over the border), nevertheless the whole procedure may be relatively easy.

__________________
On Strike - ChatGPT knows more than I, so use it (or doesn't it?)

I am happy that at least we refreshed this Topic...!

Thank you all for you comments!

My experience when importing my gf's car from Romania:

When she moved here (July 2011) she was the owner of the car for less than 6 months (prior to this, the car was registered on her family's company...knowing that she'll move abroad, all formalities were done to have the car registered on her name and ready to be imported). For one year the car had RO plates and after this we had to import it (import duties, VAT, registration), this was done July this year. It's not a fortune to pay and all this value is calculated based on the actual price of the vehicle (you go to any dealer and they'll provide you with a depreciated value based on 1st registration, current mileage, etc).

The authorities can easily check when you first entered Switzerland, it's written on your work/residence permit, and this is the trigger point to calculate for how long the car was in you property before moving here, independent if meanwhile you left it in your home country or you brought it with you...hope it helps

I've been told you can have an EU number plate for up to one year here in Switzerland then you should change the car over!