Paying customs and GST duties on an imported vehicle
If you’re moving to Jersey and bringing a vehicle, you’ll need to register it as soon as you arrive and you may be liable for customs duty and / or Goods and Services Tax (GST). If you import a vehicle from within the EU, you'll need to pay GST at 5% on the value of the vehicle at import. This includes all freight charges and insurance costs.
If you import a vehicle from outside the EU, you'll need to pay GST at 5% and the Common Customs Tariff (CCT). Use the trade tariff link below to check duty rates.
You won’t be able to register a vehicle with Driver and Vehicle Standards (DVS) until customs have cleared it and you've paid the relevant duties (for example, Vehicle Emissions Duty).
Customs duty is charged according to the type of goods and where they are imported from.
In cases where duty or GST payment relief is granted, you’ll be liable for any relevant taxes if you sell, hire or otherwise transfer ownership of your vehicle within 12 months.
Registering your vehicle
If you intend to live here for more than 12 months, you need to register any vehicles you’re bringing with you immediately.
To register your vehicle, you need to complete the steps below.
Step 1. Make your Customs declarations online to pay any:
- Goods and Services Tax (GST) due
- Vehicle Emissions Duty (VED) due
Customs declaration and payment website
Documents you need to submit to Customs either by
emailing Customs or sending in the post to Revenue and Goods Control, Customs and Immigration Service, Maritime House, La Route du Port Elizabeth, St Helier, JE1 1JD.
Step 2. Visit Driver and Vehicle Standards (DVS) at La Collette to:
- book your vehicle in for an inspection by completing the VRD 17 booking form
- pay the vehicle examination fee (£41.50)
- complete VRD 2 application form (available from the DVS registration office)
- pay the registration fee (£34)
VRD 17 booking form
Documents you’ll need to bring to DVS
You'll need to provide the following documents to the Driver and Vehicle Standards (DVS) office to complete your registration:
Registering your vehicle in Jersey
Paying Vehicle Emissions Duty (VED)
You'll need to pay Vehicle Emissions Duty (VED) when your vehicle is first registered in the island. This includes vehicles already in the island that have not yet been registered with 'J' plates.
The amount of duty you pay will be based on the manufacturers' CO2 emissions data which is normally only available for vehicles produced since March 2001. For any vehicle produced before March 2001, the cubic capacity (CC) will be used for the VED calculation.
Check your vehicle’s CO2 emissions
Vehicles not registered in another country
Vehicles which have never been registered fall into two categories:
- vehicles with EU type approval
- vehicles without EU type approval
For both categories, you'll need to produce either of the following (as well as the documents noted above):
- a completed V55 / 1 (this form is issued by the manufacturer of the vehicle when it leaves the factory)
- acceptable evidence from the manufacturer or the manufacturer's main dealer that the vehicle was supplied unregistered (certificate of origin for ex-USA vehicles)
All vehicles built in the EU for use in EU countries will have EU type approval.
Your registration documents will contain your type approval number, or you can contact your vehicle manufacturer.
Registering your vehicle in Jersey
Request a licence plate number
You can request a specific licence plate number using our online licence plate request form.
Request a licence plate online
You’ll need to pay £250 to purchase the plate and £104 to assign the number to a Jersey registered vehicle. If it’s a new and unregistered vehicle, you’ll only need to pay £34.