Poland
Importing a car into Poland
A used car reaches Poland from an EU state with no customs declaration at all. The work sits at two points nobody further west has to deal with: the excise duty, which must be declared and paid before registration, and the sworn translation of the foreign papers.
- Registration authority
- Wydział komunikacji
- Customs
- Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa (KAS)
- Technical inspection
- Przegląd techniczny (badanie techniczne)
- Last reviewed
Where the car comes from decides the effort
From an EU state
From an EU member state there is neither a customs declaration nor import VAT, as long as the car is used. If it stays under the threshold for first registration or mileage it counts as new for tax — then VAT is declared in Poland, and the tax office's confirmation becomes one of the registration papers. Excise duty applies either way.
From a third country
From Switzerland or Liechtenstein it is a genuine import: declared to the customs administration, duty on the customs value, import VAT on customs value plus duty. Only then does the Polish part begin, with excise duty, translation and inspection — the order is unchanged, it simply gains a step.
The process, in order
The order is not arbitrary. Pull a step forward and you usually end up repeating it.
01Before buying: check the papers
You need the complete original foreign registration document and, where the country of sale issues one, the accompanying vehicle document. The European certificate of conformity (COC) is not compulsory in every case, but it saves the queries about technical data that otherwise land with the testing station.
02Declare and pay the excise duty
Excise duty is declared to the tax office on the prescribed form. It is assessed on the vehicle value and on engine capacity, banded into classes; the rate in force for each class is published by the finance ministry. The deadline runs from the acquisition, not from the transfer. Without proof that the duty has been paid or is not owed, the wydział komunikacji will not accept the application.
Handled by: Urząd skarbowy (tax office)
03Have the sworn translation made
The foreign papers must be translated by a translator sworn in Poland. The fields of the registration document that carry harmonised European codes do not need translating — they mean the same thing in every language version. Everything else does, in particular notes, conditions and handwritten entries.
Handled by: Tłumacz przysięgły (sworn translator)
04Have the technical inspection done
Every imported car is presented at a Polish testing station before registration. A still-valid test from the country of sale does not replace it — the station also establishes that car and papers belong together, and that finding can only be made domestically.
Handled by: Stacja kontroli pojazdów (testing station)
05Take out third-party cover
Third-party insurance must be in force before registration. Attaching it to the still-foreign plate does not work smoothly everywhere; the usual route is to take it out against the chassis number and add the plate afterwards.
06Register
With papers, translation, proof of excise duty, the inspection report and proof of insurance, registration happens at the wydział komunikacji. Plates and a temporary registration are issued first; the definitive registration document follows once it has been printed.
Handled by: Wydział komunikacji
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.
- Excise duty (akcyza)
- Assessed on: Vehicle value and engine capacity, banded into classes; the rates per class are set in law and published by the finance ministry. For a used car the value applied is the market value, not necessarily the purchase price — a conspicuously low price draws a query.
- Does not apply: Does not apply to purely electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles under the statutory conditions.
- VAT
- Assessed on: Only for a car that counts as new for tax; then on the purchase price, declared to the tax office, which issues a confirmation for the registration desk.
- Does not apply: Does not arise for a used car from an EU state.
- Customs duty and import VAT
- Assessed on: Only from a third country, which includes Switzerland and Liechtenstein: duty on the customs value, import VAT on customs value plus duty.
- Does not apply: Does not arise within the EU.
- Sworn translation
- Assessed on: By character count or part-page for each document; the sworn translators' tariff is prescribed for official commissions and freely agreed for private ones.
- Technical inspection
- Assessed on: A fixed tariff per vehicle category, set by regulation and identical nationwide — the station cannot negotiate it.
- Registration, documents and plates
- Assessed on: Fees set by regulation, made up of the registration document, the registration act and the plates themselves.
The papers
Miss one of these and the appointment is wasted.
- The original foreign registration document, complete with all its parts.
- Purchase contract or invoice showing the price and both parties' details.
- Sworn translation of the papers by a translator sworn in Poland.
- Proof that the excise duty has been paid, or that none is owed.
- The Polish testing station's inspection report.
- ID and proof of address; for foreign keepers, the Polish identification number or a residence permit.
Where the sum tips
- The excise deadline. It runs from the acquisition and counts in days, not months. Anyone who transfers the car at leisure and only then thinks about the tax files late — and late-payment interest is the one item that careful timing removes entirely.
- The translation made in the country of sale. What counts is the work of a translator sworn in Poland, or certification by a Polish consular office. A translation produced in Germany is handed back at the counter, and the appointment is gone.
- The foreign test that is still valid. It does not replace the Polish one. That is not red tape: the station also establishes that the chassis number and the papers match, and only a domestic body can make that finding.
- The purchase price written down too low. For a used car, excise duty is assessed on market value. A contract well below it saves nothing; it produces a tax-office valuation and a query that costs weeks.
How long it takes
As an order of magnitude: excise duty and translation in a few days, the inspection in one day, registration with plates and a temporary document at the appointment itself. The definitive registration document typically takes a few more weeks.
The technical inspection
Przegląd techniczny (badanie techniczne)
The recurring technical inspection at a stacja kontroli pojazdów. Before an imported car is first registered it is due however recent the foreign test may be; after that it continues at the intervals normal in Poland.
Common questions
How much is the excise duty?
There is no single figure, and any figure printed in a guide would be wrong after the next amendment. What stays constant is the basis: vehicle value and engine capacity, banded into classes, with rates set in law. So before buying you need two things from the papers — the engine capacity and a defensible view of the market value.
Do all the papers need translating?
No. The registration document's fields with harmonised European codes stay untranslated, because they mean the same in every language version. The purchase contract, any notes, conditions and everything handwritten do need translating. Say so to the translator in advance and you pay a fraction.
Can I register the car without living in Poland?
Registration attaches to a residence or a registered seat in Poland. Foreign keepers need the Polish identification number or a residence permit with an address; without such a connection the route runs through a person or company established in Poland — and that party then becomes the keeper.
What happens to the foreign plate?
It has to be cancelled and handed back where it was issued. Forget it and tax and insurance keep running in the exporting country — and reclaiming them is more work than the office visit would have been.
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.