What taxes and fees are required when purchasing an imported car?
2 Answers
Taxes on imported cars include: customs duty, with rates ranging from 25% to 50%; consumption tax, with rates ranging from 10% to 45%; and value-added tax (VAT) at 17%. Below is a related introduction to the taxes and fees on imported cars: 1. Customs duty: The higher the customs duty, the weaker the price competitiveness of imported goods in the domestic market. China's customs duty is 25%, meaning an additional 25% is added to the import price. For example, a Land Rover priced at 750,000 RMB would cost 937,500 RMB after customs duty. 2. Import consumption tax: Currently, the domestic consumption tax is divided into 8 tiers, ranging from 0% to 40%, proportional to the displacement tax, hence it is also called the "displacement tax." Both domestically produced and imported cars are subject to consumption tax by manufacturers. However, imported cars are additionally subject to customs duty, and under this compounding effect, the impact of the consumption tax rate on the total tax rate is further amplified.
Last time when helping a friend with import car procedures, I noted down all the required cost details. Besides the car price, there are three fixed taxes for importing a car: the customs duty is calculated based on the car price - for example, a 1 million RMB car at 15% tax rate means 150,000 RMB; consumption tax depends on engine displacement, cars above 3.0L pay about 25% of the car price; finally there's the 13% VAT applied to all vehicles. Only after paying these three can you take delivery, followed by a 10% purchase tax for registration and annual vehicle/vessel tax ranging from hundreds to thousands. A reminder - missing even one stamp on customs documents can cause delays, so it's advisable to hire professional customs clearance agents for hassle-free processing.
