Motorcycle registration ?

Last activity 05 September 2022 by fluffy2560

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GSARiderNew member03 August 2022 22:46:21

Hi chaps, has anyone changed over a UK motorcycle to Hungarian plates? Looking to do so with my Bike. Car is a complete headache and I’m taking it back to the UK to sell.

xabierActive member04 August 2022 05:02:52

@GSARider Hi, I did this in early 2020. I changed my motorcycle from UK plates to Hungarian plates, it was not a big problem.

CherylModerator04 August 2022 06:13:34

12348

Hello xabier,

If you don't mind could you please share more details about how it went?

Just so that GSARider can have a clear idea of how easy it can be done.

Cheers,

Cheryl

Expat.com team

fluffy2560Hungary Expert04 August 2022 06:34:05

12054

Hi chaps, has anyone changed over a UK motorcycle to Hungarian plates? Looking to do so with my Bike. Car is a complete headache and I’m taking it back to the UK to sell.
- @GSARider

You need to PM (Personal Message) contributor Angolhapsi.

I imported my UK registered hobby car myself in about 2018 and it was no serious problem but it was LHD.

But anything post-Brexit will be a real problem.

cdw057ViP04 August 2022 07:34:54

1954

NIghtmare importing vehicles (motorcycles) in my view, I tried a bit within Schengen (I just forgot about it). Summary sell in UK and buy in Hungary.

xabierActive member04 August 2022 09:02:23

Hello xabier,

If you don't mind could you please share more details about how it went?

Just so that GSARider can have a clear idea of how easy it can be done.

Cheers,

Cheryl
Expat.com team
- @Cheryl

Btw I realise now that I did it when UK was still in EU so it must have been before the 31 January 2020 and it was a bit complicated but ok to manage. At the time it was considered as a EU vehicle, I can imagine now it would be a bit different but I don't know for sure.

I am happy to share with GSARider any details about my experience with this that they can be interested in asking but it probably will be to complicated or unclear to try summarising the whole process.

fluffy2560Hungary Expert04 August 2022 09:45:39

12054

Hello xabier,

If you don't mind could you please share more details about how it went?

Just so that GSARider can have a clear idea of how easy it can be done.

Cheers,

Cheryl
Expat.com team
- @Cheryl

Btw I realise now that I did it when UK was still in EU so it must have been before the 31 January 2020 and it was a bit complicated but ok to manage. At the time it was considered as a EU vehicle, I can imagine now it would be a bit different but I don't know for sure.

I am happy to share with GSARider any details about my experience with this that they can be interested in asking but it probably will be to complicated or unclear to try summarising the whole process.
- @xabier

There are lots of discussions here on car registration in Hungary. We did ours as a one off but might do it again sometime but definitely only inter-EU. UK cars - apart from being RHD usually - are all EU type approved. Whether there is still mutual recognition, no idea.

But more likely the recognition of documents would still work but no-one has posted here about any post-Brexit issues. Probably it'll be OK if the car is EU-type approved, over 6 months old etc, personal goods on moving household and therefore the same as any third country blah-blah. If there are Brexit problems, it's down to BoJo's ***-repent-at-leisure Brexit agreement.

The person here who really knows day to day is Angolhapsi who runs a car business in Hungary.

prateeksethi86Member08 August 2022 10:46:38

@GSARider

I did it for my motorcycle which I bought in Germany and then registered it in Hungary.

Get in touch with Gabor Kis ****, he was the agent who managed everything. He is also helping with imports from USA so I am assuming he can do for UK as well.

For UK you might have to change the headlights (if they have to be refocussed to be more for right hand driving conditions).

Thanks,

Prateek

Moderated by Yoginee 2 years ago
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xabierActive member08 August 2022 11:11:06

@prateeksethi86 you are right, I can confirm when I did my UK motorcycle they made me change the headlights because they measured the lighting angle and told me they needed to be refocussed for right hand driving. Also they asked me to change mirrors and headlights to ones that have the EU "E" mark on them as they were not OEM.

YogineeViP08 August 2022 11:18:23

#10

3414

Hi @prateeksethi86,

Thanks a lot for your advice.

