Imposto Sobre Veículos
Imposto Único de Circulação

FD em 11.03.2008. 12:43

Reply to floydborga on 07.03.2008. 20:55:

The discount for cars imported from a third country outside UE is always 10% as long as it's at least one year old.

When using the simulator, just input in the age field "Sim" right next to "De 6 meses a 1 ano (6 meses a exactamente 1 ano)" - every car imported from a UE country with that age has the same discount (10%). That way you can use it to calculate the tax amount for cars imported outside the UE.

The alternative method isn't applicable to cars imported outside the UE.

And remember that, in addition to the ISV, you'll have to pay IVA (VAT - value added tax) at the current rate of 21% and the customs tax (10% if I'm not mistaken). The IVA amount is calculated regarding the value of the car, plus the ISV amount, whereas the customs tax is only calculated regarding the car's value.

floydborga em 07.03.2008. 20:55

This site, although informative, is not very clear on total "Imposto" for cars imported from a country other than the EU. From what I understand, the simulator is prepared to calculate the total "imposto" for cars imported from the EU(correct?). I also understand the for cars imported from a country other than the UE, the discount rate for the method "normal" is a straight 10% no matter what the age of the car(correct?). So the formula would be =IF(B25="Sim";SUM($C$13;$C$15;$C$16;$C$18)*.10;0) correct?(I think you should add a line in you simulator for this rate). This of course would make it very expensive. So, would it be appropriate/legal to apply the method "alternativo" for cars imported from outside the UE?

FD em 22.02.2008. 15:54

Reply to D W Taylor em 19.02.2008. 12:41:

Unfortunately, the situation you describe is very common these days. The tax principle changed from circulation to property, where before 2008 if you didn't drive your car you could not pay the tax. But, 2008 forward, even if you don't drive your car, you must pay the tax. This has caused a problem with vehicles which property registration wasn't updated when sold. So, you are in debt of a vehicle that you don't own.

There are two ways to solve this:

- if you sold the car before October 31st 2005, you can register the car in the buyer's name. For this you'll need a "Declaração" like this one:
https://impostosobreveiculos.info/declaracao_venda.rtf
Then, you should go to the Conservatória do Registo Automóvel (https://www.rnpc.mj.pt/contact/endauto.asp), fill the Modelo 2 and deliver both. You'll have to pay 20€ for each vehicle. About 30 days after, the property registration will be regularized and you won't have to pay any tax.

- if you sold it after October 31st 2005 (or you don't remember the buyer's name, address, etc.) you must go to the IMTT (https://www.imtt.pt/imttcont.htm) and require the arrest of the vehicle so that the property registration can be updated. This could take years and until then you'll have to pay the due tax every year.

FD em 22.02.2008. 15:36

Reply to R van der Heijden em 19.02.2008. 12:38:

The transitional article to which this situation refers is:

Artigo 13.º
1 — Com a entrada em vigor da presente lei, são revogados:
(...)
c) O Decreto-Lei n.º 471/88, de 22 de Dezembro, com excepção do disposto na alínea c) do artigo 2.º, que se mantém em vigor até 31 de Dezembro de 2007;

That translates:

Article 13.th
1 — With this law, the following laws are revoked:
(...)
c) The law-decree nr. 471/88, dated December 22nd, with exception to the applicable by the point c) of the 2nd article, which is valid until December 31st 2008.

The forementioned c) point refers to:

c) Been effectively affected to the use of the interested in the country of origin for at least six month before the residence transfer.

You can find this law-decree (471/88) here:
https://www.dre.pt/pdf1sdip/1988/12/29400/50605061.PDF

The point where is decreed in the new law that the vehicle must be ones property for at least twelve months is this:

Artigo 60.º
Condições relativas ao veículo
(...)
c) Ter sido propriedade do interessado no país de
proveniência, durante pelo menos 12 meses antes da
transferência de residência, contados desde a data da
emissão do documento que titula a propriedade ou da
data em que celebrou o contrato de locação financeira,
se for o caso.

That translates:

60th Article
Vehicle requirements
(...)
c) Must have been property of the interested in the country of origin for at least 12 months before residence transfer, counted since the date of emission of the vehicle's title of registration.

If the legalization process entered the alfândega before December 31st, to my understanding, your friend should not pay the tax. But, if he begun the residence transfer process before December 31st and contacted the alfândega after December 31st he should have to pay the tax.

D W Taylor em 19.02.2008. 12:41

Hi,on going to pay my road tax I was presented with a sheet of paper saying I had another two cars which have both been sold some time ago,one 3years & the other at least 5 years,unfortunately I have no proof of these sales & can only remember one persons name.Dave.

