Customs Clearance of a Car in Poland (2026) — Excise, VAT and Duty

We’ve already covered buying and registering a car in Poland. This guide is for those bringing in a car bought abroad, whether inside or outside the EU: what you need to pay, how much it costs in 2026, and which rules have changed in recent years, including a couple of corrections to outdated information still circulating online.

• Car bought in the EU, documents and fees
• Excise tax rates in 2026
• VAT and the VAT-25 certificate
• Car bought outside the EU, customs duty
• The old recycling fee no longer applies
• Import ban on cars from Russia, and rules for Belarus
• FAQ

Car bought in the EU, documents and fees

If you bought a car in another EU country, you’ll need:

• proof of ownership (invoice, bill of sale, sale-purchase contract, or donation agreement);
• a temporary insurance policy;
• the car’s registration document (dowód rejestracyjny) or an export certificate (karta eksportowa).

Excise tax rates in 2026

Excise rates depend not only on engine size, but also on the powertrain type:

Important nuance: the preferential hybrid rates apply under Art. 105 of the excise tax act and a general interpretation issued by the Minister of Finance (ref. PAD6.8101.1.2026, February 2026), but not every car marketed by its manufacturer as a “mild hybrid” automatically qualifies for the reduced 9.3% rate above 2000 cc. In at least one case, tax authorities classified a specific mild-hybrid model as a regular combustion car subject to the 18.6% rate. It’s worth checking the tax classification of the exact model before buying.

VAT and the VAT-25 certificate

• A new car (under 6 months from first registration, or under 6,000 km): 23% VAT is always due.
• A used car bought abroad from a private individual: no VAT is due.
• A used car bought from a business at a net price: 23% VAT is due as an intra-Community acquisition (WNT).

To register a car bought in another EU country, you still need a VAT-25 certificate: you file a VAT-24 application with your local tax office, which then confirms VAT was paid (or wasn’t owed). Clarification: the certificate itself is issued free of charge (the PLN 160 fee that used to apply has been abolished), but the requirement to obtain a VAT-25 when registering an EU-sourced car has not been scrapped, contrary to some outdated guides. For cars imported from outside the EU, no VAT-25 is issued or required; VAT is settled directly as part of customs clearance.

If, alongside sorting out the car, you’re already thinking about a broader move to Poland, for example registering a business (a JDG sole proprietorship or an sp. z o.o.) or handling residence legalization, that’s exactly what the MojaFirma team specializes in. We don’t handle car customs clearance, but we can help with company registration, accounting, and residence legalization.

Car bought outside the EU, customs duty

The document list is the same as for an EU car. You’ll also need to deregister the car in its country of registration and get a temporary (transit) plate to drive it into Poland.

Customs duty is typically 10% of the car’s customs value (based on your purchase invoice; if customs officers doubt the declared price, they’ll compare it against market catalog values for similar cars in Poland). Excise tax (per the table above) is then calculated on the value plus duty, and 23% VAT is applied on top of that total.

Example (a €1,000 petrol car, engine under 2000 cc):

Important correction to an earlier version of this article: this section used to say that cars from Switzerland, Turkey, and Moldova are subject to a 0% customs duty. That’s imprecise: a preferential, including zero, duty rate can apply under the EU’s agreements with Switzerland, Turkey, and Moldova, but what decides it is the car’s origin, not the country where it was bought. The preference has to be documented (a EUR.1 movement certificate or an origin declaration on the invoice; for Turkey, which has a customs union with the EU rather than a preferential-origin arrangement, an A.TR certificate). A car manufactured outside these countries, say a Japanese or Korean model bought in Switzerland, doesn’t qualify for the 0% rate and is subject to the standard 10% duty.

The old recycling fee no longer applies

Correction to older guides: the opłata recyklingowa (recycling fee) of PLN 500 was abolished on January 1, 2016 (Act of May 27, 2015, Journal of Laws 2015 item 933). If you’re importing a car now, in 2026, you do not need to pay this fee, whether the car comes from the EU or a third country. The obligation still applies only to cars that were physically brought into Poland before January 1, 2016 but registered later.

Import ban on cars from Russia, and rules for Belarus

Since September 17, 2023, Poland and the whole EU have banned the purchase, import, and transfer into the EU of passenger cars registered in Russia or originating from Russia, regardless of the owner’s nationality. It is currently impossible to import and register such a car in Poland.

For passenger cars registered in Belarus, there’s no blanket ban: entry is allowed if the car is used solely as the owner’s personal transport, is driven by the owner (or the owner is present in the vehicle), and isn’t used to transport goods commercially. Freight traffic (trucks, tractor units and trailers registered in Russia or Belarus) has been suspended.

FAQ

See also: how to get or exchange a driving license in Poland and VAT rates in Poland.

Bibliography and Legal Basis

• Excise Tax Act (consolidated text, Art. 105) and general interpretation by the Minister of Finance, ref. PAD6.8101.1.2026 (February 2026).
• Act of May 27, 2015, amending the Act on recycling of end-of-life vehicles (Journal of Laws 2015, item 933).
• Ministry of Interior and Administration statement on the ban on importing passenger cars registered in Russia (gov.pl/mswia, 2023).
• Ministry of Finance information on new rules for importing cars registered in Belarus (gov.pl/finanse).

Legal status as of: August 30, 2026.

Author: MojaFirma team.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or customs advice. Every situation depends on the specific vehicle and its country of origin. If something about your own situation isn’t quite clear, feel free to book a free consultation with our team.