Importing a damaged car to avoid BPM: a great idea, but it is not allowed.
Importing a car from Germany or Belgium sounds attractive. After all, cars are much cheaper there. But yes, the Netherlands is already seeing it happen that no one opts for a new car in the Netherlands anymore if you can get the same model just across the border for a lot less money because there is no BPM on it. So you still have to pay the BPM when importing, but then you have to do it yourself. The tax authorities then calculate a BPM amount based on age, value of the car and CO2 emissions. Just like a new car, but with an age discount the older the car gets.
Used
It also helps if a car is used and therefore not transported directly from the showroom to a foreign country. That is where it went wrong with the BPM declaration of a buyer. He reasoned that a Volkswagen Golf that he imported was a used car due to a damage history. However, that was not the case, because the Golf only had six kilometers on the clock. It was therefore transport damage.
No used
Somewhat dubious, because the buyer indicated that the value of the Golf was therefore not the new price of 35,000 euros, but only 18,000 euros. The remaining BPM was then calculated on the basis of that value and was therefore considerably lower. Now, a depreciation of 17,000 euros does not sound as if the transport damage is about a scratch on the front bumper, but if you are a bit handy it can work out. Then the repair will be cheaper than declaring BPM on a brand new car with six kilometers on the clock.
Inspector
This incident led to a lawsuit. When you import a car, the BPM declaration checks the car and whether your stated BPM amount is correct. The inspector who had to do this for the Golf refused the buyer’s story and did not give him the BPM amount based on the halving of the value. The buyer filed a lawsuit, but the verdict of the Arnhem-Leeuwarden Court of Appeal is that the inspector is right. Despite its damage, the Golf was clearly a brand new car and ‘did not contain the characteristics and/or traces of use of a used car’. The only thing the Golf buyer gets in compensation is 500 euros for exceeding the reasonable term.
Justifiably
Actually, rightly so, because as said: refurbishing a car like this and -damage history or not- reselling it as a brand new car can certainly pay off compared to the hefty BPM amounts in the Netherlands. And damage or not, with six kilometers on the clock the car is not really ‘used’. (via Automotive Online)
Header photo of another damaged Golf, not the car in this story.
This article BPM evasion with barely used damaged car failed first appeared on Autoblog.nl.
