Importing Used personal Automobile into China

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kaycee

Newbie

Joined: Dec 28, 2004
Posts: 7

Status: Offline

Posted: Oct 30, 2005 - 10:05 AM
Post subject: Importing Used personal Automobile into China

Hi all, I'm currently caught in a bind and trying to figure out the best solution to my situation.

I have moved to Shanghai a few months ago from the US, and since the relocation was quite unexpected, I bought a relatively expensive car before my move not too long ago.

Obviously I was ignorant about the hefty import taxes on import automobiles that apparently applies to new and used cars alike and I did not include that cost in the negotiation of my relocation package (which was quite good but not good enough for the various taxes).

So now it's parked in the US, depreciating, while I'm here in Shanghai. I also miss driving and it would be quite ridiculous for me to buy another car here (though I have been visiting local dealerships recently just to get a sense of the costs). In addition, the second-hand market here in China is very much against the seller so a new car would depreciate to zero pretty quickly.

I checked with my dealership, and if I sell the car now in the US, I will only recover about half the original price (new model just came out) and I really don't want to sell.

So it seems like if I can figure out a way to ship it here for a reasonable price, then that would be the best option. So far I have been able to find very little about the exact costs of importing my car here (my local relocation specialist practically told me to forget that idea). What I have found out right now is the following:

1. VAT - I think it's currently at 17%
2. Consumption Tax (Ïû·ÑË°) - I heard the new rate will be 14% (3.0-4.0L)
3. ¹ºÖÃË° (don't know the English equivalent) - no idea how much
4. Import duties - heard it's about 30% but nobody I know has the details.

So if someone could point me to any resources on the taxes above and their rates, I would really appreciate it. I know this is changing very quickly but I want to at least know how this all works.

Better yet, if there are ways to get quotas to import personal vehicles at reduced tax rates, I'd like to learn more about it (e.g. I've been told there were days where you can set up a company with a certain amount of investment capital and enjoy some auto import quota tax-free).

Thanks for your time to read this, and appreciate any infomration!

Cheers,
- KC

sinned69

SuperStar

Joined: Sep 01, 2004
Posts: 1467
Location: China, Middle East, Asia Pacific
Status: Offline

Posted: Oct 30, 2005 - 10:58 AM

sorry dont know what point 3. is your characters didnt come thru.???

setting up a company and getting a car with licence included used to exist but now doesn't. also there are alot of other considerations and complexities, i & others have written alot on this subject on the forums. please do a search, as im not into writing another book all over again. LOL Razz

also the import duty on cars was effectively 200% but has now been reduced 100%. some companies WOFE and JV when they first setup were alloted one or two vehicles that could be soruced locally or overseas, but that ruling has changed recently (anyone correct me here). our company got two cars, but we were given some special waivers because we were in the pudong new area, we were the first JV in our field and it was 5yrs ago. rules change in china very very fast. there are also special rules applied for different districts and development depts. thats what make half of doing business so complex here.
realistically, you either gonna spend an awful lot of money to get your car here, or you might just have to accpet leaving it back in the US and buy one here or, buy a bike and do yourself a favour. shanghai is not that car friendly... really. i can get anywhere just as fast on my bike as i can in the car.

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