Perhaps my friend was mistaken on the import duty. I think 70% is correct, and my calculations bear this out. Blue book on a 1991 Nissan 240sx is roughly USD$1,500. This will be about NTD$80,000 at 70%.
Also, it’s true that by law you can’t import a car under 1 year or over 10 years old. But as many of us know, the “law” in Taiwan has many strange gray areas and loopholes. I looked at the documents of a car that has completed the registration process and it clearly states year of production in the mid-1980s. However, what mattered was that a certain official stamp was of a vintage later than ten years ago.
I think as with all things in Taiwan it’s all about guanxi aka “hookups”. If you’re serious about importing a car over 10 years old, you’ll need to “know someone”.
Strange that one article states “Currently Taiwan only imports cars from North America and Europe, with most Japanese cars assembled domestically by companies such as Yulon,” while another says Japan and Korea are “Taiwan’s largest hubs of automobile importation.”
Did I miss something or did things really change that much in the three months between the two articles??
Yes. I tried to bring my car with me when I came back. I was told that the tax alone would have been in the neighborhood of US$10,000 on a car that I spent US$6000 for used. 15 years ago, it made sense, but not anymore.
What about smuggling it in piece by piece in your luggage then reassembling it <ducking and covering, fully anticipating a well deserved shoe launched at head>
What about smuggling it in piece by piece in your luggage then reassembling it <ducking and covering, fully anticipating a well deserved shoe launched at head>[/quote]
You could ship it in and reassemble it easily enough. But you wouldn’t be able to get a plate on it without paying those taxes that you just avoided. And they are plenty of plate-less illegal bikes here already that you could buy for 200,000 or less already. So…no real benifit to shipping it in in parts.
I know a guy who bought a Yamaha R1 for about 80k with no plate.
What about smuggling it in piece by piece in your luggage then reassembling it <ducking and covering, fully anticipating a well deserved shoe launched at head>[/quote]
You could ship it in and reassemble it easily enough. But you wouldn’t be able to get a plate on it without paying those taxes that you just avoided. And they are plenty of plate-less illegal bikes here already that you could buy for 200,000 or less already. So…no real benifit to shipping it in in parts.
I know a guy who bought a Yamaha R1 for about 80k with no plate.[/quote]
And they are plenty of plate-less illegal bikes here already that you could buy for 200,000 or less already.
plate-less bikes…so when you buy it what does it mean? it’s illegal bike without plate? and when they stop you you just pay heavier fine or something? but you still get to keep it?
I was looking at this subaru sti used…the guy import used ones from japan…said something about it’s no plate and I just use my own plate or something…at the time I didn’t understand what he is talking about…but I guess that is what you guys are talking about? so what are the consequences for driving such car? how about insurance etc…thanks a lot Iam eager to konw…coz they don’t have sti for this year and used sti from this used car dealer is much cheaper!
It plateless bikes are 100% illegal and if you are pulled over by a cop who isn’t acting pathetically useless like they normally do…then he can confiscate it. I used to ride a plateless bike…I was pulled over by the police 4 or 5 times…one of those times was for speeding…What did they do? Nothing. But back then ALL bikes were plateless…I hear they are cracking down on them now…but about the only thing I can imagine a cop here cracking down on is his pipe (crack pipe).
So there are no fines…they just take the vehicle away from you. But chances are you’ll get at least a year out of it…and considering the depreciation of legal vehicles…plateless might save you more money…even if it gets confiscated.
so how about for cars? thinking about buying a plateless car…this used car dealer gets them from Japan…but I wonder how are the cars…anyways…same thing for bike applies to cars? so are you saying the probably won’t confiscate it from you if you weren’t speeding or doing anything stupid…
after they take it away is there a chance to get it back…
so plateless bikes or cars waht does it mean…could be stolen? imported w/o paying tax etc?
[quote=“ironfist”]so how about for cars? thinking about buying a plateless car…this used car dealer gets them from Japan…but I wonder how are the cars…anyways…same thing for bike applies to cars? so are you saying the probably won’t confiscate it from you if you weren’t speeding or doing anything stupid…
after they take it away is there a chance to get it back…
so plateless bikes or cars waht does it mean…could be stolen? imported w/o paying tax etc?[/quote]
99% of the plateless bikes are stolen from Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore or somewhere else close by. I’d guess it would be the same for cars.
how about insurance…can you insure the car or bike when it’s plateless?
so do you reocmmend people to get plateless bike or cars…
pro is like less money…con is if you get caught then the car is gone…any other pro/con u can list? but depends where u at…like central or southern taiwan is more ok I think
Well I hope nobody is recommending anything illegal, because the Forumosa Rules state clearly: “Do not promote illegal activities… Breach of this rule can lead to legal proceedings against this site, and will not be tolerated.”
Of course an illegal vehicle wouldn’t be covered by insurance!
From one of your attachment…they were all interesting read…it states that you have to be the registered owner of the vehicle for atleast 1 year before you can bring it into Taiwan. Do you know if this is still the case, as I’m sure it would rule out most of the potential people considering going down this route?
