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Does anyone have recent experience of importing & registering a motorcycle in the UK

I'm trying to understand the process and costs involved in importing my U.S. registered BMW F650 back to the UK. I bought it three years ago and have ridden it into the ground around North and South America but it clearly has sufficient sentimental value for me to consider importing it back to the UK where I am a resident.

Besides shipping costs I understand that I need to pay 6% duty and then 20% VAT on the value of the motorcycle + shipping costs + duty

I purchased the motorcycle three years ago for $8,000 and don't want to pay VAT on the initial purchase price since the true value is less than half that amount.

If anyone has any recent experience of this process or can recommend agents or shipping companies to help it would be much appreciated. Every $ or £ saved is important so air freight is almost certainly out of the question.

I'm replying to my own thread but for the benefit of others who maybe looking for similar information I received this from a friend via email:

Importing is easy. You need to get a bill of sale (make this yourself, it needs very little effort or imagination). Bill of sale just needs a few details, a name and address of the seller (can be fictional), a few words about sold as seen or something, and a signature from you (doesn't even need the sellers). A few words about the bike being a heap of junk and not running (spares/repairs) would do well to justify a low price.

Then you take it down to the nice girls at Aladdin Freight in Oakland, who are the cheapest shipping agents I've found, by a long margin. $450 to the UK. They need the title, a photocopy of your passport, your email address, and that's about it.

You get an email from a company called Kingstown shipping, Stephen Shores or Mark Cowley. They'll tell you it's arrived, and that they have/need your bill of sale for import purposes. Then you fill in the C384 form (attached), and they give you a bill for import tax.

You don't need to pay Aladdin freight until the bike arrives, and then you can pay the whole lot to Kingstown, and they'll pay Aladdin.

The bike will be released from customs, and available for collection here:

Chatham Freight Station
Building 63
Chatham Docks
Chatham
Kent
ME4 4SR

Then you go and collect it. You'll be given an important form stating that you've paid the duty on the vehicle (C&E 386). This is needed if and when you register the bike on the road over here with the DVLA.

You'll need the import pack from this address https://www.dvla.gov.uk/dvla/onlines...ms.aspx?ext=dg

easyG I'm actually in the middle of this process myself.I bought a bike in Alaksa last year and have just imported it to the UK. Well, it's here but I haven't actually "imported " it yet.

So far I haven't had to pay any taxes. I assume I won't but I haven't got my carnet back from the freight company yet (the bike only arrived two days ago)

All info. is here Registering an imported vehicle : Directgov - Motoring

You'll need to fill in a V55 form and get various things done.

As I don't have a "type approval" I have to go for a MSVA (Motorbike single vehicle approval) which is a sort of MOT. I'm doing that next thursday.

Then on Friday I have it booked in for an MOT

I've just (today) insured it online - which isn't easy as many companies require a number plate and won't insure just on a VIN. I went through bikesure online. Motorbike & Motorcycle Insurance | Scooter Insurance & Moped Insurance - Bikesure

So, but Friday night I hope to be able to post off all the stuff to the DVLA and it should take them two weeks (???) to process it all.

I'm expecting trouble but we'll see. I'll be posting all my info. on my blog. So take a look there and email me ( from my blog site) if I can be of any further assistance.

or if you live in the Warwickshire area look out for a BMW1200 with Alaska plates riding around!

I did this 3 years ago with an Aussie bike and registered in UK. I had to get the SVA test first (initially failed as didn't have a 5w running light on the headlight so added a small light on the front after which it passed. They also don't accept stickers on the speedo glass on KPH versions).

I had to pay around £400 to Customs for duty and VAT (they valued the bike at £1,600 at this point; when it was stolen a month later after going through this process, the insurance valued it at £2,700) and then you get a certificate from them which you need to give to DVLA for the registration process and you'll get a UK reg no and tax disc.

The import process may be different if your bike is coming in via a port, I rode mine in via Dover. I asked customs at the port about it but they weren't interested. I only got a limited period of insurance from Carole Nash until it was registered too, think it was a month but managed to extend by a couple of weeks as the SVA process took a while.

I thought if you brought it in as a personal import there was no VAT payable, you cannot sell it for 12 months afterwards without being liable for the tax and this will be noted in the V5.

Hi Mark

I thought I remembered there was a discussion about this a few months back and after a bit of searching I found:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith1954 (Post 534601)

I've just paid 20% VAT and 6% Import Duty (26% in total) on the current value of the bike.

This is the definitive position:

VAT is usually payable to HMRC (Customs) if a vehicle is imported from outside the EU. If you are a VAT registered business then HMRC needs to be notified using the NOVA (Notification of Vehicle Arrivals) system.

There are some exemptions to the payment of VAT on vehicles imported from outside of the EU. You would be exempt if you qualify for transfer of residence relief. You can qualify if you can prove (all) the following:

you are moving your normal home to the UK
your normal home was outside the EU for a continuous period of at least 12 months
you have owned and used the vehicle for at least 6 months outside of the EU
you did not get the vehicle under a duty or tax-free scheme
you are going to keep the vehicle for personal use for at least twelve months.

Furthermore, you may not pay VAT on an imported vehicle if it has been previously exported from the EU or the vehicle is imported from outside the EU and is registered to a non-EU resident.

------------------------

AND I haven't finished paying yet! In addition to the import agent's fee (that is, if you employ a specialist agency), I still have to pay:

First registration fee to the DVLA .................... £55
Cost of getting a UK reg plate made-up ........... £??
Change speedo reading from kms to miles ...... £20
MOT test .................................................. .. £30
Vehicle road tax to the DVLA ..........................£82

There may be one other fee of £85, which will is the cost of a MSVA (Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval) test, IF I cannot get hold of a COC (Certificate of Conformity) from the maufacturer's national agent from where the bike was first registered, which in my case is Blue Wing Honda Ltd in New Zealand.

:(

Filling out the papers to register bike in uk

Hi I have just got a klx 250 off a man what lived in France I trying to fill out the v55/5 form do I need to fill in every little box about co2 and other stuff if I do where would I find this info thanks Chris

hi mate
I've just imported my bike and did a big write up on how i did it

https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...705#post609790