Car Owned For Only 8 Months?

[Kev Rad]

Hi All

 

Was wondering if anyone who had owned a car for less than 12 months had gone to Oz and arranged the shipping so as it has left the UK and arrived in Oz after the 12 month ownership period needed to ensure it qualified as a personal import?

 

Also if you were going to bring it to sell and increase your $ house deposit, is there a minimum amount of time it has to be in the country for before you can sell it, once you had got the rego and gone through any importation alterations etc to put it on the road?

 

Would be great to know the answer to those 2 questions.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Kev :xmas21:

[pwkl]

The issue is that you need to apply for the personal import approval to be granted first before you ship the car. This is where they decide whether you meet the criteria, one of which is having owned and demonstrated use of the car for the 12 months prior to the application. A few weeks less may be ok but 4 months is unlikely. I think it's possible for you to apply within 6 months after arriving here, say 4 months after arriving to meet the 12 months rule but it would mean you need to leave your car in UK and have someone assist with the shipping that end. Best to check with Iron Chef who has a sticky thread above with lots of info.

 

There is no minimum length of time to keep the car once imported before you sell though. Could be dependent on state though but not here in NSW.

[Iron Chef]

You have to prove that you've owned AND used your car for 12 months - in other words, if you move to Australia, you're obviously not using your car in the UK...at 8 months, it's not a goer, sorry.

[OzWard Bound]

Mr Chef

 

I read that you can take a car in to Oz and not pay any import duty for up to 12 months as a temporary resident. My question is I am relocating to Oz on a sponsored 457 and want to take my BMW 325ci Convertible which I bought in July 2012. I love the car but could not afford to replace it when I get to Oz. Can I take it in my container under this Visa [as a temporary resident] even though I have owned it less that 12 months?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

source: http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page4371.asp

 

"Tourists and Temporary ResidentsSection 162 - Import Declaration Required/VIA Required

As a tourist or temporary resident, you may bring a road vehicle to Australia for a period of up to 12 months without payment of duty and taxes, provided a VIA is obtained prior to your importation. Your road vehicle must be subsequently exported from Australia within the approved time limit. All fittings and accessories imported with the road vehicle must also be exported with the same road vehicle.

Approval for temporary imports is granted under Section 162 of the Customs Act 1901 (the Act). Goods that qualify as temporary imports can be imported under:

 

 

• a security or undertaking, equal to the amount of duty and GST and if applicable, LCT that would be payable on importation. The security may be in the form of cash or a bank guarantee.
  

 

Under provisions set out in the Act, on application, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Customs may extend the period of temporary importation. Applications to extend this period must be made prior to the expiry of the temporary importation period.

If your road vehicle is not exported within the approved time limit, you will forfeit the security. This also applies where the road vehicle is lost or stolen and therefore unable to be exported when required.

If you remain in Australia and you decide to keep your road vehicle with you, you may apply to have your import declaration amended. This will create a duty and tax liability which you are required to pay to finalise your importation. To organise a refund of the security you will need to advise Customs and Border Protection that you have amended your import declaration and paid the duty and GST."