In the customs sense, the territory of the Republic of Croatia is a part of the European Union’s (hereinafter: Union) single customs territory, and all the customs regulations of the Union are also applied in the Republic of Croatia (Regulation (EU) No. 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, laying down the Union Customs Code (OJ L 269, 10 October 2013) and all the amendments thereof (hereinafter: UCC); Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No. 2015/2446 supplementing Regulation (EU) No. 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council referring to specific provisions of the Union Customs Code (OJ L 343/1, 29 December 2015) and all the amendments thereof (hereinafter: CDRUCC); Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No. 2015/2447 laying down detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of Regulation (EU) No. 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code (OJ L 343/558 29 December 2015), and all the amendments thereof (hereinafter: DRUCC), etc.).
The system of reliefs from customs duty has been laid down by the Council Regulation (EEC) No. 1186/2009 as of 16 November 2009. The Title I of the above Regulation lays down the Scope and Definitions concerning above reliefs. The Title II lays down reliefs from customs duty referring to the personal property of natural persons transferring their usual place of residence from a third country to the Union. Following the above, the Article 3 of the Regulation lays down that personal property imported by natural persons transferring their usual place of residence from a third country to the customs territory of the Union shall be exempt from import customs duties.
Pursuant to Article 3 of the Regulation, personal property of natural persons moving from third countries to the Union shall be exempt from customs duties, given that following requirements have been met:
- The beneficiary of the customs duty relief was in a third country for at least 12 consecutive months prior to moving,
- During the moving they import their personal property which was in their property and used by them in their household in a third country for at least 6 months.
Personal property is any property intended for personal use of the beneficiary and their family members.
Alcohol and alcoholic beverages, tobacco and tobacco products, commercial means of transport, machinery, tools and instruments for performing a certain professional activity are not considered personal property.
Pursuant to provisions in Article 4 of the above Regulation, the relief is restricted to personal property which is:
- Except in special cases justified by the circumstances, has been in the possession of or used by the person concerned at their former normal place of residence for a minimum of six months before the date on which they ceased to have their normal place of residence in a third country;
- Intended to be used for the same purpose after moving.
A person who wants to use customs duty relief pursuant to Article 3 of the Regulation shall file an appropriate request with the customs office relevant for the new place of residence or habitual residence in the Republic of Croatia, attaching the following:
- Certificate from a diplomatic or consular office of the Republic of Croatia in the third country or other appropriate document (e.g. certificate from a foreign or Croatian employer, certificate of employment from the national employment office etc.), confirming a continuous residence in the respective third country for at least 12 months,
- Written statement on the date of moving to the Republic of Croatia,
- List of personal property being imported, in two copies,
- Proof of registered residence in the Republic of Croatia or habitual residence for a period of at least one year,
- Documents proving this is personal property that was used for at least six months before the date of moving.
The decision on approving the relief pursuant to Article 3 of the Regulation shall be passed by the relevant customs office in a regular administrative procedure.
Provisions of Article 44 of the VAT Tax (Official Gazette No. 73/13, 99/13, 148/13, 153/13, 143/14, 115/16, 106/18; Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia 99/13, 153/13) lay down the value added tax (hereinafter: VAT) exemption for import of personal property which is imported when moving to the Republic of Croatia by natural persons who had previously spent at least 12 consecutive months outside the Union. The VAT tax exemption does not refer to alcohol, alcoholic beverages and other alcohol-derived products, commercial means of transport and goods used for business or a job.
Import of personal vehicles from third countries by returning migrants and immigrants from third countries shall be subject to customs duty relief and VAT exemption pursuant to above regulations.
However, personal cars are subject to taxation with a separate tax pursuant to the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Special Tax Act (Official Gazette, No. 15/13, 108/13, 115/16 and 127/17).
More detailed information on payment of excise duties when importing personal cars are available at the Customs Administration website at the following link:
https://carina.gov.hr/pristup-informacijama/propisi-i-sporazumi/trosarinsko-postupanje/propisi-o-trosarinama-i-posebnim-porezima/posebni-porez-na-motorna-vozila/2487.
To perform actions covered by customs regulations and obtain relevant explanations in a proper, simpler and faster manner, please be informed about the possibility of using persons with powers of representation in customs procedures (authorised customs consignors or so-called freight forwarders) which perform the services of representation in customs operations as their professional and regulated activity.
For the needs of conducting specific customs procedure, please contact your relevant regional customs office (hereinafter: RCO) according to your address of residence, since RCOs are fully authorised for approving and verifying the implementation of the customs-approved treatment or use of goods, i.e. the conducting of a specific customs clearance in the place of its territorial competence. RCO can also provide other explanations, as required, concerning the issues within the competence of the customs service. They will – directly or through their internal organisational units (customs posts and departments) – provide you with all the required information and explanations. Contacts and working hours of RCOs and their organisational units are available in the Customs Administration address book at the following link:
https://carina.gov.hr/kontakti/3069.
