With the beginning of a full-scale war, a large number of Ukrainians were forced to temporarily leave Ukraine. Many people left by car and continue to use it on the territory of the European Union. Experts of the Institute of Car Market Research together with Polish colleagues found out the nuances of using cars with Ukrainian license plates abroad. It turns out that the term of their use there is limited by law.
From the beginning of the war to the end of September, more than 6 million Ukrainian citizens crossed the border with Poland. A large part of them came by car. According to expertsʼ estimates, based on data from the Polish Border Service, there are currently more than 600,000 passenger cars with Ukrainian license plates in the EU.
According to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Poland, all cars registered in Ukraine and driven by Ukrainians who arrived as a result of the war are considered vehicles participating in international traffic, in accordance with the provisions of the Vienna Convention, to which both Poland and Ukraine are signatories.
To be subject to this Convention, the car must belong to a natural or legal person whose permanent place of residence is outside Poland, not be registered in the country and be temporarily imported into it. Then the conditions to which the vehicle must comply in international traffic are determined only by the Polish Road Traffic Act. And the provisions of this document do not require registration of temporarily imported vehicles.
However, not everything is so simple: there are other obligations, customs. In most cases, when entering the territory of the European Union from Ukraine, cars are automatically placed in the customs regime of temporary importation, which limits the allowed period of stay of such a car. Yes, within 6 months, the car must be released into free circulation in Poland or exported outside the EU. This term is interrupted and starts again if the car owner leaves the EU and returns. Something similar (only the other way around) existed a few years ago in Ukraine, when Ukrainians massively used cars with Polish registration, the so-called "euroblakhs". It is also possible to extend this period by the head of the customs and tax service at the border crossing point at the request of the owner of the car that entered the customs territory of the EU.
In the case of the intention to change the permanent place of residence of a citizen of Ukraine to Poland, the procedure for customs clearance of a car with exemption from import duty is provided for, the Ministry of Finance of Poland explains. Cars that have been used for at least 6 months in a third country by a person moving to Poland can be subject to this procedure, with a further ban on sale for 12 months and an obligation to use the car for the same purpose (that is, if the car was personal, you cannot use it for commercial activities).
However, according to Art. 11 of the Regulation establishing the system of customs benefits of the European Union, for persons who are forced to change their place of residence from Ukraine to Poland as a result of the war, the customs authorities may refuse to apply restrictions regarding:
- requirements to be a car owner in Ukraine for at least 6 months;
- the need to use the car for the same purpose in Poland;
- restrictions on the possibility to issue commercial vehicles and those cars used for earning under favorable conditions;
- sales ban for 12 months.
Thus, vehicles imported by forcibly resettled citizens of Ukraine, regardless of the period of their ownership and use in Ukraine, can be used for any purpose and sold at any time after registration in Poland. But only after customs clearance.
Since most Ukrainians entered the EU in the first months of the full-scale war, the period of legal car use is coming to an end or has already ended. Therefore, owners of vehicles registered in Ukraine must decide what to do next: take the car outside the EU or register it there.
It is unprofitable to clear customs from Ukraine in Poland
There is one economic zone in the European Union. This means that when importing goods from EU member states, you need to pay significantly less taxes compared to goods imported from third countries.
According to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Poland, for the registration of cars imported from outside the European Union, it is necessary to add confirmation of customs clearance and payment of all mandatory payments. For example, customs duty (10% of the value), VAT (23% of the value) and excise duty, which depends on the volume of the engine and can be up to 18.6% of the customs value of the car, must be paid for cars from Ukraine in Poland. The total amount of customs clearance of a car from Ukraine in Poland can be up to 50% of its value.
It is also necessary to undergo a technical inspection of the car, because the law does not allow the registration of cars in Poland that do not meet the basic requirements for its condition. For example, a cut catalyst or leaking engine oil can be an obstacle to registration.
At the same time, it is worth remembering that the market price of a car in Poland is lower than in Ukraine, sometimes by two or three times. That is, even without paying customs payments, registering a car from Ukraine in Poland is simply unprofitable in most cases. An exception can only be retro cars in collector condition, the price of which in Poland can be even higher than in Ukraine.
The law does not allow selling Ukrainian cars in Poland
It would seem logical: if it is unprofitable to register the car in Poland, it should be sold. However, everything is not so simple here: the laws of both Poland and Ukraine do not allow a car registered in Ukraine, temporarily imported into the EU.
Yes, the current Ukrainian legal acts do not provide for the possibility of selling a car abroad, since both the buyer and the seller must be physically present in Ukraine to conclude a sales contract. Simply writing a contract by hand, as it works in Poland, is impossible.
On the other hand, a car temporarily imported to Poland cannot be sold without customs permission, because in order to release any product into free circulation, it is necessary to go through customs clearance and pay all fees.
This situation gives rise to a number of problems: first, additional costs of time and money for a trip to and from Ukraine; secondly, not all Ukrainians have yet received documents that would allow them to freely cross the border with the possibility of returning to the EU. Therefore, in social networks you can see many ads for the sale of cars registered in Ukraine, on the territory of Poland. At the same time, the agreement takes place "on good faith" without proper legal registration. That is, a person buys a car (usually at a price lower than the market price in Ukraine), receiving only a registration certificate and a promise from the legal owner to re-register the car later, and goes to Ukraine, where he uses the car, without re-registering it for himself.
The situation is complicated by the fact that many Ukrainians left not in their own cars, but in the cars of relatives, friends and even casual acquaintances.
What could be the solution?
It is obvious that this situation creates many problems for both Ukrainians and Poles. Each country has its own requirements for vehicles constantly moving on public roads. For example, in Ukraine, unlike the countries of the European Union, there is no mandatory annual technical inspection.
According to the Ministry of Infrastructure of Poland, temporarily imported cars in accordance with the Vienna Convention must meet general technical requirements, i.e. be in good working order. However, according to the Polish Road Traffic Act, such cars do not have to undergo a regular technical inspection. The driver of a defective car can be fined only after critical malfunctions are detected during a road stop by authorized services.
Since some Ukrainians will probably remain in Poland after the end of the war, it may happen that cars temporarily imported from Ukraine will still remain in Poland forever. Therefore, there is a growing need to introduce mechanisms that could solve this problem. For example, recently the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, which carries out registration and accounting of vehicles in Ukraine, announced the launch of mobile service centers abroad. There it will be possible to officially formalize the purchase and sale of a car.
Also, the car sales and re-registration service in the "Diya" mobile application should start already in mid-December. In this way, it will be possible to sell a car online without visiting any institution, conclude an electronic contract of sale, sign it with an electronic key and receive an electronic certificate of registration without visiting any government institution in Ukraine. It can also be a solution for temporarily exported cars from Ukraine.
However, in order for these mechanisms to work, in addition to changes in laws in Ukraine, it is necessary to legalize the possibility of changing the owner of a car temporarily imported to Poland. Today, such actions are considered a violation of EU customs legislation.
An alternative solution for those who would like to leave their car in Poland with the possibility of returning to Ukraine with it after the end of the war could be temporary car registration. For example, this is how cars imported as humanitarian aid are now registered in Ukraine. This would make it possible, on the one hand, to keep records and control such cars temporarily imported to Poland, but would not require difficult decisions to be made by forcibly resettled Ukrainians.