You are more than welcomed to share the number of the agent in the Hungary business directory so that other people facing the same issue may benefit from his services.

Cheers,

Yoginee

Expat.com team

fluffy2560Hungary Expert08 August 2022 11:35:16

#11

12054

@prateeksethi86 you are right, I can confirm when I did my UK motorcycle they made me change the headlights because they measured the lighting angle and told me they needed to be refocussed for right hand driving. Also they asked me to change mirrors and headlights to ones that have the EU "E" mark on them as they were not OEM.
- @xabier

I've got an old US manufactured/imported hobby car so I encounter lots of issues with spare parts and acceptability of different standards.

Cars from non-EU countries have to comply with minimum standards - US headlights are acceptable in the EU if their pattern is correct. It's not easy to tell by looking at them.

Of course the easiest way is to replace the entire unit which may need a bulb change (US has very odd and strange non-standard bulbs). On my car, I have replaced some of the light fittings with breakers yard European versions just so I can get it to work properly. I bought bulbs and spares to the right US standard/size on Ebay and these have been shipped from China.

There's also sometimes a problem with glass vs plastic headlights between the US and Europe.

Other factors - front indicators/turn signals are compulsory for visibility from the side and rear fog lights on the correct side (obviously not applicable to motorcycles. Most modern cars have indicator lights in the mirrors which is better than having them in the wings. No problem there.

There may be issues over bulb colours. Turn signals can be made of white plastic if they have orange bulbs!

Mirrors I've never heard of needing changes as there's mutual agreement on many car components internationally. Mirrors on some cars might be a glass vs plastic issue.

Asian import vehicles have problems with the fuel filler pipes - in Europe they are different sizes between diesel and petrol. It's intended to stop misfuelling.

Projections - like hood/bonnet ornaments - are a problem. These need to be removed. Number plates on motorbikes I think are an issue on the front, especially with older machines.

UK imports should be somewhat easier as they are (or were and probably still are) compliant with EU standards. The LHD/RHD thing is not always the biggest problem.

GSARiderNew member09 August 2022 18:41:58

#12

The bike I have is a 2017 R1200GSA, which I have had from new. The headlight units seem identical, throwing the same pattern as a friend’s Hungarian registered 2017 R1200GS, as far we can see. New headlight unit will be pretty expensive at around a 1,000 euros.

GSARiderNew member09 August 2022 18:43:32

#13

@GSARider Hi, I did this in early 2020. I changed my motorcycle from UK plates to Hungarian plates, it was not a big problem.
- @xabier

Did you have to change headlight unit?

gwynjBulgaria Expert11 August 2022 04:59:29

#14

2260

@GSARider

I did it in Bulgaria, but the process is pretty similar in most countries. Mainly it's bureaucracy, so you will benefit greatly from having a helper of some kind. My attorney "has a guy" so he fixed it for me for a couple of hundred euros (plus the transfer costs). For the car, the guy just took the car (and my POA + documents) and did it all, so it was like magic. :-) But he was scared of bikes so I had to ride the bike and hang out all day at the traffic police with him.

I imported both car and bike on UK plates. The process is pretty much identical, so if you can do one, you can do the other.

I had to be a legal resident in BG to do this, so I'd guess the same in HU. The BG workaround is to open a company and put vehicles in the company.

Obviously, lights had to be swapped for the car, but no changes were needed for the bike.

Importation from the UK (and USA, Turkey, Serbia, etc.) is still going on, so it's absolutely no problem. The only issue is that it is now a non-EU vehicle so you get slapped with import duties and VAT. That's 32% in BG, but I'd guess as HU VAT is higher (27% vs 20%) you'll be more like 40%.

All these places like official-looking paperwork, so hopefully you still have your dealer invoices from new (as well as your V5 registration certificate). I doubt they'll ask for 40% of the new price, they probably have a formula for 5 years of use, or they can look up some official value for your bike. But that big beemer of yours ain't cheap, so it'll be a few bucks...

