Import guides

Countries we ship to.

Japan Direct Trucks books the ocean move. Your agent handles duty, tax, and registration. Read the gate for your country before you pay a vehicle balance. Freight is quoted per sailing.

Singapore

LTA: a used goods vehicle must be less than three years old at registration, counted from first registration abroad. GST to Singapore Customs is 9% of the total cost of importing the vehicle. Then VITAS for a Vehicle Approval Code, a Category C Certificate of Entitlement, and LTA registration. The truck can sit in the PSA Free Trade Zone until the In-Payment permit.

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Belgium

The truck is driven off at ICO Zeebrugge, the NYK vehicle terminal inside Port of Antwerp-Bruges. It sits under customs until a Belgian representative files the entry. FPS Finance then needs the vehicle declared, through MyMinfin or a customs office. The E705 is the free signal that lets DIV issue a plate. Printed window: 120 days.

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Philippines

Bureau of Customs: only qualified used motor vehicles, and only with a DTI Certificate of Authority to Import obtained before shipment. Executive Order 877-A is the allowed list. Used trucks on that list must be left-hand drive. Present the CAI at Manila South Harbor, appear at FTEB, then take the Certificate of Payment to LTO.

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Malaysia

MITI: an Approved Permit is required to import a CBU motor vehicle, including commercial vehicles. Match the AP category to the body before we buy. Open AP on MITI’s table is used cars and motorcycles, not trucks. Duty is Royal Malaysian Customs. JPJ registration fails when the AP and the K1 do not match.

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Australia

The Department of Infrastructure says it is an offence under the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 to import a road vehicle without approval. Get the ROVER approval before the truck leaves Japan. Steam-clean it in Japan. DAFF inspects used vehicles on the wharf. Australian Border Force will not release a truck that arrives without that approval.

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United States

A Japanese domestic truck can be imported for US road use when it is old enough for the NHTSA 25-year rule, counted from the manufacture month on the plate, not the badge year. EPA is a separate file. A licensed broker files the entry at the West Coast RoRo berth. The state DMV is after CBP release.

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United Kingdom

Japan RoRo for the UK usually comes off at ABP Southampton Eastern Docks, sometimes Royal Portbury Dock. The agent files the import declaration, VAT and duty sit at the border, then HMRC wants NOVA within 14 days. Approval if the truck is not exempt, then DVLA, then insure.

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New Zealand

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi lists five areas for a used import: the Clean Car Programme, vehicle standards, border inspection, entry certification, then registration and licensing. MPI inspects used vehicles for biosecurity. Talk to an entry certifier about this truck before we buy it.

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United Arab Emirates

Dubai Customs says you can import a new or a used vehicle. When it comes in through a shipping company, the papers are the original invoice, packing list, bill of lading, and a passport or Emirates ID. Customs values the vehicle and inspects it. The same page says customs duty is levied at 5% of that value. Registration is a separate test in the emirate.

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Kenya

KRA: the imported vehicle must be less than 8 years old from the year of first registration, must be right-hand drive, and must meet KEBS KS 1515:2000. A KEBS-appointed agent inspects it in the country of export. Clearance at Kilindini is lodged by a licensed clearing agent.

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Canada

Transport Canada: a vehicle 15 years old or older, except buses, is not regulated by the Motor Vehicle Safety Act at import. Age is the month and year of manufacture. A Vehicle Import Form is still filed. RIV inspection and the RIV fee do not apply on that exemption. The province still has to agree to license the truck.

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South Africa

You can only import a second-hand vehicle into South Africa if you have been granted a permit to do so. ITAC says an import permit is required for all used or second-hand goods. The published guidelines do not treat a used truck for resale as an open import. We do not buy the truck and hope the permit appears later.

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Europe

Americas

ChileTell us which page you are using. A free-zone truck and a returning-resident truck are not the same shipment.Quoted from the sailing JamaicaTrade Board permit before shipping. Inspection in Japan first.35–49 days Trinidad and TobagoRead both ministry documents before we look at stock.Quoted from the feeder BarbadosNo age limit is stated on the notice we opened.Quoted from the feeder GuyanaThe old 8-year line is not the current GRA notice. The inspection certificate is.42–56 days MexicoJapanese VIN is outside the DOF used-vehicle decree. We do not book until SAT or the Secretaría de Economía documents a different legal path for this chassis.Quoted after eligibility BrazilNo standing used-truck import. We buy and book only with a documented Siscomex / Receita exception for this chassis.Quoted after eligibility PeruUsed import: original factory LHD, maximum two years from model year, used diesel prohibited except M3 and N3. Japanese RHD stock is typically ineligible.Quoted after eligibility ColombiaNo standing used-truck import. We book only with a documented DIAN / Mintransporte exemption.Quoted after eligibility ArgentinaNo standing used-truck import. We book only with a documented AFIP exemption for this chassis.Quoted after eligibility PanamaAduanas declaration. Then ATTT registration. Confirm the current used-vehicle and steering rule for this class.28–45 days Costa RicaAduanas declaration. Then Cosevi registration. Confirm the current used-vehicle rule for this class.28–45 days Dominican RepublicDGA declaration. Then INTRANT registration. Confirm the current age and used-vehicle rule for this class.35–50 days

