Import rules and regulations for Japanese used vehicles in Libya

Japan is the biggest exporter of used vehicles in the world. Many countries across the world import Japanese used vehicles and Africa is among one of the leading importer. From past few years, Africa has emerged as a major trade region for Japanese vehicles, mainly used ones. Africa is the world’s second largest continent in terms of area and population. There are not many manufacturing industries in the Africa. Many countries in Africa have to invest deeply in manufacturing of automobile industries. Thus, there is less production of cars and ultimately increment in importation of vehicles.

Being a major importer of Japanese used vehicles, almost every country of this continent import used Japanese vehicles. Libya, Africa’s fourth largest country in terms of size import many used vehicles from Japan. Thousands of second-hand vehicles are imported, and shipped on daily basis.

With the advancement in technology it is quite easy to buy a used vehicle via internet. The presence of many portal sites has made the availability of Japanese vehicles easy. While importing a used vehicle, importer has to follow the import regulations to make sure that the vehicle imported match up with the country’s safety and regulation standards. There are certain regulations that are to be followed during vehicle importation. Importation of left-hand drive vehicles is allowed in the country.

Age Restriction:-
The age of used cars imported should not be more than five years at time of importation. Heavy vehicles, forklifts, tractors and trucks of age above seven years are not allowed to be imported in the country.

Required Documents:-

• Copy of Passport
• Certificate of Title and Registration
• Import Permit- from the Ministry of External Affairs; must be approved before importation
• Insurance Policy
• Original Bill of Lading
• Log book
• Letter from the Libyan Consulate or Letter of employment from previous company (returning residents)
• Diplomatic Franchise from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Diplomats)
• Statistics Code (provided by Libyan employer) (foreigners)

Duties and Taxes:-
For returning citizens 10% duty is applicable after the Customs estimation process. For tourists, 25% of the value of the vehicle is paid as a deposit and a Temporary Regime is applied. The deposit is refunded once the tourist returns back.

Shipping Ports:-
The common shipping ports in Libya are Benghazi, Tripoli, Derna, Misurata. For shipment of used vehicles, two methods are used. The most common shipment method is RoRo (Roll-on Roll-off) method. Another more expensive, yet safer method for vehicle shipment is container shipment method.