MEMBER STATES >> AUTHORITIES GERMANY CYPRUS UK
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SUBSECTIONS |
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Importing a Car Into Germany: |
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WEEE Compliance requirements in Germany: |
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Hazmat in Germany: |
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SECTION: UG1
| Importing a Car Into Germany: |
| Importing a Car Into Germany: Updated May 2015 If you intend to become a resident of Germany, you can probably bring your personal vehicle in without paying import turnover tax and import duties – provided certain conditions are met.Importing a car from outside the EU: A car or other motor vehicle imported to Germany from outside the EU is normally subject to a 10% import duty and a 19% import value added tax. (The value-added tax on imports is called import turnover tax (Einfuhrumsatzsteuer).However, if you are moving to Germany with the intent to become a full time resident you can, if you meet certain requirements, bring in your personal car (and household goods) free of duty and import turnover tax.To escape the duty and tax you are be required to prove:
You can prove that you have given up your residence outside Germany with documents showing the termination of your lease/employment; sale of your residential home, or a statement by your employer that you have been transferred to Germany. You can also prove that you are establishing a new residence in Germany with a lease agreement; with correspondence with your employer in Germany; a registration receipt from the local Registry Office (Einwohnermeldeamt); a residence permit issued by the local authorities. The duty and import tax free import of a motor vehicle is permitted only if it has been registered in your name as its sole owner and personally used by yourself at your previous residence for at least six months before moving to Germany. For proof you can show the registration certificate issued by your home country department of motor vehicles. The vehicle should arrive in Germany at around the same time you do, and you must usually keep the vehicle for personal use for at least year after arriving in Germany. Both of these requirements can be waived in extraordinary circumstances. Registration, Inspection and Insurance: If your stay is going to be longer, whether the car is imported duty free or not, it must be registered at your local motor vehicle registration office (Kfz-Zulassungsstelle) and pass a technical inspection for roadworthiness and safety, as well as an emissions control test. This may mean that some cars (especially North American cars) may need to be modified to meet German standards regarding such things as headlights, emissions, brakes, rust and tires. In order to register the imported car/vehicle you need the following:
Details and the necessary customs forms may be obtained through your shipping company. It is recommended that you choose a shipping company experienced in shipping to Germany, and also that you take out risk insurance for the shipment. For an export permit customs may ask for the original title with two notarized copies. If you must pay duty and taxes on the vehicle, the actual amount of the 10% import duty and 19% import turnover tax depends on the value of the vehicle. This is usually based on a dealer’s invoice, but there is also a “blue book” giving the current value of each car/vehicle by make, model and model year. The vehicle can also be appraised. Vintage cars and collector’s cars require only a 7% duty. Motor Vehicle Tax: “Vehicles that are registered in a third country and that are entered for free circulation at German customs offices as, for example, property moved in connection with a transfer of residence are subject to German vehicle tax. The Vehicle Tax Act does not provide for a tax exemption for the journey to the vehicle’s place of registration in Germany. The driver submits a tax declaration to the border customs office; the tax is immediately payable there. After payment of the tax, the border customs office issues a tax card and receipt as a record of tax paid.” Importing a car or vehicle within the EU: If you are bringing a new car/vehicle into Germany you’ll probably to pay the 19% German VAT within days of buying the car. (If you paid VAT in the country of purchase already, you should be able to get a reimbursement once you have registered the car in Germany.) A vehicle is considered “new” if it is less than 6 months old or has been driven less than 6,000 kilometers. Used vehicles can be also be brought into Germany free of any customs duty. However, proof of having paid the VAT in the country of origin is required. Other things you might need include:
Registration procedures for EU cars is essentially the same as German vehicles and those imported from non-EU countries with one big exception. An EU regulation from 1996 requires manufacturers to provide cars bought within the EU with a certificate that allows those cars to be imported to other EU countries without having to undergo a technical inspection. You should try to get this for your new or used vehicle to allow it to be brought into Germany. If a vehicle doesn’t have a certificate of conformity, it will probably have to undergo an official inspection in Germany to determine whether or not it meets the German safety and emissions requirements. Also, the motor vehicle tax will have to be paid after your car has been registered in Germany. Taking a Vehicle Out Of The UK To Germany: If you want to take your vehicle out of the UK for 12 months or longer: You’ll need to obtain a V561 certificate of permanent export if you have already left the UK. You can get one of these by getting and completing a V756 form. If you have a vehicle with a personalised registration plate, you will need to either transfer or retain it before you begin the process of exporting your vehicle or you will lose your right to the registration number. If you want to take your vehicle out of the UK for less than 12 months: If you bring your vehicle back to the UK without tax, you cannot drive it into the country. It will have to be transported and you will need to make a SORN immediately. You will need a VE310 (vehicle on hire) certificate if you plan on taking a hired vehicle out of the country to show you are allowed to use the hired vehicle abroad. You can get a VE103 for a fee from:
