A Car from the USA as Relocation Goods — Exemption from Duty, Excise and VAT

A car is one of the few excise goods that can be brought in as relocation goods with relief from customs duty, excise duty and VAT. Unlike an ordinary purchase of a car in the USA (which we describe in our guide to duty, excise and VAT on importing a car), the key issues here are the additional conditions concerning the vehicle itself and the person who is relocating.

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Conditions for relief for a car from the USA

For a car brought from the USA to be relieved from customs and tax liabilities as relocation goods, the following conditions must all be met:

• Ownership and use of the vehicle for at least 6 months before the day you stopped living in the USA — what counts is actual use for your own purposes, not merely formal ownership (Article 4(a) of Regulation 1186/2009; Article 112(1)(2) of the Excise Duty Act).
• Residence outside the territory of the EU continuously for at least 12 months immediately before the move to Poland (Article 5 of Regulation 1186/2009; Article 112(1)(4) of the Excise Duty Act).
• Import of the car for the personal use of the person relocating — the exemption from duty and VAT does not cover commercial means of transport or means of transport intended for business activity (Article 6 of Regulation 1186/2009; Article 47(2) of the VAT Act).
• Declaration for release for free circulation within 12 months of establishing a new place of residence in Poland — the goods may be declared in several separate lots, so the car may travel separately from the rest of your belongings (Article 7 of Regulation 1186/2009).
• A ban on selling, hiring out, lending, pledging or otherwise transferring the vehicle for 12 months — counted from release for free circulation (duty and VAT) and from import (excise duty). Disposal before that date results in an obligation to pay the liabilities at the rates applicable on the date of transfer (Article 8 of Regulation 1186/2009; Article 47(4) of the VAT Act; Article 112(1)(5) of the Excise Duty Act).

Legal basis of the relief — customs duty, excise duty and VAT separately

Relief for a car as relocation goods rests on three different legal acts, which must be satisfied in parallel:

• Customs duty — the exemption stems from Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 (Articles 3–11); the concept of personal property also covers private motor vehicles and their trailers.
• Excise duty — for persons arriving from outside the EU and from outside the EFTA states party to the EEA Agreement (i.e. among others from the USA), the excise exemption is governed by Article 112 of the Excise Duty Act. Conditions: the car is intended for personal use, was used at the previous place of residence for at least 6 months before the change of residence, the stay abroad lasted at least 12 consecutive months, evidence is presented to the head of the customs and tax office, and the car is not sold, hired out or handed over to a third party for use for 12 months from import. Relocations from another EU country or from an EFTA state party to the EEA (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) are governed separately by Article 110.
• VAT — the VAT exemption on import of personal belongings of a person transferring their residence from a third country stems from Article 47 of the Polish Act on goods and services tax; the conditions (6 months of use, 12 months of residence, declaration within 12 months, 12-month ban on transfer) correspond to the customs conditions.

Documents needed for relief for a car as relocation goods

• Title or another document confirming ownership of the vehicle in the USA, with a date of acquisition at least 6 months earlier.
• Evidence of actual use of the vehicle in the USA (an insurance policy for that car, service history, fuel/parking receipts).
• Evidence of residence in the USA for at least 12 months (tenancy agreement, utility bills, US tax return).
• Bill of Lading or another document for the transport of the vehicle.
• Evidence that the condition of 6 months' use of the car is met, presented to the head of the customs and tax office (Article 112(1)(3) of the Excise Duty Act).
• Evidence of establishing a place of residence in Poland and a customs declaration for the release-for-free-circulation procedure with an application for relief.

Typical mistakes that cost you the relief

• Using the car for business activity — the relief applies to a car intended for personal use; means of transport intended for business activity are excluded from the duty and VAT exemption, and including the car in company assets may be treated as a breach of the personal-use condition.
• Selling, hiring out or lending the vehicle before 12 months have passed — this also covers handing the car over for use by a close relative; the consequence is an obligation to pay the liabilities.
• Too short a documented period of use of the vehicle — e.g. a car bought in the USA 3 months before departure does not meet the 6-month use condition; the relief also does not cover vehicles bought on the way back.
• No evidence of actual use — a title alone without evidence of use (registration, insurance, servicing) may not be enough.
• Declaring late — the goods must be declared for release for free circulation before 12 months have passed from establishing residence in Poland.

How the relief works step by step

1. Gather the documents confirming ownership and use of the vehicle for at least 6 months and residence in the USA for at least 12 months.
2. Transport the car to Poland (directly or under T1 transit through another EU country) together with a bill of lading or another transport document.
3. Customs declaration for the release-for-free-circulation procedure with an application for relief from customs duty (Regulation 1186/2009) and VAT (Article 47 of the VAT Act).
4. Present evidence to the head of the customs and tax office that the conditions for the excise exemption under Article 112 of the Excise Duty Act are met.
5. Verification by the office — an assessment of whether the documents confirm that all the conditions are met cumulatively; the office may ask for additional explanations or evidence.
6. Release of the vehicle for free circulation without duty, VAT and excise duty if the conditions have been met.
7. Technical inspection and registration of the vehicle at the transport department — observing the ban on selling the car or handing it over for use for 12 months.

The difference between relocation goods from the EU and from the USA

The substantive conditions (6 months of ownership, 12 months of residence, ban on transfer) are analogous regardless of whether the relocation is from another EU country or from a third country such as the USA. The legal basis on the excise side differs, however: for relocations from another EU country (and from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) Article 110 of the Excise Duty Act applies, and for relocations from other countries — including the USA — Article 112, which additionally requires 12 consecutive months of residence abroad. In practice this also means more customs formalities (an import declaration, possibly a T1 document) which do not apply when a vehicle moves within the European Union.

What the duration of the procedure depends on and when to use a customs agent

The duration of the procedure depends above all on the completeness of the documents — gaps (e.g. insufficient evidence of use of the vehicle) prolong clearance. Because the assessment of evidence can be discretionary, and procedural mistakes (e.g. a declaration after the 12-month deadline) are irreversible, for larger moves — especially those combining the car with the rest of the goods in one container — it is worth considering the support of a customs agent, who will prepare the full set of documents and monitor the deadlines on both the customs and excise sides.

What to do if the car does not meet the conditions for relief

If the car was bought just before leaving the USA or the owner lived abroad for less than 12 months, the relocation goods relief will not apply — in that case you must settle customs duty (for cars originating in the USA from 1.07.2026 the rate is 0%, for cars of other origin 10%), excise duty and VAT under the general rules. We describe the full calculation of these liabilities, with an example, in the guide importing a car from the USA — duty, excise and VAT.

If the car travels together with the rest of your personal belongings as part of one move, it is also worth checking the general rules for declaring relocation goods described in the article relocation goods from the USA to Poland — they cover, among other things, the 12-month deadline for bringing in all the goods and the rules on splitting a consignment into lots.

Sources

• Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009, Articles 3–11 — EUR-Lex
• Polish Excise Duty Act, Articles 110 and 112 — ISAP (in Polish)
• Polish Act on goods and services tax, Article 47 — ISAP (in Polish)
• Relocation goods — customs duty relief — podatki.gov.pl (Polish National Revenue Administration, in Polish)

Want to check whether your car from the USA qualifies for relief as relocation goods? Contact us — we will help assess the documents before shipping.

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