5 min
Duties and fees are the part of importing a car that scares people the most — reasonably, since the official formulas aren't intuitive. Here's how the final number is actually calculated, step by step.
Since the US isn't part of the EU, every imported car is subject to a 10% duty on its customs value — the price of the car plus transport to the EU border. Cars bought within the EU aren't subject to this duty at all.
After duty, 20% VAT is applied — but not just on the car's price. The VAT base includes the car's price, transport, AND the duty already calculated. That's why the two fees compound on top of each other.
Example: a €10,000 car with €1,500 transport. Duty is 10% of €11,500 = €1,150. VAT is 20% of (€11,500 + €1,150) = €2,530. Total duties and fees: roughly €3,680 on top of the car's price and transport. This is an illustrative example — the exact amount depends on the specific car and the current exchange rate if the price is in dollars.
At registration, an environmental fee also applies, based on engine size, model year and emissions standard. Since it varies per vehicle, we don't quote a fixed formula here — it's already built into the final price you get from us.
Cars imported from outside the EU/EEA require a technical inspection in Bulgaria before registration. We arrange this as part of the process too.
All of this — duty, VAT, eco tax, transport, our commission — is already built into the final price on every quote we send you. You don't have to calculate anything yourself, and there are no surprises after you approve it.
Note: the percentages above reflect standard EU and Bulgarian rules at the time of publishing. Customs rates and rules can change — always treat the specific quote we send you as authoritative over general calculations like this one.