Complete Guide To Buying And Importing A Used Car From The Uk To Zambia.

Sourcing 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.

Buying a UK car you have found

If you have found a car in the UK 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 cars VAT free from the UK.

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.

CIF to Walvis Bay: We manage the purchase, VAT and export of your car from the UK to Walvis Bay for you where your clearing agent will continue with the import of your car.

FOB: Our cheapest service for the experienced importer where we buy, collect and deliver the car for you to the UK port for the appropriate ship to Walvis Bay. You then take care of the shipping booking, insurance and the clearing and transport from Walvis Bay port.

Shipping to Lusaka: Our team source your car, manage the pre-export inspections and on arrival, our local clearing agent will import your car and deliver it to Lusaka for you to collect.

Door to Door UK to Zambia: We source and export your car from the UK to Walvis Bay and our local agent manages your car import through customs, registration and delivers it to your preferred location in Zambia.

Ship your car to Walvis Bay from the UK.

Roll on – Roll off: Roro is the cheapest way to ship cars Walvis Bay. The cars are driven onto the ship and secured with straps prior to shipping.

Container: Here your car is secured in a single 20FT container or a shared 40FT container prior to departure which this minimises the opportunity for damage. Container shipping is a favoured choice for prestige cars.

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

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

I. Clearing customs alone.

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

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

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

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

Payment process buying UK cars for Zambia.

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

Our CIF service to 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.

Vehicle regulations and requirements Zambia.

Age restriction: There is no age limit for cars imported to Zambia and there is no restriction on the make and model of the cars eligible for import.

Pre-export/import inspection: Vehicles destined for Zambia are required to have a Jevic inspection which we can assist with prior to export from the UK.

Left Hand Drive: Only right hand drive vehicles can be imported to Zambia.

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. The ZRA 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:

You will also need to allow for the Carbon Emission Surtax. This varies according to the size of your vehicle engine.

Carbon Emission Surtax Rates

Vehicle duty calculations for cars to Zambia

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

Example 1:

For a 2018 car with a CIF value of 450,000 ZMW and an engine size of 1,500cc (1.5L).

CIF Value = 450,000 ZMW

Customs Duty is 25% = 112,500 ZMW

Excise Duty is 20% = 90,000 ZMW

VAT is 16% of CIF + Excise Duty + Customers = 274,500 ZMW

Total amount of Duty Payable is Customs Duty + Excise Duty + VAT + Carbon Emission Surtax

112,500 + 90,000 + 72,000 + 50,000 = 324,500 ZMW

So, the total customs duty for this car is 324,500 ZMW

For more detailed examples please refer to the motor vehicle tax calculator on the ZRA website.

Please note that ZRA 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.

Documents needed to import your car into Zambia

To import your vehicle you will require these key documents detailed below.

Documents for importing:

CIF Invoice as proof of purchase for the vehicle.

Bill of Lading (Original Copy)

Freight statement

Documents that are related to the acquisition, purchase, shipment or importation of the used vehicle

Certificate of Title and Registration (Original Copy)

Driver's License

International Insurance Policy

Non-Sale Certificate

Valuation Certificate

Letter of Transfer