In order to avoid any unnecessary costs and problems when importing passenger motor vehicles, the Customs Administration advises that the following should be taken into account when importing vehicles, as well as when clearing the vehicles with foreign license plates which have already been brought into Macedonia and are driven by residents of a foreign country:

 

 

 

Prior to purchasing the vehicle from abroad, check the homologation requirements at the authorized bodies:

      -    AMSM USLUGI HOMOLOGACIJA DOOEL, Skopje, Inspection points Skopje – Chair, Veles and Bitola.

      -    Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Skopje, Inspection point Industriska Zona Zelezara

      -    AUTOMAKEDONIJA A.D., Skopje, street Mito Hadzi Vasilev; Inspection point Staklarnica

      -    KONFORMA DOOEL Skopje, blv. Ilinden 138 А, Inspection point IM-1 Veles, IM-2 Radovis and IM 3 – Prilep

      -    ASUC Boro Petrusevski from Skopje, blvd. Aleksandar Makedonski  26 b; Inspection point - ASUC Boro Petrusevski  

 

The customs procedure is carried out and the duties are paid before carrying out the technical inspection for compliance with the homologation requirements. If the vehicle does not meet these requirements, the importer will not be able to register the vehicle, which may lead to unnecessary costs for the return of the vehicle abroad. 

 

 

2.       Documents necessary for carrying out the customs procedure:

 

In order to customs clear a vehicle, the following documents (minimum) are necessary to be presented:

      -    Original registration vehicle document;

      -    Original invoice, sales contract or, in case the importer has owned the vehicle for a longer period, a statement indicating the value of the vehicle;   

 

To the end of proper determination of the customs value, (minimum) the following data about the vehicle are necessary to be presented: 

      -    Make

     -     Type

     -     Model

     -     Type of vehicle

     -     Propulsion technology (Engine fuel type)

     -     Number of doors

     -     Production year

     -     Cubic capacity

     -     Engine power (KW or horse power)

     -     Equipment (e.g. level of equipment for Volkswagen Golf:  comfortline, trendline, highline etc.)

       

For freight vehicles, vans, buses, lorries, trailers and semi-trailers, besides the afore-mentioned, it is necessary to present the following minimum data: 

    -      Number of axles

    -      Wheelbase

    -      Gross vehicle weight – total weight

    -      Payload

    -      Axle load limit

    -      length/ width/height

    -      cab/cabin type (for vans)

 

 

It may happen that the chassis number indicated in the sales contract is different than the vehicle chassis number itself, which may cause problems in the customs procedure, the homologation inspection and registration of the vehicle.

 

4.      Second-hand tires

 

When buying a vehicle, quite often a second set of tires (summer/winter) might go with it. However, import of used tires is prohibited, and therefore the second set of tires cannot be brought in Macedonia.

 

 

 

 

You can take the regular license plates out of Macedonia AFTER the customs procedure has been initiated. In case the license plates are taken out prior to the initiation of the procedure, this is considered as a customs offence.

                                                        

6.       Provision of proof of origin – EUR 1 or invoice declaration

 

If the vehicle originates in the EU Member States and an appropriate proof of origin (Movement Certificate EUR 1 or invoice declaration) is presented, the vehicle shall be granted reduced customs duty rate of 1% (instead of the regular duty rate of 5%).  

 

 

7.       Customs Offices where you can clear your vehicle

 

Customs clearance of second-hand vehicles is done locally, depending on your place of residence (i.e.  that of the importer) in the following Customs Offices (CO):

   -       CO Skopje 1, address: Kolektorska bb, Skopje;

   -       CO Skopje 2, address: 34  bb, Skopje;

   -       CO Skopje 3, address: 15-ti Korpus  2, Skopje;

   -       CO Kumanovo, M1 road (Tabanovce-Kumanovo road), 7 km away from Tabanovce;

   -       CO Stip, address: Bregalnichka bb, Stip;

   -       CO Gevgelija,  at border crossing Bogorodica;

   -       CO Bitola, address: Kravarski Pat bb Bitola.

 

 

8.       Customs clearance procedure

 

Usually, the customs clearance procedure for second-hand vehicles is performed as follows:

 

At the border crossing, prepare a transit declaration with an authorized agent (freight-forwarding agent). With this declaration the vehicle is forwarded to an inland customs office (quoted in item 7). Besides charging of a fee for preparing the transit declaration, the forwarding agent often requires cash deposit, which after the finalization of the transit procedure in the inland customs office shall be refunded. After arriving in the inland customs office, a customs procedure is initiated, either for import or for warehousing, depending on the needs of the importer or the manner of operation of the customs office. The customs declaration is prepared by an agent authorized by the importer with a Power of Attorney (freight forwarding agent).

 

 

9.       Customs clearance procedure for vehicles already in Macedonia

 

Vehicles with foreign license plates, already in Macedonia and driven by persons with regulated stay/residence abroad may initiate a clearance procedure without transit procedure at a border crossing, i.e. they can directly refer to the customs offices where procedures for import clearance of vehicles is performed.

 

 

10.   Deadline for finalization of transit procedure

 

The deadline for finalization of the transit procedure initiated at a border crossing in an inland customs office is usually 1 day.

 

Inobservance of the deadline is a customs offence and subject to a 50 euro fine (equivalent amount in denars) for natural entities or, if the importer is a legal entity, 50 euros fine for the principal and 250 euros for the legal entity.

 

 

11.     What is the basis for excise duty assessment

 

The basis for excise duty assessment is the customs value determined pursuant the customs regulations plus the amount of customs duty. The customs value also includes the transportation costs and the insurance costs, if any.