Buying new and used cars in the UK from overseas is daunting. Our car sourcing specialists find your ideal car, negotiate, buy the car for you and manage the export from the UK.

If you have found your car with a dealer who does not export, we are very happy to step in and manage the purchase with the dealer for you. We will negotiate, inspect and export your car with the same care we give to our sourcing service.

Buying a VAT free car will save you 20% off the advertised price. We are experts in buying cars VAT free for export. We help you to buy your car VAT free from any dealer in the UK. You will not need you to cover the VAT while we purchase your car. You simply pay the VAT free price and we take care of the rest.

Our experienced team inspect and collect your car, prepare it for export and personally deliver it to the port. Choose from a variety of import services to suit your needs.

Car sourcing and shipping to Harare:

Our prestige car import service takes your car from the UK to Harare. Our team source new and used car for Zimbabwe and export them VAT free. On arrival, our local clearing agent will import your car and deliver it to Harare for you to collect.

CIF: We manage the purchase, VAT and export of your car from the UK to either Durban or Walvis Bay for you.

FOB: Our simplest service for the experienced importer where we buy, collect and deliver the car for you to the UK port for the appropriate ship to Zimbabwe.

Ship your car to Walvis Bay, Durban, Maputo or Dar es Salaam.

Roll on – Roll off: The most cost-effective way to ship cars to Zimbabwe is ‘RoRo’ where the cars are driven onto the ship and secured with straps prior to shipping.

Container: A popular choice for prestige cars is container shipping as your car is secured in a single 20FT container or a shared 40FT container prior to departure. This minimises the opportunity for damage.

Prices are correct at time of publishing but may be subject to change.

We have partnerships with clearing agents in Walvis Bay, Durban and Harare. They provide flexible clearing and delivery services including:

I. Clearing customs alone.

II. Cleared, duties paid, and delivery to Harare (or your preferred city) with the car registered for you.

III. Cleared, duties paid, registered and delivery to your door.

Clearing for Zimbabwe can take place at the port of arrival. Your clearing agent may clear your car at Durban or Walvis for example. They will then transport it to Zimbabwe on your behalf.

Should you wish you transport your car yourself to Zimbabwe, you can request ‘in transit’ for your Bill of Lading. Once this is added, you can transport your car to Zimbabwe and pay your import duties on arrival.

For more information on these services from our clearing agents get in touch for details.

To secure your car we require a deposit of £1,000.

Our CIF service to Durban or Walvis Bay is paid for in the UK, before your car is delivered to the UK port.

You will pay your clearing agent directly for any additional services they provide.

Age restriction? Vehicles older than 5 years will incur a tax of 35% of the CIF invoice. Vehicles more than 10 years old from the date of manufacture on the date they enter Zimbabwe, now need a specific import license. This proof of payment must be provided when the application is made for the license. Commercial vehicles ( tractors, haulage trucks, earth movers, specialised vehicles for mining and construction) are exempt from the 10 year rule.

Roadworthiness inspection? Motor vehicles are required to pass a pre-export inspection by EAA Company Limited (EAA). The inspection is a Pre-shipment Verification of conformity and and must take place in the country of origin prior to shipping. We arrange your inspection as part of our export service.

Left Hand Drive? Left hand drive vehicles can be imported to Zimbabwe.

Required documents? See sub-heading below.

Vehicle import duty rates are calculated are based on the cost of buying, shipping and insuring your car import to the destination port. This is summarised in your CIF invoice, which is a critical document for you to provide to the authorities. ZIMRA will require you to include all costs and charges to buy and import your car to the destination port.

The current duty rates applied are as follows:

To better understand how duty and VAT is calculated let look at an example:

Example 1:

For a 2018 car with a CIF value of £20,000 and an engine size of 1,500cc (1.5L).

CIF Value = £20,000

Duty is 40% = £8,000

VTP = £20,000 + £8,000 = £28,000

The VTP is then used to calculate the VAT as follows:

VAT at 15% of £28,000 = £4,200

Total amount of Duty Payable is Duty + VAT

= £8,000 +£4,200 = £12,200

So, the total customs duty for this car is £12,200.

For more detailed examples please refer to the ZIMRA website.

Please note that ZIMRA may review the values of the motor vehicles at border entry points. They may re-evaluate a vehicle if the declared value does not reflect the ‘true market price’ from the country of origin.

Returning residents who have lived abroad for over 24 months.

Physically handicapped persons are exempt from customs duty but required to pay VAT on the cost of the vehicle, freight, transport, insurance and any other charges incurred in transit Zimbabwe.

Diplomats.

Temporary import permits: Non-Zimbabwean residents may qualify to import foreign registered vehicles.

Immigrants Declaration, Passport, or Residence Permit

Logbook or Registration document,

Invoice or Agreement of sale,

Insurance document (to the place of importation),

Freight documents (Bill of Lading, shipping note).

For declaration Private importations require Form 49 (receipt) and professional importers must complete Form 47.

Invoice/agreement of sale

Police clearance – SARPCO Certificate (when imported from a country in Southern Africa)

Export bill of entry and supporting documents

Registration book (in the case of used motor vehicles)

Selling commission

Brokerage

Storage Handling Documentation

Freight (up to the place of import, only when the vehicle is not driven to such place of import)

Insurance (up to the place of import)

Customs Clearance Certificate

Police clearance

Proof of residence (utility bills)

National Identity Document

Clearance papers required:

Bill of Entry

Form 49 Receipt

Release Order