Temporary import of vehicles

Notice from the Directorate of Customs:

Persons permanently resident abroad, and who have not established legal residence in Iceland, are permitted to temporarily import vehicles with foreign registration, for personal use, for a maximum period of 12 months. If an individual establishes legal residence in Iceland within 12 months of arrival, then the vehicle must be customs cleared or alternatively the vehicle must be exported before the residency application is submitted.

Persons with permanent residency in Iceland are not permitted to temporarily import vehicles with foreign registration plates into the country.

Vehicles with foreign registration plates may be temporarily imported to Iceland subject to certain conditions. Prior to arriving in Iceland, importers of vehicles must complete a special declaration (E-9) and send to the Directorate of Customs in consultation with the carrier or customs broker. At most a vehicle may stay in Iceland temporarily for a period of 12 months. Further information on the completion of E-9, duty free, liability, duration and other conditions can be found below.

A copy of the E-9 statement shall always be kept in the vehicle during the stay.

Vehicles outside the EEA area shall be insured with an International Motor Insurance Card, the "Green Card", while a vehicle is located in Iceland. The importer is obliged to present the certificate at customs clearance.

If an importer exceeds the time limit of authorization or meets the conditions for temporary importation, the Directorate of Customs may remove a registration plate without warning. You may request a written statement from the Directorate of Customs or appeal to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs. See directions for appeals.

Personal vehicles - temporary stay due to employment, study or travel

Individuals residing abroad may temporarily import vehicles to Iceland for personal use. The term "vehicle" means a vehicle subject to mandatory official registration, e.g. an automobile, a motorcycle, tent trailer, camping trailers and folding trailers. Temporary import for personal use is duty free under certain conditions.

• An importer has permanent residence abroad
• The vehicle is imported to Iceland within one month of the arrival of the importer to Iceland
• The maximum period is 12 months from the arrival of the vehicle in Iceland
• An importer must stay in Iceland at the same time as he is entitled to relief of import duties and tariff preferences but may however stay abroad for up to 6 weeks every 12-month period
• The vehicle is intended for the personal use of the importer and his or her partners who are residing abroad
• The vehicle may not be used for commercial purposes
• If a vehicle is not exported from Iceland within a period of 12 months, the relief of import duties and tariff preferences will expire and the obligation to pay custom duties is established.

If an importer brings a passenger car that he leases from a car rental, registered in another country, the vehicle may only be operated for 42 days on each occasion and never for a longer period than 183 days during any 12-month period.

You can also find more information on the requirements in the Customs Code no. 88/2005 and in Regulation no. 630/2008 on various relief of import duties and tariff preferences.

Coaches / Tour buses and other commercial vehicles

Vehicles, machinery and equipment may be imported to Iceland temporarily for commercial purposes. Travel agencies may also temporarily import coaches / tour buses with foreign registration plates to Iceland. The term coach / tour bus is a vehicle registered for 10 people or more (nine passengers plus the driver). Temporary importation can last for a maximum of 12 months. An importer must complete an E-9 statement which must always be kept in the vehicle during the stay. In general, all goods that are temporarily imported are dutiable. However, temporary importation of coaches / tour buses that are only imported to Iceland in order to service a particular group of tourists and is shipped from Iceland when the group leaves the country on a duty-free basis.

Customs valuation:

In general a lease agreement is the prerequisite for the customs value for the purposes of temporary importation. An importer submits a lease agreement for the period during which the vehicle is in Iceland. In other respects, the provisions of Chapter V of the Customs Act apply to customs value and customs valuation.

If a lease agreement is not available, the customs value of coaches / tour buses shall be valuated according to estimated rent based on 1/60th of the customs value.

A financial guarantee bond for payment of import duties:

Importers must provide security for customs clearance for estimated import duties. The security can be in the form of customs credit, cash, bank guarantee or A.T.A. warranty document.

Settlement of import duties:

Temporary importation ends with the exportation within the time limit. In parallel with the exportation, the importer submits a financial statement for the settlement of a temporary importation. Upon settlement, the Directorate of Customs calculates the final import duties, compares the guarantee and the eventual import duties and then reimburses or collects in accordance with the Customs Code.

