Tax free sales

I thought this had been discussed before but I can't find the topic. Somehowe the search facility doesn't like the phrase VAT, is that a bug ??

Anyhow..

I've been told by at least one person here that I can buy a car free of VAT, as long as it is kept for at least 6 months and then you return to the UK or US ? Or is it less than 6 months ??

I was in Sportscheck the other day buying some stuff and when i was paying, they said ( because I was obviously ausland ) "if you go to the main desk you can purchase tax-free". I didn't at that time, but was quite surprised that they offered! Seems like there's some scope for abuse here!!

So what does everybody else know about this ??

Ta

Jd

It's no longer possible unless you are a non EU person travelling overseas or you are foreign military etc based in Germany authorised to make use of an Abwicklungschein.

John

They probably thought you were US military. They have paperwork that enables them to buy tax free in most shops. Same for the cars. Forces in Europe can buy tax free. My RAF neighbours in Kaiserslautern bought new cars all the time and that was only 2 years ago.

cheers guys, well my nickname at scool was 'ActionMan' lol.. maybe they thought I was a squaddie.

Will have to myself an Angolan passport or something then!

If my memory serves me correctly, Action Man had no genitals...

Thankyou Reginald!

And my other one was Rambo, so watch out!!

I trust you weren't too dissapointed

Well you always had your my little pony to turn to

The UK DVLA will want to see proof that VAT has been paid somewhere else - they no longer assume that 6 month old cars are "secondhand".

Some countries (and certain manufacturers) willl allow you to buy a car tax free and run around on temporary plates for a while - if you can then register in another EU country (like Germany) without them checking the VAT situation, you might get away with it.

Or you could try these guys:

http://www.neuwagen-schnaeppchen.de/

I used them to buy a Toyota Prius last year. They do not sell the cars, they just arrange a price and direct you to a dealer.

Err - I wouldn't risk it in Germany. The authorities are ferocious - I have known 10+ year old cars imported into Germany & still be assessed for residual tax. In 1 case the owner of an 11 year old BMW was still charged approx. €230. The authorities have also even inspected older non-german registered cars that have been scrapped in Germany, to see if any tax is due.