LISBON: Of the 247,000 cars sold in Portugal last year, a record 59,000 were second-hand imports, an all-time high.
Fewer cars are expected to be arriving in Portugal in 2017 with German, French or Belgian plates for matriculation after the government pushed up taxes on the importation of used cars.
While the fiscal revision sees taxes go up considerably, buying a more recent low-emissions model in another EU state still appears to make financial sense.
According to calculations by consumer rights watchdog, a 2011 BMW 320D Touring imported from Germany will this year still be over 2,500 euros cheaper than one sold in Portugal, though the saving was 4,285 euros in 2016.
The Automobile Trade Association (ACAP) meanwhile told Diário de Notícias that the discounts given by the government amount to “fiscal incentives” and still encourages citizens to purchase used cars in other EU member states.
ACAP argues that the import of vehicles explains why the average car in Portugal is 12.3 years old, which “deteriorates environmental conditions and road safety.”
The government’s upgrade to the fiscal tables for imported vehicles comes only a few months after the EU ruled that Portugal was discriminating against used vehicles from other states with regards to the devaluation tables it uses.
“Portugal applies the same tax on used vehicles under one-year-old at the same rate as new vehicles and on vehicles over four-years-old”, the EU court said.
The EU judgment came after the European Commission formally requested Portugal to amend its legislation on the taxation of imported second-hand vehicles, arguing that vehicles produced elsewhere in the European Union are being discriminated against as a result of the country’s current legislation.
The EC argued back in 2014 before lodging a complaint with EU courts that the calculation of the taxable value of second-hand vehicles introduced into Portugal from another Member State does not take into account the real value of the vehicle.
It explained that this may result in higher taxation than that applied to domestically-purchased vehicles.
Currently a brand new car or one that is 11-months-old is charged the same tax. Only after a car is a year old is a 20 percent discount awarded on vehicle tax (ISV).