R van der Heijden em 19.02.2008. 12:38

Dear FD,

Your answer from 31.01.2008. 11:58 was very clear but... now it seems that the Alfândega still wants my friend to pay the ISV.
In the mean time I have tried to 'understand' the Lei No0 22-A-2007, de 29 de Junho (ISV and IUC) but that's still to difficult for me. Can you please tell me where I can find the 'some transitional articles' as mentioned in your answer from 31.01.2008. 11:58

With best regards
Rob

FD em 12.02.2008. 09:20

No. You must own the car that you want to bring to Portugal for at least 12 months as you were told at the Alfândega. Sadly, there's nothing that you can do to avoid the tax.

KK em 08.02.2008. 13:59

I have bought a new car in my country (European Union) in December 2007, and for personal reasons now moved to Portugal (forever), so the car is like 3 months old. I got to know from Alfandega that i need to have the car in my country for at least 12 months in order to be excluded from the tax. Is it still possible for me to avoid this tax or not really ?

Thanks!

FD em 31.01.2008. 11:58

In the new law there were some transitional articles, and among them the issue that you bring here was one.

The law became valid July 1st, but regarding the exemption due when a citizen transfers his residence to Portugal, in which the vehicle should be his for at least 6 months, the new period, of 12 months, only became valid January 1st.

So, if your friend transferred his residence to Portugal and began the registration/legalization process up to December 2007, he would be required to have his car for at least 6 month. But, if he began the legalization/registration process in January 2008 the time required was no longer 6 month but 12 month.

I think I was clear, if not please say so. :)

R van der Heijden em 30.01.2008. 14:30

Dear FD, reply to your answer 30.01.2008 11:02

"If you could contextualize your question I could be more useful"

Ok, to be more specific. My friend started the import of his car somewhere between August 2007 and January 2008. At that moment he was told that the car had to be registered at his name for at least 6 month in the country of origin. Now (January 2008), áfter finishing the proces, he has been told that he has to pay the ISV (€ 10.000 !) because the new law on the ISV already was validated in July 2007 instead of January 2008.

FD em 30.01.2008. 11:02

Reply to R van der Heijden on 28.01.2008. 23:24:

The law comprises two different taxes: the ISV and the IUC. The ISV is payable upon the first registration/licensing. The IUC is payable every year.

In July 2007, the law (both ISV and IUC) became valid to every vehicle registered from that moment forward. In January 2008, the law, comprising only IUC, became valid to all vehicles, including those registered before July 2007.

If you could contextualize your question I could be more useful.

FD em 30.01.2008. 10:46

Reply to John Fripp on 28.01.2008. 21:49:

These were the intentions behind the new system:

- reduce the load on the tax system caused by paying in a specific period of the year: the queues at the tax offices were huge and the computer network was overloaded becoming many times unusable
- transfer the responsibility of tax supervision from the police authorities to the Ministério das Finanças (Ministry of Finances)
- by basing it on property and not on circulation it's much easier to find out who isn't paying, therefore, on site tax supervision (on the road) is almost not needed

So, with this new system, it's the understanding of the government that the police function is to watch for our safety and not to check if we pay or we don't pay our taxes. That's a job for the tax collectors, the Ministério das Finanças (Ministry of Finances), not for the police. Nonetheless, police authorities can continue to monitor tax payment on the road.

R van der Heijden em 28.01.2008. 23:24

Dear FD,

As a reply on your answer off 21.01.2008. 11:23 the following question.

Today a Dutch friend of mine was told that he had to pay the ISV because the law on the ISV already has been changed in June 2007 and not in January 2008 !.
Please advise me on this and, very important, something I can refer to if it turned out to be that the information that has been given to him, is not correct.

John Fripp em 28.01.2008. 21:49

As a retired British police officer living in Portugal, I was impressed by the old system of paying vehicle tax. There was no doubt as to the legality of a car with regard to documentation, the vehicle tax, insurance cover and MOT were all displayed in the windscreen. The vehicle tax was uniform, as all vehicles had to be taxed between 1 June and 31 July and the annual tax stamp was there for all to see. I cannot see any advantage with regard to the new system introduced on 01.01.2008, can you explain the thought behind this new system, the GNR and Traffic police must be pulling their hair out as they no longer can make an easy check of parked vehicles that are unattended

FD em 25.01.2008. 09:40

If the car is left in Portugal for more than 183 days in each year, you have to register it (legalização). This procedure has a cost that depends on your car's engine displacement (cc/cm3), CO2 emissions and age.

Furthermore, you'll have to pay IUC, the annual tax.

You can do a simulation of how much you'd pay here:
https://impostosobreveiculos.info/isv/simulador-isv/simulador-online-isv-20072008-importados-usados/

For your convenience:
Gasolina = Petrol/Unleaded
Gasóleo = Diesel

Where you see "Mais de 1 a 2 anos (1 ano e 1 dia a exactamente 2 anos)" it translates as: More than 1 to 2 years (1 year and 1 day to exactly 2 years).

