What you pay at the border when you import an electric car yourself — new or used — and which rules apply. Customs duty rates for electric cars are lower than for other cars, but VAT is the same.
Translated from Serbian. Prices, quotes from company websites and data are given in English for convenience; where the exact wording matters, the Serbian original applies.
| Vehicle origin | Electric car | Petrol, diesel, hybrid |
|---|---|---|
| EU (with an EUR.1 or an origin declaration) | 0 % | 0 % |
| China, new (free trade agreement since 01.07.2024) | 4,5 %, gradually down to 0 % by 2034 | 11,3–11,7 %, phased out over 10–15 years |
| China, used | 4 %, phased out over five years | — |
| Without preferential origin (according to a freight forwarder: e.g. the USA, Japan, Korea) | 5 % | 12,5 % |
The rates for the EU and for electric cars without preferential origin are given by freight-forwarding and automobile-club sources (spediter.rs, AMSS); the schedule for China comes from the media and specialised websites (RT Balkan, 29.06.2024; registracija-vozila.rs, 02.09.2026) — we have not looked at the official schedule of the agreement. There are trade agreements with Turkey and the United Kingdom, so a preferential rate with proof of origin is possible — we have not checked this. Before buying, check the rate for the specific vehicle with a customs broker.
VAT of 20 % is paid on imports — the base is the customs value plus the customs duty. The importer also pays a fee for products that become special waste streams after use: in 2023 it was 12 RSD per kilogram of weight, about 12.000–20.000 RSD per car (Politika, 26.05.2023); the amounts for 2026 were changed by law (Official Gazette 118/2025), and we did not find a separate rule for electric cars and batteries.
An example calculation (approximate, excluding transport, forwarding and homologation costs) for a car with a customs value of 30.000 €:
| Origin | Customs duty | VAT 20% | Total duties and taxes |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU, with proof of origin | 0 € | 6.000 € | 6.000 € |
| China, new electric (4,5 %) | 1.350 € | 6.270 € | 7.620 € |
| Without preferential origin, electric (5 %) | 1.500 € | 6.300 € | 7.800 € |
| Without preferential origin, petrol/hybrid (12,5 %) | 3.750 € | 6.750 € | 10.500 € |
Under the Decree on the Import of Motor Vehicles (Article 4), import is permitted if the vehicle was manufactured to at least the Euro 3 standard, and there is no general age limit (the exception is classic cars older than 30 years). For an electric car the exhaust emission standard does not apply because it produces no emissions (spediter.rs). The announced switch to Euro 5 has not been written into the decree — in 2025, 54.365 used cars with Euro 3 and 4 engines were imported (Bloomberg Adria, 12.02.2026).
Used electric cars are still rare among imports: 422 were imported in the first quarter of 2026, 75 % more than a year earlier (N1, 03.05.2026), and in the first half of the year they made up less than 1 % of all imported used vehicles (Biznis i Finansije, 22.07.2026). When buying, check the battery condition (SOH), the real range and the fast-charging history — a typical battery warranty is 8 years or 160.000 km (N1, 03.05.2026). For vehicles from the USA (Tesla, for example), freight forwarders warn of difficulties with the COC document and homologation.
The state subsidy of 5.000 € applies only to a new car that was neither registered nor used before the application was submitted — see subsidies 2026. Before importing, also check whether an insurer will accept comprehensive (kasko) cover for a vehicle without an authorised service centre in Serbia — see insurance.
The text was prepared with the help of AI tools; facts, amounts and sources were checked by the BlokVolt editors. It is not legal or financial advice — check the source for your own case. Report an error or a change in the rules on the corrections page.
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