I am interested in permanently importing a landcruiser into morocco for use in the sahara countries. Does anyone know of how to go about importing (on a permanent basis) a car to Morocco (on either UK or Gibraltar registration plates)?

Also, does anyone know which countries in the area will require a carnet for a morocco registered vehicle?
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4x4Sahara

Take a look at Douanes Marocaines

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I think it will be too much expensive. They protect the national comerce of cars by high importation taxes.

By "Protect" you mean "Employ extra bureaucrats, make a few smugglers rich, and make it harder for the vast majority of the population to get access to affordable / reliable / efficient cars", yes? ;-)

Not exactly, In Morocco you can buy cars like Toyota Prado, Land Cruiser 105 and it´s normal their authorities try to dificult "paralel" importatios via high taxes. In Spain it´s almost the same. Anyway Moroccan taxes, and in general moroccan administration, are copied from French system.

Well, the last time I chatted with a Moroccan car dealer he was amazed at how cheaply I'd bought my vehicle in Europe. (He seemed interested in some kind of dubious import deal, since I occasionally go to vehicle auctions in the UK, but the language barrier was too high).

Meanwhile some of dealer's neighbours were driving around in old, inefficient, unreliable rustbuckets. (If they could afford an extra €1500 they'd drive around in a 15-year-old Mercedes which is merely inefficient). But most of the locals didn't have cars at all.

In Spain? A person or a business can simply bring a vehicle in from another EU country and sell it, with no import taxes, and very little paperwork. This helps ensure that people in Spain, like in other European countries, have better access to a wide range of affordable modern cars.

Nowadays you can see more medium level families with new cars, small, but new cars like Dacia, Citroen Berlingo, etc. and less old cars. Since they are mounting cars in Morocco, some years ago, importing cars is not a great deal. Consider that Morocco is an emerging country.

You are right, into the EU you don´t have to pay importation taxes but you must pay an registering tax (Impuesto de Matriculación) that deters you to bring a car form Germany or France, in Portugal is worst. This tax is another way of protecting national market.

Bit of a snide comment that. I could say that it sounds a bit like your country, (whatever one that may be), seeing that all countries and trading blocs are run like this.

The problem with most Moroccans is that they cannot afford a car becausse of low wages, not necessarily because of government policies. A Renault Megane is the same price in Morocco as Ireland (where I'm from) but because of wage difference more people can afford one here. So its probably a bit more complicated than what you think.

Really?

With a new Megane the price difference will now be relatively small; the last time I checked, the Moroccan tariff on new vehicles imported from euroland is down to 6.5% this year (it was 9.5% last year and 13% the year before; the Moroccan government has committed to reforming this problem). But that's still 6.5% that somebody has to pay.

Renault, the producer, certainly won't pay that 6.5% (though they might choose to make moroccan-market Meganes with a cheaper spec level), and the importer is there to earn money rather than to subsidise every moroccan's purchases. that just leaves one person who has to pay: The retail customer, who also has to support the 10,000 people employed by that import tariff system.

Tariffs on new vehicles imported from outside the EU are a higher percentage (this year 32.5% - 40% depending on vehicle type), and tariffs on second-hand vehicles have historically been high too. Who else but the retail customer will pay that cost?

GIVET have very strongly opposed zero tariffs on imported vehicles. And who could blame them? They earn a living by doing paperwork on vehicle imports, paying charges, &c, and passign that cost on through increased sticker prices. GIVET even cheekily said "Le démantèlement tarifaire, prévu par la loi de Finances 2009, sera un obstacle �* la baisse des prix de véhicules et entravera la compétitivité entre les différents opérateurs du secteur". If you were a Moroccan wanting to buy a new Corolla, would you be happy with that explanation? "Oh, we'd just love everybody to have cheaper cars, but lower taxes will stop us... We need extra charges and extra paperwork to make the market fairer..."

I would agree, though, with your point that wages are often much lower in Morocco than in (say) most parts of the EU. That makes it all the more important that Moroccans get access to affordable, efficient, reliable cars. Since the import duties push up prices of all cars, that decreases the quality of car that a Moroccan can afford at any price point; so people on lower incomes are a lot more likely to end up with the false economy of some older vehicle that is less fuel-efficient or less reliable. It's a perfect example of a ghetto tax.

I asked at the customs office in Rabat how much would it cost to register my 17years old Opel Astra (worth in Spain about 1000 euros) and I was told that it would be 47000dirhams! (4400euros).

So, better park it in Gibraltar and take the ferry when needed. It will be much cheaper.

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Spain , -like UK- has Its own import duty on cars. Indeed exactly the same as every other country . Why wouldnt it be ?

Any foreign registered car should be registered before 6 months , or the vehicle re-exported or impounded->destroyed.


Importing an UK registered vehicle *indeed any EU -registered* into Spain is such as mess , troublesome experience that It is best avoided . I ve done it twice and never-ever again.

and from 2006 they won't register any more RHD.


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