Car already in the UK
Already here? We'll take it from the port.
Maybe you shipped it yourself, or a friend sorted the sailing. However it got here, the car still needs customs, conversions, a test and UK plates. That is our bit.
Half of a Gulf import happens in the UK. Whoever handled the shipping, the car still has to be cleared, made right for UK roads, tested and registered before it can be driven here.
We do all four ourselves, at our own site in Castle Donington. You can hand us the lot, or pick the bit you need if some of it is already done. Wherever the car has got to, we pick it up from there.
What is left to do
Four jobs, one team.
Customs clearance
We are HMRC CDS authorised entry agents with our own customs team. We make the import declaration, work out the duty and VAT or claim your Transfer of Residence relief, and tell HMRC about the car through NOVA within 14 days of it arriving.
Port to our site
Once the car is released, we bring it to Castle Donington on one of our own open or enclosed trailers. The sooner we know where it is, the sooner it stops sitting at the port.
Conversions
A left-hand drive Gulf car usually needs its headlights adjusted to dip the right way, a speedometer that reads in miles per hour and a rear fog light if it does not have one. Our own technicians do the work.
Test and registration
An IVA test on our own lane if the car is under ten years old, an MOT if it is older, and none before registration if it is over 40. Then UK plates through our dealer-level DVLA account, usually in around 10 working days.
What to send us
- Where the car is now: the port, a storage yard or your address
- Any paperwork from the shipping company or from customs
- The Gulf registration card and proof that you own the car
- Your Transfer of Residence reference, if you have one
The IVA, MOT and registration page explains the UK end in more detail, and if the car was yours in the UK before you moved, read bringing a UK car back.
About cars already here
The car is at a UK port. Can you collect it?
Yes. We can clear it through customs as your agent and bring it to our site on our own transport.
It has already cleared customs. Can you just register it?
Yes. Send us what you have from customs and we take it from there: conversions, the IVA test or MOT, and DVLA registration. HMRC has to be told about the car through NOVA within 14 days of it arriving, and the DVLA will not register it until that is done. If nobody has done it yet, tell us straight away.
It used to be registered in the UK. Does that change anything?
It can. A car coming back to the UK may be treated differently at customs and at the DVLA. The quote form asks about it for cars already here, so we can price it properly.
Can I still claim Transfer of Residence if the car is already here?
You apply to HMRC before the car arrives, so tell us as soon as possible if you have not. Our customs team will look at where things stand and tell you what is still possible.
Tell us where it is.
Answer yes to 'Is the car already in the UK?' on the quote form, and we will price only what is left to do.