Liechtenstein
Importing a car into Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein is the mirror case to every EU state in this series: sharing a customs and VAT territory with Switzerland, following EEA rules on type approval and product law, but outside the EU. For imports that means a car from Buchs crosses the Rhine informally while one from Feldkirch is cleared through customs.
- Registration authority
- Amt für Strassenverkehr
- Customs
- Bundesamt für Zoll und Grenzsicherheit (BAZG)
- Technical inspection
- Motorfahrzeugprüfung
- Last reviewed
Where the car comes from decides the effort
From an EU state
From an EU state, bringing a car into Liechtenstein is a genuine import. It is declared at a staffed customs post; customs duty, vehicle tax and import VAT fall due. EEA membership changes none of that — it governs recognition of type approval, not the customs and tax border.
From a third country
From Switzerland there is no import at all, because there is no customs border: the principality forms a single customs and VAT territory with Switzerland. A car from Chur or Zurich changes hands informally, and what remains is the inspection and the registration. From a state outside that territory and outside the EEA, type approval is added to the question, and that turns on emissions, lighting and noise figures rather than condition.
The process, in order
The order is not arbitrary. Pull a step forward and you usually end up repeating it.
01Before buying: settle the origin
The difference between a car from Switzerland and one from Austria is the whole point of this page. From inside the joint customs territory, duty, vehicle tax and import VAT fall away entirely; from the EEA or a third country all three apply.
02At the border: declare the import
The declaration is made at a staffed customs post, not in Vaduz. Purchase contract or invoice, the foreign registration document and the importer's ID are presented. The assessment decision is the paper without which nothing proceeds afterwards.
Handled by: BAZG, staffed customs post
03Pay the duties
Customs duty, vehicle tax and import VAT fall due. The rates are set federally in Bern; under the customs treaty they apply unchanged in the principality. The bases of assessment are listed under costs below — those do not change, the rates do.
04Prove type approval
As an EEA member Liechtenstein recognises the European certificate of conformity. Without one, the road-traffic office requires its own assessment — and for an overseas car that is the item in which the price advantage regularly disappears altogether.
05Take out insurance
Third-party insurance must be in place before registration; the confirmation reaches the office electronically. Without it no plate is issued, however complete the rest of the papers.
06Inspection and registration
The car is presented in Vaduz and entered in the register; the plates follow. A Liechtenstein plate requires residence or an establishment in the principality.
Handled by: Amt für Strassenverkehr, Vaduz
What gets added
Without amounts, and deliberately so: official rates change, and a stale figure is worse than none. What is here is the basis of assessment — enough to calculate with, once the current rate is known.
- Customs duty
- Assessed on: By the weight of the car, not its value — the Swiss customs tariff applies under the treaty.
- Does not apply: Does not arise for a car from Switzerland, because there is no customs border.
- Vehicle tax
- Assessed on: A percentage of the vehicle value, levied on import by the BAZG.
- Does not apply: Does not arise within the joint customs territory.
- Import VAT
- Assessed on: On the vehicle value plus duty, vehicle tax and transport costs to the border. The tax is therefore assessed on a sum that already contains the other items.
- Inspection and registration
- Assessed on: Fees of the road-traffic office for the inspection and the entry, plus the plates.
- Annual vehicle tax
- Assessed on: Ongoing, levied by the road-traffic office on the technical figures entered in the registration document.
- Assessment without type approval
- Assessed on: Only where no European certificate of conformity exists. Where it applies, the largest single item after the duties.
- Does not apply: Not required where a COC exists.
The papers
Miss one of these and the appointment is wasted.
- Purchase contract or invoice showing the price.
- Foreign registration document, or registration certificate parts I and II.
- Certificate of conformity (COC), where one exists.
- The BAZG assessment decision — for imports from the EEA or a third country.
- Proof of third-party insurance.
- ID and proof of residence or establishment in the principality.
Where the sum tips
- Taking EEA to mean EU. Conclude from it that a German car arrives free of charges and you have left out duty, vehicle tax and import VAT — together the bulk of the incidental costs.
- The unstaffed crossing. Driving over an unstaffed border at night or at the weekend leaves you without a declaration, and clearing it afterwards costs more time than the detour would have.
- Residence. Plates are issued only to those resident or established in the principality. Anyone living in Switzerland and working in Vaduz registers the car in their home canton, not here.
- Import VAT on the total. It is assessed not on the purchase price but on purchase price plus duty, plus vehicle tax, plus transport. Budget on the purchase price alone and you will underestimate it.
How long it takes
As an order of magnitude: one to two weeks from Switzerland until the appointment in Vaduz. From the EEA, clearance is added, and that takes a day. Without European type approval, rather two to three months.
The technical inspection
Motorfahrzeugprüfung
An imported car is presented at the road-traffic office before it gets a Liechtenstein plate. Whether a recent Swiss MFK counts towards it is decided case by case; plan on being inspected.
Common questions
For imports, is Liechtenstein like Switzerland or like the EU?
Like Switzerland for customs and VAT, like the EEA for type approval. Both apply at once, and that is where the confusion comes from: a German COC is recognised, and the German car is still cleared through customs.
Do I need a customs declaration for a car from Switzerland?
No. There is no customs border between Switzerland and Liechtenstein; there is nothing to declare and nothing to clear. What remains is the inspection at the road-traffic office and the registration.
Can I buy a car in Austria and collect it myself?
Yes. Austrian transfer or export plates with valid insurance cover the drive, and the import is declared at the border. Buying from a dealer, proof of export is the basis on which Austrian VAT is either not charged or refunded.
Does the Swiss vehicle tax really apply here too?
Yes. The customs treaty brings Swiss customs and import-tax law into the principality, and the vehicle tax is part of it. It is levied by the BAZG on import, not by the road-traffic office at registration.
This overview is not a substitute for information from the competent authority. Rates, fees and deadlines change; the office that registers the car is always the binding source.