Asia-Pacific

PakistanCars not older than 3 years. Other vehicles not older than 5 years. That is the age on the FBR page.21–35 days IndiaNo exemption document, no shipment.No standing range ThailandSend the exemption document before you select a vehicle.Not quoted MongoliaThe quote has to include the land leg. An ocean-only number is incomplete.30–45 days, ocean plus land Sri LankaPassenger van, pickup, and goods truck are different answers.14–28 days, when imports of that class are open BangladeshSend the vehicle class you are allowed to import. We will not match a van to a truck permit.21–35 days FijiFRCS sets the age and the Euro condition for the class.21–28 days South KoreaUsed commercial trucks and pickups are not a moving-goods exemption. RHD is not a Korean road vehicle. We do not book without a documented path for this chassis.Quoted after eligibility Hong KongImport return to C&ED within 30 days. First registration tax as TD prints it: 15% for goods vehicles other than van-type LGV. RHD matches Hong Kong roads. LHD needs special circumstances.7–14 days TaiwanNo standing used-truck import. We book only with a documented Customs and MOTC exemption for this chassis.Quoted after eligibility Papua New GuineaPNG Customs at Lae or Port Moresby. Confirm the current used-vehicle rule. RHD matches PNG roads.14–28 days CambodiaGDCE SAD at Sihanoukville. Confirm steering and the current used-vehicle rule. Duty, special tax, and VAT sit on the declaration.10–21 days KazakhstanNo Russia transit. Ocean to a legal seaport, then land. KGD declaration. Then registration. Confirm the current EAEU assessment.Quoted per legal corridor ChinaNo ordinary used-truck import. MOFCOM Art. 37 and the 2018 Chapter 87 catalogue. We book only with a documented temporary-admission or other GACC paper for this chassis.Not quoted IndonesiaNo standing used-truck import. Pasal 33(1) requires new goods. Send the Persetujuan Impor if you actually hold one. Then DJBC at Tanjung Priok.10–21 days after the paper exists VietnamSend steering and manufacture year before we buy. Ordinary Japan RHD road trucks fail. Then Hải Phòng Customs and Vietnam Register.Quoted after eligibility BruneiFirst-registration date first. Under three years is the ordinary path. Older needs the Controller. Then Muara Customs and Land Transport.7–14 days after the age or the permit is real LaosSteering first: LHD for permanent use. Then DIMEX licence and MPWT technical approval. Ocean to a Thai seaport or Hải Phòng, then land.Quoted per corridor MyanmarConfirm the current MoC production-year notice and steering before we buy. Then Thilawa Customs.Quoted after eligibility MaldivesTransport permit and garage letter first. Then Malé Customs. Age follows carrying capacity.14–28 days after the permit exists NepalNo ordinary used-truck import. Send a documented exception before you pick a vehicle.Not quoted UzbekistanNo Russia, no Iran. Ocean to a legal seaport, then land. Customs declaration, then registration.Quoted per legal corridor TurkmenistanNo Iran, no Russia. Name a legal seaport and the inland border. Then Turkmen Customs.Quoted per legal corridor KyrgyzstanNo Russia, no Iran. Ocean to a legal seaport, then land. EAEU declaration, then registration.Quoted per legal corridor TajikistanNo Russia, no Iran. Name a legal seaport and the inland border. Then Tajik Customs.Quoted per legal corridor

Africa

TanzaniaConfirm the TBS inspection for this class before we buy the truck.35–42 days NigeriaAge and inspection are confirmed against the rule in force. Duty is assessed in Lagos.Quoted from the sailing GhanaGRA Customs at Tema. Then DVLA registration. Confirm the current age and inspection rule for this class.35–50 days UgandaOcean to Mombasa, then land. URA declaration. Confirm the current age and inspection rule. RHD matches Ugandan roads.21–42 days ocean, then land ZambiaOcean to Durban or Dar es Salaam, then land. ZRA declaration. Confirm the current age and inspection rule. RHD matches Zambian roads.35–55 days ocean, then land MauritiusMRA Customs at Port Louis. Then NLTA. Confirm the current age rule. RHD matches Mauritian roads.28–42 days

Middle East

QatarThe sailing is real. The registration rule still has to be checked for this model year.21–35 days Saudi ArabiaRead the weight class. A modified steering wheel is prohibited.21–35 days LebanonWe book Beirut only when a line will take the cargo.28–42 days IsraelTax Authority declaration. Then Ministry of Transport approval. Confirm the current used-vehicle rule for this class before we buy.28–42 days KuwaitKuwait Customs at Shuwaikh. Then MOI traffic registration. Confirm the current age and technical rule for this class.28–42 days OmanOman Customs at Sohar or Muscat. Then ROP traffic. Confirm the current age rule for this class.28–42 days JordanJordan Customs at Aqaba. Then licensing. Confirm the current used-vehicle rule for this class.28–42 days EgyptUsed passenger cars are restricted. Confirm this body is in a class Customs will release. Then Alexandria or Ain Sokhna.Quoted after eligibility BahrainManufacture year and class first. Customs at Khalifa Bin Salman Port, then Traffic inspection and plates.21–35 days IraqManufacture year and steering first. Then Umm Qasr. Federal Iraq and Kurdistan are different files.Quoted after eligibility

AfricaEast, southern, and West Africa do not share one import rule or one port. Open the country where the truck will be registered.Region hub Middle EastThe Gulf and the Levant are different customs territories. Use the country where the vehicle will be registered.Region hub EuropeThe EU is one customs union and 27 registration systems. Open the country where the truck will be plated. Switzerland, Norway, and the United Kingdom are not EU Member States.Region hub

Import and export news updates daily from public shipping and customs desks. Iran and Russia are not destinations.