To follow the letter of the “law” in Taiwan, no Japan domestic market vehicle from Japan may be legalized and plated here because they’re all right-hand drive. That said, I have heard that there is a S15 chassis Nissan Silvia (it was never sold in the US) from Japan driving around Taiwan with plates issued for that specific car, not just taken off another. When it got off the ship and came out of the container, it was somehow either disguised, or the customs official was given an “incentive” not to notice which side the steering wheel and pedals were.
And as for the 1 year of ownership issue, again a gray area. I know for a fact 2 of my friends who brought over 240sx’s from the US both owned their cars less than a year. YMMV… Geordie, where would you be importing from? Perhaps I could put you in touch with the right people.
I’m thinking of either the UK or Germany. In simple terms, I was going to find a dealer or specialist, pay for the car, and have it immediately shipped to Taiwan…though now i know it will be difficult doing it this way…
I sent the Keelung Customs office an email in inquiry to a mini-van I’d like to bring over.
I’ve posted the first round of emails and will update as they come…
[quote=“Nam”]I have a Dodge mini-van in Toronto Canada that I would like to bring here for my personal use(not for sale). What are the taxes and other charges that would apply to my situation? I would purchase the car here, but it is not for sale on the local market, although it does comply with all local safety and environmental laws and regulations. Please let me know what I would have to do to bring my car here as my fiancee are getting married this summer, and will be having children soon there-after. We also have two Golden Retrievers that don`t fit into our Nissan. Any assistance in the matter would be more than greatly appreciated…
-Nam[/quote]
[quote=“Keelung Customs Office”]Dear Nam：
Regarding to your e-mail of June 12.2006,in which inquire of how to clear customs and how much tax should be pay about your Dodge mini-van bought in Canada；We like to inform you that the necessary details as following：
The duty-payer shall declare imported good to Customs within fifteen days following the arrival date of the transportation means carrying such goods(Customs Act ,article. 16).In this case ,you should fill out import declaration form ,including car content such as ,manufactured country、model year、brand、model、displacement、left side steering、transmission、engine limited to use 95 unleaded gasoline only、standard equipment with eec & catalyst converter、chassis no. and submitted along with invoice。
According to 〝Classification of Import & Export Commodities of the Republic of China 〞rules the goods mini-van(wagon) should be levied in tariff classification No︰9851.00.00.17-3,customs duty rate 23.2% (according to customs value)，35% commodity tax，5%business tax，rate of trade promoted fee 0.0415% 。
Among them the fee of trade promoted＝customs value ×0.0415﹪，
customs duty= customs value×23.2%，
commodity tax＝(customs value ＋customs duty )×35%，
the business tax＝（customs value＋customs duty＋commodity tax）×5﹪。
Besides you also need to notice that when the FOB(free on board )of your mini-van(wagon) value US dollar 20,000 or over ,pursuant to item 13,paragraph1,article 9 of Regulations managing Import Commodities ,you should apply for the permit in advanced from Board of Foreign Trade ,Minister of Economy Office。
After imported,related to the testing of environment protection ,spend energy standards and traffic and labor security should be done ,pursuant to the regulations governing of other domestic relevant laws.
With best regards
[quote=“Nam”]After imported,related to the testing of environment protection ,spend energy standards and traffic and labor security should be done ,pursuant to the regulations governing of other domestic relevant laws.[/quote]I think this is the bit you should be most concerned about. You’ll have to pay a large amount to do the emissions test – possibly multiple times!
Possibly…
I’m also talking to a guy from the Taipei office, who promised to fax me a some info on taxes and terrifs as soon as he can.
He seemed really friendly and as though he really wanted to help, so I should get that sometime this week.
I’ll post when I do.
For anyone who doesn’t know, the taxes will come in at about 72-73% of Carry Blue Book value of the vehicle in question. At base.
This doesn’t include an additional charge of $70k-$80k(currently), for emmissions and safety cerification. The gentleman mentioned that there are three places to do the testing. Keelung, Chunghua and Kaoshiong.
He also mentioned that the Blue Book value was arbitrary(yet pretty much high-balling), as the agent reviewing the vehicle will adjust the value according to the condition the vehicle is in, as well as options, etc…
I’m looking at a Dodge Caravan back home that would cost me about $12k CAD. It’s far below the $20k USD value, which would cost me an additional life’s savings on top of what’s mentioned in my earlier post.
I believe it’s the “Kelley Blue Book” value, not Carry.
Was the Dodge Caravan ever sold here? If something breaks down, how will you source parts?
Importing and legalizing a car is difficult and time consuming. Why not just get a second hand vehicle here?
Also, there are illegal “plateless” cars and bikes here imported as “scrap metal”. However, if you’re stopped, the car would likely be impounded with no possiblity of getting it back.
If you’re serious about importing a car over 10 years old, you’ll need to “know someone”.
<ducking and covering, fully anticipating a well deserved shoe launched at head>