To import a car from Portugal to the UK, get the original DUA (the Portuguese registration document) and proof of what you paid from the seller, then have the car cleared through UK customs, notified to HMRC on NOVA and registered with the DVLA. A classic over 30 years old, in its original state and of a model no longer in production pays 0% duty and 5% VAT; other cars pay 20% VAT, and 10% duty unless they were built in the EU (or another country with a UK trade agreement) and that origin is proved.
- The original DUA. Portuguese sellers call it the DUA, short for Documento Único Automóvel. Its current official name is certificado de matrícula, issued by the IRN (Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado), and it may be on paper or a card. On a classic that has not changed hands since the DUA replaced them in the mid-2000s you may find the older pair instead: the livrete (technical data) and the título de registo de propriedade (the owner's title). Then get both. Make sure you get the original: the DVLA keeps it.
- Proof of purchase. A fatura (invoice) from a dealer, or a signed contrato de compra e venda between private parties, showing the price and the VIN. If there is no invoice at all, the car will need an independent valuation.
Deregistration in Portugal, any export plates and the export paperwork are handled by the seller. If you need it, we arrange the transport to the UK, and we handle the customs declaration, NOVA and the DVLA paperwork.
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Duty and VAT on a car from Portugal
| Your car | Customs duty | Import VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Collector's piece: over 30 years, original state, model no longer produced | 0% | 5% |
| Built in the EU (or another country with a UK trade agreement), origin proved | 0% | 20% |
| Anything else | 10% | 20% |
The top row is the one that matters for a classic. A historic collector's vehicle must be over 30 years old, in its original state without substantial changes, and of a model no longer in production. When it passes, the rate is 0% duty and 5% VAT whatever country it came from.
For a younger car, Portuguese plates prove nothing about duty. Preferential origin under the UK-EU trade agreement depends on where the car was built, and it has to be claimed properly on the import declaration with proof of origin behind it. A car built outside the EU pays 10% however long it lived in Portugal, unless it was built in another country with a UK trade agreement, such as Japan, and that origin can be proved.
Portugal also has a large British community, so two reliefs are worth checking before you assume the standard rates: Transfer of Residence relief if you are relocating to the UK with a car you already owned and drove in Portugal, and Returned Goods Relief if the car originally left from the UK. Both have strict conditions.
Classics from Portugal
Portugal's warm, dry summers, especially in the south and inland, are gentler on bodywork than British winters, which makes it a sensible place to look for a solid older European car. It also has a marque of its own: UMM, the Portuguese maker of rugged four-wheel drives, rarely offered for sale anywhere else.
Condition still varies car by car, and coastal cars see salt air, so look underneath before you commit. If the car already holds a Portuguese Veículo de Interesse Histórico certificate, keep it with the file: it helps show age and originality. The UK applies its own 30-year collector test, though, and heavy modifications rule a car out of the 5% rate however it is classed in Portugal.
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The UK steps
- Customs import declaration: we declare the car and the duty and VAT are paid.
- NOVA: we notify HMRC within 14 days of arrival and you receive the NOVA letter.
- MOT: a UK MOT if the car needs one, which can be done while it is still on Portuguese plates. A car built or first registered more than 40 years ago with no substantial changes is exempt (you sign a V112 declaration instead), and a car under 3 years old does not need one.
- V55/5: we prepare the DVLA registration form; you sign it and send it with the original DUA, the NOVA letter, the MOT certificate or V112, photo ID, proof of UK address, the £55 first registration fee and the road tax.
More detail is in our guides to NOVA and registering an imported car with the DVLA.
Bringing a car back from Portugal?
We handle any relief you qualify for, the customs and the VAT, and we prepare every DVLA form, you just sign and post. Over 1,500 vehicles cleared since Brexit.
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