The Customs Department has uncovered a scheme to import cars from the UK into Cyprus without paying duties.
Path: through registration in the EU
According to the department, the scheme worked as follows. Vehicle importers transported vehicles from the UK to EU countries, registered them as European and then imported them into Cyprus without paying customs duties or taxes.
Customs Department spokesman Yorgos Konstantinou said the department is cooperating with customs and tax authorities of other countries in exposing the criminals.
After Brexit, importing cars to Cyprus from the UK has become more expensive
The scheme arose shortly after the UK left the EU. The country was Cyprus's largest supplier of cars, primarily because in both countries people drive on the left side of the road. However, after Brexit, it has become significantly more expensive to import cars to the island.
Collusion and underpricing
There were two main ways to avoid paying taxes and duties. The first method involved collusion with companies that officially confirmed that all taxes and duties had been paid.
The second method was based on understating the value of the car. In this case, upon registration in an EU country, taxes were paid, but in smaller quantities (since they were calculated from a smaller amount).
Used mainly by private buyers
The chairman of the Cyprus Used Car Association, Marios Charalambous, claims that the scheme was not used by authorized car dealers, but by private buyers. According to his data, 500 cars are imported into Cyprus every year, of which 400 belong to private individuals.
No security threat
The Customs Department assures that the scheme is not related to the safety of imported vehicles, but was aimed solely at avoiding duties.
The text was prepared based on materials from “Sigma”
Important to know:
More than 12,000 cars in Cyprus may have faulty airbags, but the exact number cannot be counted. Read more in our material “Defective airbags. There are 55,000 cars in question.”
436,000 vehicles are registered in the occupied territories of Cyprus. The number of cars is one of the factors contributing to the increase in the number of fatal road accidents. For more details, see our material “Mortality on TRNC roads is six times higher than the European average.”
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