Importing a Used Car from the UK to Luxembourg

Is There a Certificate of Origin?

No. Under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement there is no certificate of origin for a car going from the UK to the EU. No certificate gives the 0% rate: not a Chamber of Commerce certificate, not an EUR.1 and not any other. A claim to 0% can rest on only two things:

• A statement on origin. A fixed paragraph the UK exporter makes out on its invoice, or on another document that describes the car in enough detail to identify it. For a UK exporter the reference number in it is its GB EORI number. The European Commission's guidance lets that number be left out only on statements made out in the EU for consignments under €6,000, so a UK statement for a car needs the GB EORI number.
• Importer's knowledge. You, as the importer, claim the 0% rate yourself on information you hold that shows the car is originating: in practice its ex-works price and the value of its non-originating materials. You must have that information before you make the claim.

A statement on origin is valid for 12 months from the date it is made out, and it must still be valid when the claim is made, including a later claim for repayment. You choose one basis for the claim: once you have claimed on importer's knowledge, you cannot switch to a statement on origin after the car is released, and an import declaration can be amended only in limited cases. Keep the statement on origin, or the records behind an importer's knowledge claim, for at least three years after import. If 0% was not claimed at import, it can still be claimed later, up to three years after the import, and the excess duty is repaid, as long as the car qualified when it was imported and the evidence exists. If you claimed 0% and it was refused on checking, there is no later claim.

Will My Car Qualify for 0% Duty?

Origin depends on where the car was made and where its materials came from. For a petrol or diesel car to count as UK-originating, it must have been built in the UK and its non-originating materials must not exceed 45% of its ex-works price. It must also arrive unaltered. Parts that originate in the EU count as originating, so a gearbox that originates in Germany does not count against a British-built car. "Made in" the EU is not quite the same thing: a part assembled in Germany mostly from non-EU components counts only if it meets its own origin rule.

• Where the car was first registered does not matter. A BMW or Audi built in Germany and used in the UK for ten years is still of EU origin. A UK registration is not proof of UK origin, and after ten years the car is well outside the three-year window for Returned Goods Relief, so it pays the 10% duty when it enters the EU.
• There is no separate rule for used cars. Later use or a UK registration does not change where a car came from, so a used car has to meet the same rule as a new one.
• Hybrids and electric cars have their own rules, which get much stricter from 1 January 2027. Until 31 December 2026, hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric cars may have up to 60% non-originating materials, and the battery does not have to be originating. From 1 January 2027, plug-in hybrids and electric cars must meet 45% and have an originating battery pack, and other hybrids move to the general 45% rule. The European Commission has said the extension to the end of 2026 cannot be prolonged. No official source says which rule applies to a car built before 2027 and imported after, so do not count on the 60% limit for a car arriving in 2027. Ask us before you commit to one.

Jaguar's F-Type, for example, was built at Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, with V8 engines from JLR's Wolverhampton engine plant and an aluminium body structure, until production ended in 2024. Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Velar are built at Solihull, and the Range Rover Evoque and Discovery Sport at Halewood. Being built in Britain is only the start: no manufacturer publishes the non-originating content of a model, and only the manufacturer's cost data for the specific car can show whether it meets the rule. Many recent Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Velar, Evoque and Discovery Sport cars are plug-in hybrids, which fall under the rules for electrified cars above. Models built in the EU, such as the Defender and the Discovery from JLR's plant at Nitra in Slovakia, are of EU origin and pay 10% from the UK, unless Returned Goods Relief applies (see the FAQs).

Why Used Cars Are Hard to Prove

The rules are written for manufacturers, who hold the production cost data behind the 45% figure. A used-car exporter does not. HMRC lists buying goods and exporting them in the same state as a case where the exporter needs a supplier's declaration, and the exporter must hold it when it makes out the statement on origin (HMRC guidance). For a car, the supplier with knowledge of its origin is in practice the manufacturer. Under the agreement itself, the exporter is responsible for the correctness of the statement on origin and of the information behind it.

EU customs authorities have been clear about what this means for second-hand cars. Irish Revenue's September 2025 manual on importing motor vehicles from the UK, since replaced by a May 2026 manual, said a UK registration is not proof of UK origin and that origin is generally certified by the manufacturer, and its checklist for importing from the UK tells importers to make sure the UK exporter can supply the ex-works value of the car and the value of its non-originating materials. Malta's customs authority adds that a Chamber of Commerce certificate, a declaration by the manufacturer or the details in the log book are not enough on their own. So the evidence that counts is the manufacturer's cost data for the car, not a bare letter. Our Ireland import guide covers the same rules from the Irish side.

