Importing & Exporting Vehicles

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Is it possible to import my used car to Taiwan?

While it is not strictly prohibited to import a vehicle for personal use, the inspection requirements, duties, and taxes make it a very difficult, slow, and expensive process. First you need to determine if your particular car is able to be imported. Generally, unless your vehicle is manufactured in compliance with Taiwan regulations, it will be difficult to pass the government inspection. This includes items such as meeting EUR 4 emissions standards, left hand drive, and metric speedometer, to name a few. If your car is able to be imported, you then need to determine if it makes financial sense or if you are attached enough to your car that you are willing to pay the difference. You should take into account the value of your vehicle, both what you can sell it for in your country of origin and what the replacement cost will be in Taiwan. Then compare this with the cost of shipping, inspection (& possible expensive modifications), and import tax and duties. Most people find that shipping a car is not a cost effective option, and its better to buy another vehicle after arrival. If you do want to ship your vehicle you can look forward to the following charges:

• Import Duty: 30% of value
• Commodity Tax: 25-30% charge based on the car's value plus import duty, this depends on the size of the engine
• VAT: 5% charge based on the car's value plus import duty plus commodity tax
• Sea Freight Shipping and Handling: this depends on where your point of origin is
• Corrective Actions: this depends on the results of the inspection conducted by Taiwan government

Is it possible to export my used car from Taiwan?

This depends entirely on where you are moving. You should carefully research the rules of your destination country. For some countries it may make financial sense, others may be cost prohibitive, and others may not allow it at all. If the destination country rules allow you to import, then it is possible to export your car from Taiwan. You should allow enough time to do the research and make a decision, as you will need to start the paper work a minimum of 3 weeks before you leave Taiwan.

Things you should keep in mind are how much can you sell your car for in Taiwan, how much would it cost to purchase in your destination country, how much will the sea freight shipping and handling charges be, and will there be tax, duty, or inspection charges at destination.

Ben West is a Relocation Consultant for Santa Fe Relocation in Taipei. He has over ten year’s industry experience with six of them in Taiwan.

For further information you can contact him at +886 9531 61234.