Car and driving licence in Belize: up to 74% in duties, the QRP exemption and a test at the municipality
Importing a passenger car into Belize costs, with import duty, environmental tax and GST together, 66.50% of the value including shipping, or 74.38% with six or eight cylinders. Only in the QRP programme do you bring a car of at most five years old free of duty in the first year. You get your driving licence from your municipality's traffic department, in Belize City with a practical test.
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Taking a car to Belize is expensive. Customs charges import duty, an environmental tax and GST on the transaction value including shipping and insurance (the CIF value). For a passenger car with four cylinders that comes to 66.50% of that value. Only people in the QRP programme bring a car in free of duty in the first year. You arrange your driving licence at your municipality's traffic department.
What does importing cost?
The table of the Customs and Excise Department, on the CIF value:
| Type of vehicle | Import duty | Excise | Environmental tax | GST | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger car, SUV, minivan, 4 cylinders up to 3.0 litres | 45% | 3% | 12.5% | 66.50% | |
| Passenger car, SUV, minivan, 6 or 8 cylinders | 45% | 5% | 5% | 12.5% | 74.38% |
| Pickup, 4 cylinders up to 3.0 litres | 10% | 3% | 12.5% | 27.12% | |
| Pickup, 6 or 8 cylinders | 10% | 15% | 5% | 12.5% | 46.25% |
The GST is charged on the value plus the other duties. That is why the total is higher than the sum. Customs converts the invoice into Belize dollars: a US dollar at BZ$ 2.0175, other currencies at a rate updated every week. A car does not fall under the exemption for household goods; that exemption explicitly excludes motor vehicles.
When is the car exempt?
Only in the QRP programme. The Retired Persons (Incentives) Act lets you import a means of transport for personal use free of all duties within a year of first entering: a car, a boat or a light aircraft. The Belize Tourism Board counts that year from your acceptance into the programme, and sets two conditions:
- the model is at most five years old;
- you submit the registration certificate, title or bill of sale to the BTB three weeks before import, which then prepares the exemption letter.
Under the Act you may then import a new means of transport duty-free every three years, if you have properly disposed of the previous one: exported, sold with payment of all duties, or lost through theft, fire or an accident.
If you sell or give the duty-free car to someone who is not a QRP member, all duties become payable at that moment. Buyer and seller are both liable for them (section 4(3)). Agree on that in advance when you sell.
What do you arrange in the Netherlands?
Deregister the car with the RDW for export. Only then do the insurance obligation, the MOT obligation and road tax stop. You receive an export certificate, which you need together with the registration certificate when registering in Belize. After that you may drive in the Netherlands for 14 more days with an export plate. For a country outside the EU you also file an export declaration with Dutch Customs.
The RDW advises deregistering only once you know which documents the country of import requires. So check that first. You do not get bpm back: the Belastingdienst only refunds it if the car is registered in another EU or EEA country.
How do you get a driving licence?
NederlandWereldwijd writes that your Dutch driving licence is valid in Belize, for people travelling there. How long that holds once you live there, and whether you can exchange a Dutch licence, is not on the Belize government websites. Ask at your municipality's traffic department.
Driving licences are issued by the municipal traffic departments. In Belize City you take a practical test for every class, and for class A (passenger car) and C1 (taxi) also a written test. You collect the study material at the traffic department; the written test may follow within a week.
| Belize City | Cost |
|---|---|
| First licence | BZ$ 90 |
| Annual renewal | BZ$ 60 |
| Replacement if lost | BZ$ 25 |
In San Pedro a learner's permit costs $ 40, with a medical certificate. Because you renew every year in Belize City, put the date in your diary straight away.
What applies on Ambergris Caye?
Anyone who wants a car on Ambergris Caye needs a permit from the San Pedro Town Council. The council asks, among other things, for a valid Belizean driving licence, proof that the import duties were paid, your QRP card or residence permit, proof of land ownership or a letter from your landlord, and a photo of your parking space. The application and administration fees are $ 50 each. So do not take a car to the island before you have that permit.
What else can go in the container is in household goods to Belize.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.3: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Belize or go straight to step 4.3 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Customs and Excise Department — the duties on motor vehicles, by type and cylinders — customs.gov.bz
- Customs and Excise Department — how the duties are calculated, with the GST of 12.5% and the exchange rate — customs.gov.bz
- Customs and Excise Department — the exemption for household goods, explicitly not for motor vehicles — customs.gov.bz
- Belize Tourism Board — the QRP exemption for a car, with the three-week deadline and the age limit — belizetourismboard.org
- Retired Persons (Incentives) Act, Cap. 62, section 4 — duty-free import within a year, and the duties on sale — belizetourismboard.org
- Belize City Council — the driving licence, the tests and the fees — belizecitycouncil.org
- San Pedro Town Council — driving licence, learner's permit and the permit for a car on Ambergris Caye — sanpedrotowncouncil.org
- NederlandWereldwijd — travel advice for Belize, the Dutch driving licence is valid — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
- RDW — exporting a vehicle — rdw.nl
- Belastingdienst — bpm refund on export, only with registration in the EU or the EEA — belastingdienst.nl
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