What this means for your quote. Only the UK exporter can make out a statement on origin, and it must quote the exporter's GB EORI number. Whoever makes it out is responsible for its accuracy, so without manufacturer evidence of UK origin for that specific car it should not be made out at all, and for a used car that evidence is often not available. Before you commit, we look at the evidence of origin for that car with you, but we cannot promise the evidence exists. Unless manufacturer evidence of UK origin is obtained for the car, our quotes show the 10% duty as payable. Duty and Luxembourg VAT are not part of our price: you pay them as the importer, and our figures for them are an estimate to confirm with the customs agent. If valid evidence is in hand before import, the 0% rate can be claimed on the import declaration; if it turns up afterwards and 0% was not claimed, the claim can be made within three years and the duty is repaid. If anyone offers you a statement on origin for a used car without that evidence, be wary: if Luxembourg customs check the claim later, the duty demand, and possibly interest and penalties, fall on you as the importer.

What It Costs

Luxembourg has the lowest standard VAT rate in the EU, at 17%. Where you pay import VAT depends on the car and on where it clears customs. For a car bought outside the EU by a private person who is not registered for VAT, new or used, Luxembourg customs say duty and VAT fall due in the EU country where the car is cleared, which by default is the first one it enters. A car cleared at Rotterdam, for example, pays the 10% duty and Dutch VAT at 21% there, and no Luxembourg VAT is due.

To pay 17% instead, the car travels under a T1 transit declaration and clears in Luxembourg. T1 needs a guarantee lodged at the office of departure, the EU port where the car enters: you can lodge it yourself, but in practice a customs agent usually provides it. The car must then be presented in person to Luxembourg customs. The import is handled by the Bureau de recette Douanes at Bettembourg or Luxembourg-Airport, and Luxembourg customs ask you to email that office (brd@do.etat.lu) before you come. A VAT-registered buyer accounts for Luxembourg VAT at 17% on a new or used car. guichet.lu's 2023 page also says a new car (first registered six months ago or less, or driven 6,000 km or less) always pays VAT in Luxembourg, so for a nearly new car confirm with the customs agent where it should be cleared.

A worked example

An illustration, in pounds, for a car bought for £40,000 with £900 of transport and insurance to the EU border, cleared in Luxembourg. Exchange rates, the customs agent's fee, and the transport and insurance from the EU border to Luxembourg are left out. In a real import that last leg is added to the VAT base too.

Valid proof of UK origin is worth about £4,800 on this car: the £4,090 duty plus the £695 of VAT charged on it. That is why it matters, and why nobody should make out a statement on origin without the evidence.

Step by Step

In this order, with who does each step.

1. 1

   Choose the car

   You and us. Send us a car you have found, or tell us what you want and we will find one. Before you commit, we confirm with the dealer whether it sells the car with VAT on the full price, we look at where the car was built and whether its UK origin can be shown, and we ask the seller whether it has the car's original EU Certificate of Conformity. If you would like more reassurance before you buy, we can carry out a pre-purchase inspection for £350, which is our 198-point inspection with a written report.

2. 2

   Buy the car

   Us, or the dealer for a VAT-free car. We normally buy the car and sell it on to you. We are not VAT registered, so there is no VAT on our charges. A new or VAT-qualifying car bought free of UK VAT is the exception: the VAT-registered dealer invoices you directly, without VAT, because HMRC lets only the sale to the overseas buyer be zero-rated (VAT Notice 703, paragraph 4.1), and we arrange the export. Every car goes through our 198-point inspection before export, and a £1,000 deposit paid to us secures it. For the vignette 705, Luxembourg customs need proof of purchase that shows the car's mileage and chassis number (VIN), and they accept an invoice when it comes from a business that has a VAT number. We are not VAT registered, so ask us before you commit how a car we sell you will be documented for the vignette 705 and registration.

3. 3

   Check the origin evidence

   You and us. Before you commit, we look at whether manufacturer evidence of UK origin exists for that car. Only with that evidence can the UK exporter make out a statement on origin, quoting its GB EORI number. Without it, plan on paying the 10% duty.

4. 4

   Export declaration and DVLA

   Us. We file the UK export declaration ourselves on the UK customs system and prepare the DVLA paperwork and export documents. The permanent export section of the V5C goes to DVLA. The rest of the V5C is needed to register the car in Luxembourg, and we post the original documents to you by UPS or DHL.

5. 5

   Transport and customs clearance

   Us and a customs agent. Luxembourg has no seaport, so we confirm the route when we quote. For the car to clear customs, and pay VAT, in Luxembourg rather than in the first EU country it enters, it travels under a T1 transit declaration, which needs a customs agent's guarantee at the EU port of entry; we discuss that when we quote. We can arrange the Luxembourg clearance and the vignette 705 through an agent, quoted separately, or work with an agent of your choice. The agent pays the duty and 17% VAT on your behalf, but they are always yours as the importer. The vignette 705 is issued only after the car itself has been presented to Luxembourg customs, and guichet.lu lists a Luxembourg registration number reserved in advance and an insurance certificate among the documents for it, so reserve the number and arrange Luxembourg insurance before this step.

6. 6

   Contrôle technique

   You, or a local agent we arrange. Take the car for its technical inspection at an approved Luxembourg body. Headlamps set for driving on the left may need adjusting or replacing; the inspection centre will check them.

