Glossary: the Portuguese terms in car import

The scheme that lets someone who does not live in Portugal drive there on foreign plates without paying ISV: at most six months in any twelve. See Driving on Dutch plates.

Customs, part of the AT. The customs office handles your DAV and decides on the exemption.

The Portuguese tax and customs authority in one. In everyday speech 'as Finanças'. The AT handles the DAV, the ISV, the exemption and the IUC.

The Dutch registration tax. On export to another EU country you can, under conditions, claim part of it back from the Dutch tax office (Belastingdienst).

The Portuguese registration certificate. You request it from the IMT with a copy of the DAV that shows the registration number.

A vehicle inspection centre. For an imported car you need a category B centre; it issues certificate model 112.

The manufacturer's statement that the car matches its European type approval, including the CO2 emissions. You always need it, and only the original COC from the dealer or the manufacturer in the country of purchase counts; Portugal does not accept a VTG.

The customs declaration for a vehicle. You file it online in the Portal das Finanças, within 20 working days of arrival. The DAV is where the ISV is calculated or the exemption is processed, and once it is settled it shows the Portuguese registration. See Filing the DAV.

The notification to the Dutch vehicle authority RDW that ends the Dutch registration. With it, the Dutch insurance obligation, MOT (apk) obligation and road tax end. See Export from the Netherlands.

The technical approval of a vehicle type. The IMT looks up the Portuguese homologation record that goes with the European type-approval number on your registration certificate and issues a declaration of it. See Homologation and inspection.

The Portuguese vehicle and driving-licence authority, comparable to the Dutch RDW. The IMT issues the homologation declaration, assigns the registration and issues the certificado de matrícula.

The service that records who owns a vehicle. After the registration number is assigned, the car still has to be registered in your name here, at a Conservatória do Registo Automóvel or online. See Registration in your name.

The Portuguese tax you pay once when a car gets a Portuguese registration for the first time. The amount depends on engine capacity and CO2 emissions; used cars from the EU get a reduction by age. More in Understanding ISV.

The annual Portuguese road tax. You owe it as soon as the car has a Portuguese registration, however much you drive. See Paying IUC.

The registration number. The matrícula is assigned once customs has processed the ISV as paid or exempt, and then appears on the DAV.

The inspection certificate a category B CITV issues for a car that is to get a Portuguese registration.

The IMT form with the car's technical data. The AT's official list of steps names it as the alternative to the online homologation declaration.

Your Portuguese tax number. Without a NIF and a password for the Portal das Finanças you cannot file a DAV.

The restriction that rests on an exempt car: for 12 months after the Portuguese registration you may not sell it, give it away, rent it out or lend it. The restriction is noted in the vehicle documents.

The AT website where you log in with your NIF and password. You file the DAV through the Serviços Aduaneiros section; you first have to register for the Sistema de Fiscalidade Automóvel.

The registration of ownership of the vehicle at the IRN. This is a separate step after the registration number, with a legal deadline of 60 days.