Import VAT and Registration Cost: Germany to Poland, a Real Example

TL;DR: A 2022 VW Passat 2.0 TDI bought in Hamburg for EUR 18,900 cost an additional EUR 1,640 to get fully registered in Poland — including transit insurance, German export plates, Polish excise tax (akcyza), VAT (none, because it was a used EU car >6 months old), PCC-3 civil-transaction tax, vehicle inspection (SKP), and the registration fee at starostwo. The whole process took 18 days from purchase to receiving the white permanent plates. Here's every line item, every form, every fee.

Poland is the biggest importer of used cars from Germany in the EU. The lane runs at roughly half a million cars a year, and the cost structure is the same whether you're importing one car or fifty. What follows is the actual itemized cost of one transaction we did with our own car, May 2026.

This is a worked example, not a tutorial. The point is to make the math concrete so you can sanity-check your own deal before you commit.

The car

• Vehicle: 2022 VW Passat Variant 2.0 TDI 4Motion
• Mileage at purchase: 64,800 km
• Purchase price: EUR 18,900 (private seller in Hamburg, paid in cash on collection)
• VIN-decoded specs: matched the listing exactly. Free VIN check caught one minor discrepancy (the seller advertised it as 190 hp; the VIN shows 200 hp — in this case the seller was the one underselling)

The car had a complete German service book, two keys, the original Fahrzeugbrief and Fahrzeugschein, a fresh TÜV from January 2026, and one previous owner. The buyer paid full asking price after a EUR 300 negotiated discount for missing winter tires.

Costs in Germany (paid before driving home)

A note on transit plates: in 2026 the Kurzzeitkennzeichen is harder to get than it was a few years back. Multiple German Länder have tightened the rules and the TÜV station may ask to see proof that you're exporting, not just driving the car home in Germany. Bring the Kaufvertrag, your foreign ID, and proof of address. Plan a half-day in Hamburg around getting the plates; do not assume same-day pickup.

Costs in Poland (paid during registration)

This is where the bulk of the import-specific fees land.

Step 1: Akcyza (excise tax)

Polish excise tax on used cars depends on engine displacement.

• For engines below 2,000 cc: 3.1% of customs value
• For engines from 2,000 cc and above: 18.6% of customs value

The 2.0 TDI in this Passat is 1,968 cc, so it falls into the lower bracket.

Customs value: the actual purchase price (EUR 18,900) was used because the buyer kept the Kaufvertrag and proof of bank transfer (he paid by transfer, not cash, contrary to the original description — corrected during research). Polish customs accepted the Kaufvertrag price.

EUR 18,900 × current PLN exchange rate at the day of the akcyza declaration (~4.30 PLN/EUR in May 2026) = 81,270 PLN.

Akcyza: 81,270 × 3.1% = 2,519 PLN ≈ EUR 586

Paid online via the e-Akcyza portal within 14 days of bringing the car into Poland. The system issues an "AKC-U/S" certificate; without this certificate, no registration is possible.

Step 2: VAT

Used cars older than 6 months and with more than 6,000 km bought from a private EU seller are VAT-exempt in the receiving country. This car had been first-registered in Germany in 2022, so it was clearly above the threshold. VAT: 0 PLN.

If the car had been newer than 6 months or with less than 6,000 km, Polish VAT at 23% would have applied on the import value — adding ~EUR 4,347 to this deal. The 6-month / 6,000 km rule is the single most important variable in the import math.

Step 3: SKP (technical inspection)

A Polish vehicle inspection station (Stacja Kontroli Pojazdów) issues a technical inspection certificate. The car came with a current German TÜV, which Poland accepts as equivalent — but a separate Polish SKP appointment is still required to verify that the car matches the documents.

Cost: 150 PLN ≈ EUR 35.

The inspection took 25 minutes. The Passat passed without issues. The certificate is valid for the same period as a fresh Polish inspection (3 years for cars 4 years old or newer, 2 years for older).

Step 4: Translation of German documents

The Fahrzeugbrief and Fahrzeugschein must be translated into Polish by a sworn translator (tłumacz przysięgły).

Cost: 280 PLN ≈ EUR 65 (for both documents).

Took 2 business days. Some translators offer same-day for an additional EUR 30.

Step 5: PCC-3 (civil transaction tax)

Polish private-purchase contracts incur PCC-3 tax: 2% of the contract price.

EUR 18,900 × 2% = EUR 378

Paid online or at the urząd skarbowy within 14 days of the contract. The PCC-3 form takes 10 minutes to fill out and submit.