The total amount to pay is seen bellow at "Total Impostos (ISV+IVA caso aplicável)", consider the second column value, the first one was for 2007. Below, "Imposto Único de Circulação" is the value of the annual tax.

To register it you'll have to go to 3 different offices, Centro de Inspecção (the same procedure as UK's MOT), Alfândega/DGAIEC (customs) and IMTT (UK's DVLA).

I think it is best for you to contract a "Agência de Documentação" as the task may be daunting at some point. You can search for one here: https://yellowpages.pai.pt/ (Yellow Pages).

Documents: original vehicle registration certificate and or other document that clearly states the vehicle's mechanical characteristics and the owner, and in some cases the COC (Certificate of Conformity) or UK's Homologation Sheet.

Steve Salter em 24.01.2008. 08:13

I own a holiday home in the Algarve,I would like to bring one of my cars from the UK for use when I am there,it would be left in Portugal.Do I have to register this car in Portugal?How do I pay the tax?What documents do I need?

FD em 21.01.2008. 11:23

The six month period was valid in the previous law. In this new law (and since January 1st 2008) it was updated to twelve months.

So yes, if you want to be exempt from ISV when moving to Portugal your car must be registered in your name for at least twelve months.

My portuguese is better than my english. :D

R van der Heijden em 19.01.2008. 12:06

As far as I know one need to prove that the vehicle to be imported into Portugal must have been registered at your name at least for six months in the country of origin. This to get an exempt for the ISV.
Now I have heard rumours that this period has been changed to 12 months.

Is that true or is it just a rumour ?

By the way I'm not a native speaker. I'm Dutch but at the moment my English is better than my Portuguese ;-)

FD em 18.01.2008. 12:20

For what I'm aware, there will be no notice for payment sent to your address. You'll have to take initiative to pay the tax by yourself.

Since January 1st 2008, the tax stamp ceased to exist. Replacing it, you'll need to have two "documents" in your car: DUC (Documento Único de Cobrança) - the sheet of paper that you print in your computer with the information about your car and the payment methods available (obtained from https://www.e-financas.gov.pt), and the receipt of that payment (from the ATM - Multibanco, Correios, Bank, etc.).

If you prefer, you can pay directly at any Finanças service, be sure to take with you the car documents and your Número de Contribuinte.

Christine Vincent em 18.01.2008. 12:05

Many English and Portuguese people I have spoken to did not know of the new road tax rules. Will people receive notification that the car tax system has changed or a letter to remind them to pay the new tax in the month of their car registration?
Do you still get a road tax stamp?

FD em 14.01.2008. 14:40

I don't quite understand what you mean with pro-rata in this case, but yes, you'll have to pay it during March.

The tax is due for a full fiscal year, but it's only payable in that period.

Ann Denton em 11.01.2008. 19:55

Regarding the new road tax rules, our car was first registered in March 2003. Will we have to pay this coming March (we have paid one year's tax in July 2007) and will it be a pro-rata charge in the first instance?

FD em 11.01.2008. 10:10

Thanks. :)

The law, as strange as it may seem, doesn't set a time limit for a ISV exempt request when you move to Portugal.

Nonetheless, you say you'll be here for at least two more years. Are you on a time limited mission or something equivalent? In that case you don't even need to change the license plates to drive in Portugal. You can benefit from a special condition called "Admissão e importação temporária" (admission and temporary import).

Whenever someone moves to Portugal for a time limited mission, be it a job, studies or something alike, all you need is to prove that you'll be here for a determined period and that you'll return to your country. Is this the case?

J. F. em 10.01.2008. 11:58

Hi,

I have a car I bougth a couple of years ago, and later I moved to Portugal. I have been living and working in Portugal for two years, and I will be here at least for two more years. When I first moved, I did not need a car in Portugal, but now it can be useful. Can I still take it to Portugal and avoid paying the ISV? In principle I fullfil the requirements displayed above:
- I have lived in other country my whole life before moving to portugal (more than 12 months), but I have been living in Portugal the last 2 years.
- I have more than 12 months of driving experience and I am above 18.
- I am not selling my car for a long time.

Do I have to go to Alfândega and ask there? Which documents should I take with me?

Thanks, and congratulations for the nice site.

FD em 01.08.2007. 18:18

You should've payed the tax between 1st June and 31st July.

As of now, you must go to a tax office (Finanças) near you and pay the tax. Take with you your "número de contribuinte" and the car's documentation (DUA - documento único automóvel). To pay at the tax office choose the "Tesouraria" queue.

George em 01.08.2007. 17:24

I bought my 1999 used passenger vehicle in August 2006. The dealer said that my registration was current. I have a "06" for the year on the IUC stamp. It is now August 1st. Some of the information I've looked at mentions a July 31st cutoff for paying the annual tax. What do I need to do to make this current, if anything?