CALL US ON 01525 851545 IF YOU NEED HELP FINDING INFORMATION

A car is shipped on it’s own in a sealed 20’ container from the warehouse near Barking / East London to Auckland, Tauranga, Napier, Wellington, Nelson and Christchurch. Ships normally sail every week taking 6–8 weeks and any car contents travel free of charge. It can take a further 1 to 2 weeks before a car is ready to be registered to be used on the road in New Zealand.

A booking is made by completing our shipment booking form and can be made up to 3 months or as little as one week before shipment. A copy of the UK registration document V5C is required.

All vehicles entering New Zealand must be checked and entry certified by an approved NZ testing station before they can be registered and licensed. There are various exemptions from some of the regulations and a few vehicles may require a statement of compliance from the car manufacturer in New Zealand. Very few vehicles would not be able to be imported and it is recommended that vehicle details are checked with an NZ entry certifier prior to shipment.

The costs in the UK are for shipping and marine insurance payable before the day of sailing by UK cheque or bank transfer. In NZ costs are payable for the statement of compliance (if required), port fees and container unpacking, customs clearance, quarantine inspection and possibly cleaning, entry certification and warrant of fitness, annual registration and driving insurance.

New Zealand taxes on most cars are 0% duty and 15% Goods and Services Tax (GST). GST is payable on the UK purchase price less a depreciation allowance based on how long the car has been owned plus the cost of shipment.

GST-free entry is allowed for first time permanent residents owning and using a vehicle for over 12 months before shipment, or NZ nationals that have been away from New Zealand for more than 21 months and owned and used a car for more than 12 months.

Items packed inside a car travel free of charge. A list of goods is required at destination and these would be customs cleared separately from the vehicle.

All vehicles entering New Zealand must be checked, certified, registered and licensed and this process is called ‘entry certification’. Only approved testing stations in New Zealand can verify the legal owner of a vehicle and that it meets the required acceptable safety, emissions and frontal impact standards, is still in good condition and does not need any repairs. An entry certifier issues an MR2A pass certificate and warrant of fitness to enable a vehicle to be registered and licensed.

A UN-ECE or EC compliance plate/sticker that is fitted either under the bonnet or inside the car door of most modern vehicles manufactured in the last 10 years should show that a vehicle meets the required safety, emissions and frontal impact standards if it includes the details ‘2001/116’. or newer. For older vehicles built in the 1990s without the required plate / sticker there is an online list available of car models that will comply with the regulations.

For vehicles where the plate/sticker is not fitted or does not show the required information but the car still complies with the regulations then a statement of compliance is required from the car manufacturer / distributor in New Zealand and this can cost up to NS$1,000 (most but not all manufacturers will issue a statement of compliance if it is required).

There are exemptions from some but not all of the regulations and these include motorcycles, 4WD vehicles built before October 2003, all vehicles over 20 years old and vehicles that have been owned and used for more than 12 months being imported by an immigrant or a returning New Zealander that has been away for more than 21 months. Very few vehicles would not be able to be imported and this would mainly be the odd car manufactured in the 1990s and early 2000s, cars that do not qualify as immigrants cars and that are not Euro 4 compliant. More common may be that the UN-ECE or EC plate / sticker fitted to the occasional car is not completely acceptable and that a statement of compliance is required at the extra cost.

It is recommended that the details (year, make, model, importer / owner status, chassis / VIN number and UN-ECE or EC plate / sticker particulars) of any vehicle are checked with an NZ entry certifier prior to shipment. There are a number of entry certifying companies in New Zealand including:

The Automobile Association (Attn: Mr. Rene Hausin)
Tel. No. +64 9 966 8743, Email: aatech@aa.co.nz

or

VINZ
Tel. No. +64 9 580 3170, Email: info@vinz.co.nz.

Actual entry certification testing and checking takes quite a few days to complete after a vehicle has arrived.

To proceed with the shipment of a motor vehicle we would only require one of our shipment booking forms to be completed and returned to us (or completed online) along with a photocopy of the UK registration document V5C. This form asks for the vehicle details i.e. make, model, registration and chassis numbers, a UK and New Zealand address, the date and place of handover of the vehicle and the value for marine insurance. We would require payment in the UK before a car is containerised for shipment.

For your further information we can advise you that we can recommend agents in New Zealand that would be able to assist with the import formalities, namely:

AUCKLAND & NORTH ISLAND: Mr. Grant Hudson, Aironaut Customs Brokers Ltd., 156, Parnell Road, Level 4, (PO Box 37712) Parnell, AUCKLAND, Tel. No. (09) 309 8814, E-mail: grant@aironaut-customs.co.nz, www.aironaut.co.nz.

LYTTELTON / CHRISTCHURCH & SOUTH ISLAND: Mr. Hugh Little, Canterbury Customs Agency Ltd., 36, Logistics Drive, Harewood, CHRISTCHURCH, Tel. No. (03) 358 8191, Email: hugh@anglopacific.co.nz.

Further information, including a guide to prices and useful website and contact addresses, can be found in the New Zealand Info Pack (PDF).