If a commodity is not exported within the time limit referred to in customs clearance or the maximum deadline is breached then the commodity must be fully customs cleared and pay import duties must be paid as per ordinary importation.

Further information on these sources can be found in the Customs Code no. 88/2005 and in Regulation no. 630/2008 on various relief of import duties and tariff preferences.

Company Cars

Companies established in another EEA state, in an EFTA state or in the Faroe Islands may temporarily import vehicles to Iceland for use by an employee if the vehicle is the necessary requirement for the employee to perform his or her duties.

• The vehicle needs to be used more in its home country (in km) over a 12-month period.
• The vehicle may only be in Iceland for a total of 183 days during a 12-month period.

Further information on these sources can be found in the Customs Code no. 88/2005 and in Regulation no. 630/2008 on various relief of import duties and tariff preferences.

Detailed information - Temporary importation of vehicles with foreign registration plates

In certain cases one can ship a vehicle with foreign registration plates to Iceland without paying full import duties. By meeting certain requirements, importers may variously pay reduced import duties or get total relief of import duties. The following are the cases where one can ship vehicles with foreign registration plates to Iceland without paying full import duties.

In all instances importers must fill out a special statement on a designated form (E-9) for the importation, and fill in the required details of the form. By submitting the form to the Directorate of Customs, the importer declares that he has studied and that he meets the conditions for the above-mentioned relief of import duties.

The Directorate of Customs may request that importers submit a special certificate confirming the relevant issues, in accordance with, i.e. Articles 54 and 66 of the Road Traffic Act no. 50/1987 and Regulations no. 830/2011 and 267/1993. For example, a vehicle certificate of registration, a driver's license, a certificate that the person concerned has legal occupancy of a vehicle (such as a car rental agreement), an insurance certificate, a certificate of residence abroad and, if applicable, an as the case may be a bill of lading and an invoice for transportation (the documents are available at the shipping company's office if a vehicle is transported to the country by a cargo ship).

According to Regulation, No 1244/2019, vehicles registered in the following countries are considered to have adequate vehicle liability insurance upon arrival in Iceland:

Andorra (AND), Austria (A), Belgium (B), Denmark (with the Faroe Islands) (DK), Estonia (EST), Finland (FIN), France (with Monaco) (F), Greece (GR), The Netherlands NL), Ireland (IRL), Italy (with San Marino and Holy See) (I), Croatia (HR), Cyprus (CY), Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (L), Malta (M) Norway (N), Poland (PL), Serbia (RS), Slovakia (SK), Slovenia (SLO), Sweden (S), Czech Republic (CZ), Hungary (H) and Germany (D)

If the above is not applicable, an importer must provide either an International Motor Insurance Card ("green card") or other certificate of valid liability insurance for the use of a vehicle in Iceland.

Coaches / Tour buses

According to subsection 4 (c) of paragraph 1, Article 7 of the Customs Code No. 88/2005 and Article 20 of Regulations on various relief of import duties and tariff preferences no. 630/2008, travel agencies and others who are employed in the organization of group tours of the country may temporarily and without having to pay import duties, import a coach/tour bus registered abroad for the use for a particular group of tourists residing abroad, provided that the coach / tour bus be exported from Iceland upon the departure of the relevant tourist group.

The term coach/tour bus in the above sense means a vehicle registered for more than 10 persons, where at least nine of these are passengers in addition to the driver.

Private vehicles

Those staying in Iceland for one year or less due to employment, study or travel may import a vehicle registered abroad without payment of import duties, as provided for in subsection 4 (a) paragraph 1, Article 7 of the Customs Code No. 88/2005 and Article 18 of Regulations on various relief of import duties and tariff preferences no. 630/2008. The motor vehicle may also, subject to the fulfilment of requirements for duty-free transactions, be purchased as a new and unregistered motor vehicle here in Iceland. The conditions for duty-free temporary import of private vehicles are as follows:

1. The importer has or has had permanent residence abroad.
2. The vehicle is intended for the personal use by the importer and his or her family members and by other accompanying persons and who are residing abroad. A vehicle covered by this Article may not be used for commercial purposes.
3. That the vehicle is transported to the country within one month of the arrival of the person for a temporary stay.
4. The vehicle will be moved from the country at the end of the stay in the country, but no later than within one year of arrival of the importer to the country. It shall be of no affect in this regard if the person leaves the country temporarily, for example for work- or study related holiday, provided that such absence does not exceed 6 weeks during a 12-month period.

