Importing a new motor vehicle

A motor vehicle is considered new from the perspective of Finnish car tax if:

  • it has never had a vehicle registration and has never been driven and operated (in Finland)
  • the vehicle arrived in Finland as new and has only been in tax-exempt demonstration use.

See the instructions for filing and paying car tax

When you import a new motor vehicle from an EU country to Finland, you have to pay value-added tax for a new means of transport

The definition of “new means of transport” in VAT taxation differs from the Finnish definition for purposes of car tax.

For new vehicles from other EU countries, you must pay the value added tax on a new means of transport, at the rate of 25,5 %. This tax must be paid in addition to car tax.

For purposes of VAT, a vehicle is new if one or the other of the following conditions is met:

  • The vehicle is sold before six months have elapsed after it had entered into service for the first time
  • By the time when the vehicle was sold, it had been driven max. 6,000 kilometres

Further information about VAT on new means of transport (only in Finnish and Swedish, link to Finnish).

When you import a motor vehicle from a non-EU country, you have to pay VAT on imports

Vehicles imported from outside the EU are also subject to customs duties and the value-added tax imposed on imports at 25,5 %. Further information about VAT on vehicles imported from outside the EU

Page last updated 6/28/2018