7. 7

   SNCA registration and road tax

   You, or a local agent we arrange. Book the SNCA appointment for your Luxembourg plates and bring originals: the signed "Demande en obtention d'un certificat d'immatriculation" form, the €50 Droit de chancellerie stamp, third-party insurance with an insurer approved in Luxembourg, the vignette 705, the V5C (a translation may be asked for), ID, the inspection certificate, the bill of sale (see step 2) and, for a car first registered after 1 February 2016, the EU Certificate of Conformity. At registration the SNCA gives you a temporary road tax certificate valid for 30 days. Customs then work out the tax and send the bill, and the definitive certificate follows once it is paid. If it is overdue, the police or customs can fine you €74 within the first 60 days and immobilise the car after that. We can arrange registration and delivery to your door through a local agent, quoted separately.

Save More with a VAT-Qualifying Car

This is often worth more than the duty question: on a VAT-inclusive price, UK VAT is a sixth. For VAT purposes, UK dealers sell used cars in one of two ways.

• New and VAT-qualifying cars carry VAT on the full price. A VAT-qualifying car is typically an ex-rental or ex-lease car: the hire or leasing company reclaimed the VAT when it bought it. A VAT-registered dealer can sell a car like this free of UK VAT when it is exported and HMRC's conditions are met, which takes a sixth off a VAT-inclusive price. The dealer invoices you directly, without VAT, and we arrange the export and give the dealer the proof of export it needs. We are not VAT registered, so the saving comes off the dealer's price, not as a refund from us.
• Margin-scheme cars carry VAT only on the dealer's margin, and HMRC does not let a dealer zero-rate one as an export, so there is nothing to take off. The advertised price is the price. A car bought from a private seller has no VAT in its price at all.

Tell us your budget before VAT and we will look for new or VAT-qualifying cars from VAT-registered dealers who will sell for export. The dealer can only zero-rate the sale if all of these hold: you live outside the UK, the car leaves the UK within three months, it is not used here apart from the trip to the port, and the dealer holds proof of export. We collect the car, file the export declaration, move it and send the dealer the proof of export.

Moving to Luxembourg from the UK? If you are a UK resident moving to Luxembourg, or want to drive the car here first, the route is HMRC's Personal Export Scheme, through a dealer that runs it. How the dealer's zero-rating works is set out on our tax-free vehicle supply page.

How We Help

We handle the UK side: finding or buying the car, our 198-point inspection before export, collection, the UK export declaration, the DVLA paperwork and export documents, and the transport. Luxembourg has no seaport, so we confirm the route when we quote.

• Finding or buying the car. We source cars from UK dealers, auctions and private sellers, or buy one you have found on your behalf.
• Checking the numbers first. Before you commit, we look at the evidence of origin for that car with you and estimate the duty and Luxembourg VAT, because they change what the car really costs.
• VAT-qualifying cars. We find cars that VAT-registered dealers can sell free of UK VAT for export, and give the dealer the proof of export it needs. We are not VAT registered, so the saving comes from the dealer.
• The Luxembourg side, if you want it. We can arrange customs clearance in Luxembourg, registration and delivery to your door through a local agent, quoted separately, or work with an agent of your choice.

Send us the cars you are considering and we will send you an itemised quotation for the car and our charges. Any agent's transit, clearance and registration costs are priced separately. Alongside it we show an estimate of the import VAT (17% if the car clears in Luxembourg) and, unless manufacturer evidence of UK origin for that car has been obtained, the 10% duty as payable. You always pay duty and VAT as the importer, and they are never part of our price.

Official Sources

All read on 15 October 2026. Rules change, and the official pages are the reference.

• HMRC: proving originating status and claiming a reduced rate of customs duty
• European Commission: EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement guidance on origin procedures
• EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Annex 3 (product rules), Annex 5 Section 1 (electric and hybrid cars, as extended) and Annex 7 (statement on origin)
• TCA Partnership Council Decision No 1/2023: electric vehicle rules of origin (extends the 60% rule to 31 December 2026)
• European Commission: electric vehicle rules of origin extended to 31 December 2026
• Irish Revenue: checklist for importing from the UK, second-hand cars
• Irish Revenue: Importation of Motor Vehicles from the UK (September 2025, since replaced)
• Malta Tax and Customs Administration: notice on used vehicles imported from the UK
• guichet.lu: importing a new or used vehicle purchased in a country outside the European Union
• guichet.lu: purchase of a used vehicle that was last registered outside Luxembourg
• Luxembourg customs: buying a vehicle abroad and the vignette 705 (in French)
• SNCA: registering a used vehicle last registered outside the EU
• HMRC VAT Notice 703: goods exported from the UK
• GOV.UK: taking a vehicle out of the UK

General information, not advice. This guide is general information, based on the rules in force on 15 October 2026. It is not customs or tax advice for your situation. Duty, VAT and registration rules are set by HMRC, the EU and the Luxembourg authorities and can change, so confirm the figures for your car with a customs agent, one we arrange or your own, before you commit.