Tourists may also import under the same conditions as above, other vehicles than cars, such as motorcycles, folding trailers, camping trailers, and tent trailers, cf. subsection 4 (d) of paragraph 1, Article 7 of the Customs Code No. 88/2005 and Article 20 of Regulations on various relief of import duties and tariff preferences no. 630/2008.

The Directorate of Customs may require that an importer of vehicles under this article demonstrate in a documented manner that he intends to stay temporarily in the country for no longer than one year, e.g. by presenting a temporary employment contract or temporary lease agreement for residential property, as applicable.

If an importer stays for more than 12 months, or takes up a permanent residence in Iceland, this waiver will automatically be cancelled and duties must be paid on the vehicle or the vehicle must be shipped out of Iceland.

According to subsection 4 (f) of paragraph 1, Article 7 of the Customs Code No. 88/2005, the above-mentioned exemption also applies with the same requirements, to passenger cars rented by car rentals, registered in other member states of the European Economic Area, member states of the European Free Trade Association or in the Faroe Islands, which an importer temporarily uses in Iceland for his own benefit provided that the vehicle stays in this country no longer than 42 days during each period and never longer than 183 days during every 12 months period. Anyone who uses temporary importation under this section can never use the authorization for more than 42 days each year.

Company Cars

Exemption from payment of import duties in case of travellers also applies to vehicles registered abroad and to an employer established in another member state of the European Economic Area, a member state of the European Free Trade Association or in the Faroe Islands, in respect of his employee, provided that the vehicle is necessary for the employee to perform his duties. It is also a condition that the use of the car in Iceland is temporary and does not exceed its use abroad. Use is considered temporary if it is no longer than 183 days in any 12-month period. Use is considered to be more in Iceland than abroad if it is used more in Iceland than abroad in kilometres during a 12-month period, cf. subsection 4 (e) of paragraph 1, Article 7 of the Customs Code No. 88/2005.

Fuel and spare parts

Importers of the above-mentioned vehicles meeting the conditions for temporary importation may also import duty-free fuels contained in the vehicle's fuel tank, however with a maximum of 200 litres, as well as spare parts for the vehicle in case of damage to the vehicle, cf. subsection 5 of paragraph 1, Article 7 of the Customs Code and Article 22 of Regulation various relief of import duties and tariff preferences.

Vehicle for commercial use

For commercial vehicles, etc. vehicles for passenger and trucking and special purpose vehicles, import charges based on rental prices, cf. subsection subsection 6. paragraph 1. Article 7 of the Customs Code and Article 28 of Regulation various relief of import duties and tariff preferences. If the rental price of a device is not available, import duties shall be calculated on the estimated rent, which shall be determined as 1/60 part of the customs value as determined pursuant to Art. Chapter V of the Customs Act, cf. VII. section of the Regulation on Custody and Customs Treatment of Goods, for each month from the end of the first month from the date of its arrival in Iceland.

If the period of use turns out to be different, the import duty will be charged at the time of departure of the vehicle from Iceland. A preliminary declaration of entry must be made and a collateral must be established upon the importation of the coach / tour bus to Iceland, while an export declaration and E-14 form must be submitted for the vehicle, "Request for inspection of goods shipped abroad." A financial guarantee bond for the payment of import duties may be in the form of ATA Carnet Liability Document or Financial Insurance.

According to Article 23 of the Regulation on various relief of import duties and tariff preferences, the payment of import duties is partly subject to the condition that vehicles will be used in Iceland for a maximum of 12 months. If an importer chooses to use the vehicle in Iceland for more than one year, he shall immediately report to the Directorate of Customs. On that same occasion the settlement of import duties shall then take place. Paid import duties under subsection 6 of Article 7 of the Customs Code shall be deducted from the levied import duties.