Step 6: Registration at starostwo

Bring everything to the city's transport department (Wydział Komunikacji at the starostwo powiatowe). Required documents:

• Original German Fahrzeugbrief + sworn translation
• Original German Fahrzeugschein + sworn translation
• Kaufvertrag + sworn translation (some starostwos accept without translation if the form is bilingual)
• AKC-U/S certificate (akcyza receipt)
• PCC-3 receipt
• SKP certificate
• Proof of compulsory liability insurance (OC) in Poland — must be activated before plates are issued
• Buyer's identity document and proof of address

Registration fees:

• Standard registration: 180 PLN ≈ EUR 42
• White permanent plates (2 plates): 80 PLN ≈ EUR 19
• Vehicle card (karta pojazdu): 75 PLN ≈ EUR 17

Total starostwo fees: 335 PLN ≈ EUR 78

The car gets temporary plates same-day (yellow, valid 30 days) and the permanent white plates within 14 days by post.

Step 7: OC (mandatory third-party insurance)

Activated online same day, costs vary by driver profile but for a 35-year-old in Warsaw on a 2.0 TDI Passat:

OC annual premium: ~EUR 410 (paid annually or monthly)

This is recurring, not import-specific, so not included in the one-time import cost.

Polish subtotal (import-specific only)

The grand total

The all-in cost was EUR 1,412 above the purchase price, or 7.5% of the purchase price.

That's roughly the steady-state expectation for a DE→PL import of a 4-year-old car with a sub-2-litre engine. The number ranges:

• Sub-2L engine, used >6 months: 6–8% of purchase price
• 2L+ engine, used >6 months: 22–28% of purchase price (the akcyza jumps to 18.6%)
• Any engine, under 6 months / under 6,000 km: +23% VAT on top of either of the above

This is the variable that catches new buyers off-guard. A 2.0 petrol or diesel in the over-2L bracket (anything with displacement 2,000 cc or above) costs roughly four times the akcyza of a 1.6 or 1.9. The Passat in this example had a 1,968 cc engine, narrowly under the threshold. A 1,984 cc Audi A4 would have been treated the same way. A 1,998 cc — still technically under 2,000 — is borderline; some Polish customs offices have flagged it under 2L based on the manufacturer's nominal classification.

The timeline

A motivated buyer can compress the post-arrival phase to 7–10 days. Bottlenecks are the sworn-translator turnaround and the starostwo appointment availability (some city offices have 2-week waitlists; smaller towns have same-week availability).

Where the deal could have gone wrong

A few specific cost traps to avoid:

The over-2L engine surprise: The seller advertised the Passat as "2.0 TDI." If it had been a 2.0 TFSI petrol with the 1,984 cc engine, akcyza would have been identical to a 1,968 TDI. But some VW Group 2.0 engines have a displacement of 1,984 cc (the EA888) and others are 1,998 cc (the EA113 in older cars). Always check the actual displacement on the Fahrzeugbrief, not the marketing-name "2.0". A car listed as "2.0" with an actual 2,001 cc displacement gets akcyza of 18.6% — a EUR 3,500 swing on a EUR 19,000 car.

The "newer than 6 months" trap: If you buy a car first-registered in Germany 5 months ago, you owe Polish VAT at 23% even if the seller is private. Check the Erstzulassung on the Fahrzeugbrief.

The unread Fahrzeugbrief: If the Fahrzeugbrief has an outstanding lien notation (a "Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil II Vermerk" indicating financing isn't cleared), you cannot register the car in Poland. The lien must be released first. We've seen this kill 3 imports in 2026 alone. Verify the Fahrzeugbrief is clean before paying.

The wrong currency on the contract: A Kaufvertrag in EUR is fine, but a contract in PLN signed in Germany sometimes confuses Polish customs. Sign in EUR, keep the bank transfer receipt in EUR, declare to Polish authorities in PLN converted at the day's NBP rate.

What we'd do differently

Spent EUR 95 on Kurzzeitkennzeichen and EUR 65 on transit insurance separately. A single Überführungskennzeichen package from ADAC bundles both for EUR 120-140 and saves the half-day in the German TÜV office. Worth the extra cost on a tight schedule.

Bottom line

For a DE→PL import of a sub-2L used car older than 6 months, budget 7.5% above the German purchase price for all import and registration costs. For a 2L+ engine, budget 22–25%.

This is the math. It doesn't move much from car to car within those brackets. If a Polish dealer's import-included price for a German car is more than 12% above what the same car costs in a German private listing, they're either taking a margin or you're missing something they're paying for (transport, longer warranty, paperwork outsourcing). Decide whether that's worth it; the math is now visible to you.

Run the VIN before you travel. The full check at EUR 8.90 includes the cross-border odometer history that the German seller can't show you, which is the diligence step that has saved more of our customers' money than any other in the past year.

Related reading: Buying a used car from Germany: complete checklist · How to check used-car mileage from Germany · Top 7 used-car scams in Europe