Importing a car into Austria

Graham Crewe
Dec 24, 2022
4 min read

Updated: Jan 1, 2024

Question

I want to ask if anyone had experience of importing their car to Austria from abroad? What is the procedure you follow? Does it cost a lot to change the licence plates?

Answer

Anyone importing a car into Austria will have to pay the NoVA (Normverbrauchsabgabe) which is Austria's one-off car registration tax. You have to pay it on any car that is registered in Austria, whether it is new or second-hand and bought from a dealer in Austria or imported from abroad. In addition there are other documents such as the Zulassungsbescheinigung and the Typenschein.

If importing a car from abroad the rules depend on whether you are importing from the EEA (EU plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) or from a third country (a country outside the EEA).

This top answer came from Annariina Komljenovic:

Before the NoVA you have to do “eigenimport” self-import the car into the Austrian vehicle register (Eintragung in die Genehmigungsdatenbank). You need to contact any car dealer of the brand and ask them to do it. I did mine via email which cost me €180.

Then you can go to the tax office with your calculations and the form for the NoVA (you need to make an appointment online for this). I had the original purchase contract with me plus a confirmation of the original list price for configuration of the car, as they will price the car according to your car’s configuration and what was the Austrian list price at the time of the registration, then adjusted to the time value and km. Then you pay either there or you get payment instructions. Then your car has to pass the annual roadworthiness test for the “Pickerel” (ie at ATU or any garage with the authorisation). If you are unlucky and you had yours just done like me, and your car had the first registration the month after, you need to do the Pickerel again the next month, as it is required for the month of the “Erstzulassung”. If you are a bit shocked about the insurance price, do take it into the account that it includes the car tax (Kfz-Steuer), unlike in Germany where the tax and insurance are paid separately. Also when you register the car, there’s no central registry, you can do it in pretty much any large car dealer or insurance companies office (they have their own registration offices). After you pay the fee, They will invalidate your old papers and give you new ones with Austrian plates. Our insurance guy came to our house (he had quotes from several companies for us), took the car papers and plates, did the registration for us, got the new plates etc. and came half an hour back with the car’s registered, new Austrian papers and AT plates. You might need to get new licence plate holders (Amazon, Obi, car tuning shops) as Austrian plates are a different size from other countries and your old ones (like our German ones) won’t be able to hold them. Then you need to send your old plates and car papers back to the old country’s registration office (I definitely recommend doing this with registered mail), they de-register the car and inform your car insurer, which will then calculate the money you have already paid until the de-registration and refund the money as of the de-registration date.

The NoVA calculator can be found here (German only): https://onlinerechner.haude.at/BMF-NoVARechner

Zulassungsbescheinigung (commonly known as the Zulassungsschein)

This registration document comes in two parts. Part 1 must always be carried in the vehicle. You should file part 2 away at home with the Typenschein. Part 1 is also available, for a small fee (July 2023: €25.60), in credit card form.

You register a vehicle for its Zulassungsbescheinigung at a local registration office. You will find your local office here (your browser will translate the webpage for you): https://www.vvo.at/vvo/vvo.nsf/syspages/kfzzulassungsstellenauskunft.html

In order for your car to be registered it must be covered by a third party insurance policy which is valid in Austria.

This website is particularly useful: https://www.oesterreich.gv.at/en/themen/freizeit_und_strassenverkehr/kfz/2/Seite.060118.html#:~:text=Number%20plates%20(if%20the%20applicant,Mopeds%3A%208.50%20Euro

Typenschein: "Vehicle type certificate"

This is mandatory for every car in Austria. It is the official confirmation of the exact vehicle type and chassis number. Since 2007 vehicles are issued with an EC (European Community) conformity certificate or a data extract from the approval database instead of the Typenschein. This document must be presented when registering a new vehicle. In Austria, it is also considered a Certificate of Conformity (CoC). This is especially necessary when buying or selling the vehicle abroad.

When importing a car from the EU you will have the equivalent document which you will need to present to the local registration office when you apply for your Zulassungsbescheinigung.

"Pickerl" §57a assessment

This is the Austrian roadworthiness certificate. The first Pickerl is required when a car is 3 years old. The second is due two years later. After that they are an annual requirement ("3-2-1" regulation).

The workshop which performs the Pickerl test will fix the Pickerl sticker to your windscreen. This sticker shows the Pickerl expiry.

Licence plates

When transferring a car to Austria you will need to apply for Austrian licence plates. You typically do this at your local registration office (see above). The cost depends on the export country and the type of license plate (July 2023: €23 for passenger cars and HGVs).

Importing a car from a third country

In addition to the requirements listed above, the following requirements are necessary when importing a car from outside the EEA:

NoVA

There are different NoVA Calculations for non-EU and EU imports and it is important to get the WLTP CO2 value of the vehicle. You should find this value in the vehicle's registration documents. In the EU it is found in the Certificate of Conformity (CoC).

In addition, "For motor vehicles imported directly from a Member State of the European Union and previously registered in the rest of the Union, the NoVA must be calculated on the basis of the legal situation in force in Austria at the time of first registration in the rest of the Union”.

The NoVA calculator can be found here (German only): https://onlinerechner.haude.at/BMF-NoVARechner

Customs duties

Cars imported from third countries (countries outside the EEA) are liable for a 10% customs duty in addition to other taxes. See: https://www.bmf.gv.at/en/topics/customs/tax-and-duty-free-import-of-relocation-goods/importing-vehicle-personal-use.

Useful links

These links are all in German but your browser will translate them for you.

1 Comment

Keith Davies

Feb 24, 2023

Right hand drive vehicles (e.g. those that come from Ireland) may have additional costs. Beam benders are OK for short visits, but not for import. Headlamps will either need to be adjusted (best case) or completely replaced (worse case). In addition the second had market for Right Hand Drive vehicles is not good here, they can also be a pain to use in car parks.