Japan Used Car Import Duty / Regulation in Cayman Islands

• Year Restrictions

  No Age Limit

• Destination Port

  Georgetown

• Time of Shipment

  29-36 Days (RoRo)

• Vessel Schedule

  Less Than Bi-Monthly (RoRo)

• Shipping Line

  RoRo (Monthly)

• Inspection

  No Inspection Required

Restriction on importing vehicles :

• To import a motor vehicle which is constructed for the carriage of more than nine persons excluding the driver, permission of the Governor or Public Transportation Board is required. The passenger door should open on the left hand side of the vehicle.
• Importation of Double-decker omnibus is not allowed in the country.
• It is not allowed to use a motorcycle in combination with a sidecar and no sidecar may be imported into the Islands.
• It is not allowed to import the motor vehicle trade as “moke” or “mini-moke” or any other similar vehicle mainly known as a “beach buggy” or “dune buggy”. Without the permission of the Governor it is not allowed to import or use parts of such vehicles in the Islands.

Note: If any vehicle in breach with the above stated points enter in the country, it will not be subjected to inspection.

There is lot of paperwork involved in importing the a used car in Cayman Island, so you need to keep every document updated and nearby by you, for presenting them at different stage of shipping.

Documents Required:

• Certificate of title and registration
• Drivers License and International Policy it must be Green card
• Original Bill of Lading
• Proof of Insurance
• Commercial Invoice

Import laws of Cayman Island:

• When an entry is to be made The Customs Law requires an entry to be made within 7 days of the arrival date.
• By whom an entry may be made The entry must be signed by the Importer of the used car concerned or by the authorized agent you hired and you need to present the documents proving that your agent is authorised.
• Country whence consigned This means the country from which the goods consigned/shipped to the Cayman Island e.g. on through Bill of Lading OR Airway bill.
• Rate of Exchange: If importing your used car involved in a foreign currency, the rate of exchange to the CI dollar current at the date of arrival is to be shown in Cayman island.
• Description of used car The used vehicle must be described in sufficient detail to enable them to be clearly identified with the Tariff Heading concerned.
• Country of Origin It should be clearly mentioned, the original country where the car has been produced and manufactured.
• Quantity in appropriate units Here, you have to mention whatever specific measurement is used by the applicable tariff code for the concerned item.
• Invoiced Cost This should be the invoiced price of the used car, converted, where necessary, at the current rate of exchange of the arrival date to CI dollars.
• Freight The actual cost of freight should be quoted, irrespective of whether or not in the invoiced cost. This charge includes all inland and any other freight charges that may be incurred.
• Value for Duty: According to the law, this is the cost of the used vehicle including insurance and freight cost at the time vehicle is entered, it must be an “open market” price i.e. the price which the vehicle would fetch in a sale between a buyer and a seller independent of each other. The relevant invoices and bill of lading or airway bill must be submitted with all entries.

Duty and Taxes in Cayman Island:

Used vehicles imported in Cayman Islands are subjected to Customs duties of 29.5%-42% depending upon the value of the vehicle imported. Used vehicle importers are also subjected to one time fee for future disposal of the car (Environmental Disposal Fee). It is based on the CIF value of the car. Importers have to pay port charges also depending upon the weight of the vehicle.

Custom Clearance:

• After the arrival of your vehicle, you have to pay freight charges and collect the bill of lading from the Shipping company.
• The paperwork must include the Bill of Lading for ocean freight, a Customs Import Entry form and supplier invoices so that Customs can verify the amount of duty owed on what you are importing, it is essential that you work out the duty owed yourself.
• Once you are done by paying all the fees, you are now eligible to pick your vehicle from port Authority warehouse.

Exemption:

In case you are taking up the residency for the first time, you may import your used car belongings and duty exempt but must do so before or within six months of residing in Cayman.

Only apply to those vehicles that have been in a genuine use and ownership abroad for not less than six months. For the import of used personal effects, you must complete a Declaration For Unaccompanied.

Baggage form in addition to the Customs Import Entry form and you must have to produce proof of residency by way of a work permit or other means.

Customs may conduct inspections at times and in the event that your goods are to be inspected, you will have to arrange an inspection time with the Customs inspection unit and have your documents ready to show what has been declared.

Note: The collector of Customs may extend this under special Circumstances.