Importing a car into France from the UK

When a vehicle is shipped from a country outside the EU, such as the UK or the US, customs duty is only paid when the car first enters the EU.

Once the vehicle has been legally imported into any EU member state, it becomes EU goods.

As a result, it can generally be moved between member states without further customs declarations or additional customs duty, allowing you to drive it to France from whichever EU port it first arrived at.

When import taxes apply

Whether you need to pay import taxes in the first place depends on your circumstances.

If you are an EU resident importing a car from outside the bloc – including the UK since Brexit – the vehicle is treated like any other import. This means you are generally liable for both customs duty and VAT.

Importing a car can therefore be expensive. Customs duty on cars is typically 10% of the vehicle's value, while VAT is charged at 20% in France.

If the vehicle enters the EU through another member state, you may pay a different national VAT rate, although customs duty is standard across the EU.

Import fees waived if you are moving to France

However, if you are relocating to France and the car is being imported as one of your personal possessions you are normally exempt from both customs duty and VAT.

Under a 2009 EU-wide law on customs duty relief, there is an exemption for imports considered to be personal property.

However, the burden of proof rests on the importer to show that both you and the car qualify for the import tax exemption.

According to the official French Customs website (douane.gouv.fr), you will need to show that:

• You have lived outside the EU for at least a year

• You owned and used the car for at least six months before moving 

• You are moving your main residence to France

The way you apply for the exemption is by listing the car as a personal possession on your customs declaration.

EU law meanwhile prohibits you from selling the car for at least a year after relocating.

Driving with non-EU registration plates

You should also note that once the vehicle has successfully cleared customs, you will have to drive it to France still carrying the registration plates of whichever country you are moving from.

French law allows you to drive on foreign plates for up to six months so long as the car is legally registered in the country you are moving from and you have valid insurance for driving in France.

Once you establish residence in France however you typically have a month to register the car for French plates.

A French government simulator to assess the cost of registering a vehicle is available here.