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SECTION: UG2
| WEEE Compliance requirements in Germany: |
| WEEE Regulations Battery Regulations Packaging Regulations WEEE requirements: Registration timescale 1 June to 24 November 2005 Registration agency The Elektro-Altgeräte Register (EAR) Foundation is the National Clearing House and received governmental responsibilities from the Federal Environmental Agency (Umweltbundesamt) as the Competent Authority upon authority decision on July 6, 2005 Collection and recycling obligations for B2B WEEE The EC Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive was implemented in Germany as the ElektroG Act. All producers of electrical and electronic equipment in Germany were required to register with the Elektro-Altgeräte Register (EAR) by 24 November 2005. Producers who are not registered with the EAR are prohibited from putting EEE on the market in Germany. In February, the federal authorities revealed 4,225 producers had registered. The next deadline that producers of business products must meet is to provide collection and recycling of WEEE arising from new product sales from 23 March 2006. The EAR will contact business producers to ask what collection and recycling arrangements they have put in place in Germany. WEEE collection and recycling for business products (known as business-to-business or B2B) is fundamentally different from collection and recycling of household products (known as business-to-consumer or B2C). Producers of B2C products are required to finance collection and recycling of household WEEE deposited at local collection facilities (e.g. civic amenity centres and high street retailers). In Germany and most other Member States, the quantity of WEEE that each B2C producer is required to collect and recycle from these local collection facilities is calculated based on their market share of new product sales. In practical terms, B2C producers do not have any option but to join a compliance scheme in each Member State. The compliance scheme will organize collections of WEEE from civic amenity sites on behalf of all its member companies. For producers of B2B products, the situation is quite different. In Germany and almost all other Member States, business WEEE can not be deposited at civic amenity sites or other collection facilities for household WEEE. Instead, the B2B producer must provide arrangements for the WEEE to be collected from the business end-user’s premises by a licensed waste carrier and taken to a licensed WEEE recycler. Article 10 (2) of ElektroG requires producers of B2B products ‘to provide a reasonable option for the return and recycling of WEEE’. Most B2B WEEE compliance schemes and recyclers are keen to quote for collection of B2B WEEE from the business end-user’s premises because it is an opportunity for them to generate additional revenue. However, in most Member States conventional logistics companies have the necessary waste carrier licenses and are very well suited to collect WEEE from business end-users. In this case, involving a third party such as a B2B WEEE compliance scheme or a recycler to arrange collections from business end-users can simply increase administrative costs. Batteries requirements: Registration timescale Ongoing. Registration Agency Ministry of Environment (UBA) Registration, collection and recycling obligations for batteries producers Producers of portable batteries: Draft final Regulations published on 21/01/09 encourage portable batteries producers to join single collective system (operated by GRS) Individual compliance permitted (approximately 100 of the 850 registered producers comply through individual arrangements), although the final draft Regulations now require individual systems to offer take back of waste portable batteries free of charge from any collection point nationwide. Individual systems for portable batteries must now also be approved by and report to the Umweltbundesamt (UBA). Producers of industrial batteries: Presently, the take-back and recycling of industrial batteries is regulated by agreements between producers and end-users. Sales data to end-user / battery recovery data reported to ZVEI (German Association of Battery Manufacturers).Packaging requirements Obligated parties must register and submit data based on the amount of packaging handled to the Federal Ministry of Environment. Packaging producers, packers, importers, and distributors may contract with third parties to meet their take back obligations and recovery and recycling targets. The Novelle stipulates that for sales packaging arising from business end-users, alternative agreements may be made regarding the place where used packaging is given back and other cost arrangements.Thresholds: Applies to all manufacturers and distributors obligated by VerpackVO. Distributors with sales areas of less than 200 m2 are only obliged to accept returned sales packaging that they have put on the market. The requirement to submit an annual audited data return applies only to companies (unless requested) that place more than the following tonnages of each material used in sales packaging on the German market each year: over 50 tonnes of glass, or; over 50 tonnes of paper/board, or; over 30 tonnes of plastics/tinplate/aluminium/composites These companies are still obligated to participate in a dual system. |
SECTION: UG3
| Hazmat in Germany: |
Hazmat in Germany:
 Asbestos is a hazardous waste The term “hazardous waste” refers to various types of waste with defined hazardous properties that are harmful for the environment and/or human health. Hazardous waste must be handled using special techniques and processes that ensure safe and environmentally sound disposal by elimination of the hazardous substances contained in the waste. Definition, quantities and destination: Hazardous waste classification: Handling of hazardous substances: Ordinance on Waste Recovery and Disposal Records (Nachweisverordnung) Hazardous-waste quantities and destination |