Car Matters
Your Car In Spain: Officially you can not drive a foreign plated car in Spain forever. The maximum time of use per annum is 6 months and the other 6 months you need to park the car in a garage.
This however is rather hard to check when you are an European tourist. When you are from the EU you can drive in Spain on your foreign driving license without an international driving license.
Non-EU members are the only ones who have real advantageous points when they purchase a car on tourist plates and stay as a non-resident.
You do not have to pay the 16% IVA (VAT) and neither do you have to pay the Spanish special vehicle registration tax of 12 %.
Nice saving of 28%.
Europeans can avoid paying the 12% special vehicle registration tax as Spain is the only country in Europe that has this tax.
When buying your car all you have to do is request this and the car will be fitted with a tourist plate, rather then a full Spanish plate.
You will have to renew this plate every year, which will cost you approximately 25.000 pesetas. You can repeat this as many years as you want.
Buying a car on Spanish plates can save a lot of complications and has certain advantages, such as easy to resell and payment in Spanish currency.
The rules are that you have to have a residency or own a property or be able to present a certificado de empadronamiento (certificate to show that you are a registered inhabitant of the community).
If you are a non-resident driving through Spain, you may find that the Spanish police are empowered to demand payment on the spot for any traffic violation you commit.
They will impound your vehicle, if you are not able to pay up. This is all legal as their orders are to ensure that the fine will be paid.
Your Car In Spain: As of 1999, Spain has ended a useful privilege for foreigners who buy cars in Spain.
All countries have an export automobile registration, usually valid for six months, when a foreigner buys a car in that country with the intention of taking it to his home country for definitive registration.
For many years Spain allowed foreigners to extend this tax-free registration for a second six months every year, thus allowing them, in effect, to own and operate a tax-free car for many years.
This useful concession has now been ended, and a Spanish tourist plate is valid only for six months and cannot be renewed.
Return from Your Car in Spain to Spain Holidays Advisor
|