BTW, if you rode your bike over before Brexit, and got a HU vignette, then you have proof you had the bike already in the country earlier. Long shot, but you could mention it in case they'd rather fine you for late registration of an EU vehicle, rather than do a non-EU import.

fluffy2560Hungary Expert11 August 2022 06:57:49

#15

12054

Importation from the UK (and USA, Turkey, Serbia, etc.) is still going on, so it's absolutely no problem. The only issue is that it is now a non-EU vehicle so you get slapped with import duties and VAT. That's 32% in BG, but I'd guess as HU VAT is higher (27% vs 20%) you'll be more like 40%.

All these places like official-looking paperwork, so hopefully you still have your dealer invoices from new (as well as your V5 registration certificate). I doubt they'll ask for 40% of the new price, they probably have a formula for 5 years of use, or they can look up some official value for your bike. But that big beemer of yours ain't cheap, so it'll be a few bucks...

BTW, if you rode your bike over before Brexit, and got a HU vignette, then you have proof you had the bike already in the country earlier. Long shot, but you could mention it in case they'd rather fine you for late registration of an EU vehicle, rather than do a non-EU import.
- @gwynj

If you are moving household (even from outside the EU) and the vehicle is not a new means of transport, it's been driven sufficient km, and been owned more than 6 months, not for resale then it's personal goods like your hoover, clothes, fridges and tables. Anything in the vehicle is treated the same (like spare parts, sets of wheels etc). And therefore not subject to VAT and import duty.

Registration and road taxes (NOT the same as VAT or import duties) are based mainly on pollution now in the EU. There's a calculation for residual value for registration and road tax depending on Euro rating, engine size and date of original registration. Indeed, legal residency needed to register in your name but if say, a partner with local nationality, easier to register in that person's name - no questions then.

I do concur with having a helper. It's easier to pay someone to do it and not waste time hanging around at government offices.

My hobby car is about 5 years away from being an OT (Old Timer) - 30 years last time I looked. I might register it with OT plates but it does come with restrictions on km driven per year etc. The amount of original vehicle is a significant factor in that.

gwynjBulgaria Expert11 August 2022 10:49:32

#16

2260

@fluffy2560

Well spotted, that's a great point!

I think this is the exemption for "Transfer of Residence" (TOR), where you move your official residence from a non-EU country (e.g. UK) to an EU one (e.g. Hungary). And then your "Personal Property" (which can include vehicles) can be exempted from the VAT and duty on imports to the EU. I think the property/vehicle must have been owned for more than 6 months (for your own personal use). And, typically, you have to do this within 12 months of moving to your new country.

I've read that Bulgaria then gives different temporary plates if this exemption is used, and, officially, there are restrictions on the imported property for a period (12 months?) after. I don't know if this is correct for BG, and I definitely don't know what HU does.

There's also paperwork to prepare (proof of residence for old/new countries, documents for vehicle/personal goods, application form), so I think a helper would be useful just on this particular aspect.

Here's a link for a Bulgaria page (but HU, and all EU, import should be broadly similar to this) on doing it for vehicles (how to do it, and why he doesn't like doing it!):

https://trentme.com/en/Customs_clearance_Bg/

Here's the official HU page on the TOR exemption:

https://nav.gov.hu/en/intormation_on_customs_matters/General_Customs_Information/Reliefs_for_the_transfer_of_permanent_residence

And here's the EU directive which covers this exemption for implementation in EU:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:324:0023:0057:EN:PDF

And this is the official BG page on the exemption, I'll add it as it has more info specifying the kind of documents that would support an application:

https://customs.bg/wps/portal/agency-en/home/info-citizens/Release%20for%20free%20circulation%20of%20personal%20property%20belonging%20to%20natural%20persons%20transferring%20their%20normal%20place%20of%20residence%20from%20a%20third%20country%20to%20the%20community

AngolhapsiActive member05 September 2022 18:25:50

#17

@GSARider sadly, bikes are even harder than cars - they're expected to pass current emissions standards for an HU Műszaki, and that's nigh on impossible unless under a couple of years old.

You'll have to pay 10% duty and then 27% ÁFA, too 😳

fluffy2560Hungary Expert05 September 2022 18:42:40

#18

12054

You'll have to pay 10% duty and then 27% ÁFA, too 😳
-@Angolhapsi

Not if it's old enough and driven enough and part of moving household.

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