Buyer's guide

Importing an aircraft into the EU from Switzerland, the UK, the US or China: customs duty, VAT and paperwork

Published 14 November 2026.

Two charges, two rules

• Customs duty comes from the EU's common customs tariff and is the same in every Member State.
• Import VAT comes from the VAT Directive. The importation of goods is a taxable transaction, and the rate is the one of the Member State of import.²

The first is usually zero for a civil aircraft. The second is usually the real cost.

Customs duty: zero for a registered civil aircraft

In the EU tariff (TARIC), aeroplanes are classified by unladen weight, and each heading has a separate line "for civil use". On the date of this post, the third-country duty is:¹

The civil-use line has a condition, but the tariff itself gives the simple way to meet it: the condition does not apply when the aircraft is entered in a civil register of a Member State or of a third country under the 1944 Chicago Convention, and the customs declaration refers to the certificate of registration.¹ Finnish Customs describes the same route as a facilitated procedure: the registration certificate is attached to the import declaration.³

In practice: keep the aircraft on its current register until the import is cleared, and give the customs agent a copy of the registration certificate. A Diamond DA42 has a maximum take-off mass below 2,000 kg (see our DA42 or DA62 post), so its empty weight is in the first line.

Import VAT: where, on what amount, and who gets it back

• Where. The place of importation is the Member State where the goods are when they enter the Union.² An aircraft flown in lands first in one country: that is normally where it is cleared.
• On what amount. The taxable amount is the customs value.² It also includes taxes and duties due outside the country of import, and incidental costs such as commission, packing, transport and insurance up to the first place of destination.²
• Who gets it back. A taxable person may deduct the VAT paid on importation, insofar as the aircraft is used for its taxed transactions.² A company that uses the aircraft in a taxed business (a flight school that charges VAT on its courses, for example) can usually recover it. A private owner cannot.

The airline exemption, and why it rarely applies

The Directive exempts the supply of aircraft used by airlines operating for reward chiefly on international routes, and also the importation of goods whose supply would be exempt.² That is the rule behind airline fleets entering without VAT. It is narrow: each country reads "chiefly international" in its own way, and a training or private aircraft does not normally qualify. If someone offers a VAT-free import, ask on which article and get it in writing from a tax adviser.

On the seller's side: leaving the exporting country

The exporting country has its own rules. In Switzerland, the sale is exempt from Swiss VAT when the goods are exported directly, and the seller must prove the export to the tax administration, normally with the electronic export clearance decision. Without proof, the supply is taxed in Switzerland.⁴ So the export declaration matters to both sides: the seller needs it to avoid Swiss VAT, and the buyer should not pay Swiss VAT on a price that will also bear EU import VAT.

Airworthiness and registration

Customs and tax do not register the aircraft. That is a separate step with the aviation authority of the new country.

• From Switzerland. Switzerland is an EASA member and applies EU aviation law through its air transport agreement with the EU.⁵ A Swiss aircraft is maintained under the same framework as an EU one, which makes the transfer more predictable. Our ARC post explains the airworthiness review certificate.
• From the US, the UK or China. The aircraft comes from outside the EASA system. Ask the authority of the new country what it requires for a certificate of airworthiness and an airworthiness review before you sign, and budget time for it.
• In every case. Ask for the deregistration from the old register, the bill of sale and confirmation that there are no liens. Our checking routine lists where to look.

A worked example

Take the 2018 Diamond DA42-VI in our inventory, located in Switzerland and offered at CHF 750,000 ex Switzerland, delivery and import at the buyer's charge.

1. The seller exports it with a Swiss export declaration, so no Swiss VAT.
2. It enters the EU in the buyer's country, with its registration certificate referred to in the declaration: customs duty 0%.
3. Import VAT is charged on the customs value plus the ferry flight and insurance to the first destination, at that country's rate. At a 21% rate, for example, that is 21% of CHF 750,000 plus the delivery costs, converted into euros: more than CHF 157,500.
4. If the buyer is a taxable business using the aircraft for taxed activities, that VAT is normally deductible. If not, it is a cost.

A price "delivered to Europe", like the one on the DA42NG currently in China, needs one question before anything else: delivered with import VAT paid, or delivered with VAT still to pay? The difference is the VAT rate times the whole price.

Before you sign

• Agree in the contract who exports, who imports and who pays each cost.
• Get the seller's export declaration and keep the aircraft registered until import clearance.
• Choose the country of import with your tax adviser: the rate and the right to deduct depend on it.
• Ask the new authority what it needs for registration and airworthiness.

Frequently asked questions

Is there customs duty on a used aircraft imported into the EU?
For a civil aircraft entered in a civil register under the Chicago Convention, with the registration certificate referred to in the customs declaration, the EU tariff duty is 0%. Otherwise 7.7% up to 2,000 kg unladen weight and 2.7% from 2,000 to 15,000 kg.

Is import VAT always due?
Import is a taxable transaction. The main exemption is for aircraft used by airlines operating chiefly on international routes, which is narrow. A business using the aircraft for taxed activities can usually deduct the VAT; a private owner cannot.

In which country is the VAT paid?
In the Member State where the aircraft is when it enters the EU, at that country's rate.

Does a Swiss aircraft pay Swiss VAT when sold to an EU buyer?
Not if it is exported directly and the export is proved, normally with the electronic export declaration.

Sources

1. European Commission, TARIC, codes 8802 20 00 10/90 and 8802 30 00 10/90, consulted on 14/11/2026, with footnote TN101: ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs
2. Council Directive 2006/112/EC (VAT Directive), Articles 2(1)(d), 60, 85, 86, 143(1)(a), 148(e) and (f) and 168(e), text as published on legislation.gov.uk (the EUR-Lex site was unavailable on the day of writing): legislation.gov.uk
3. Finnish Customs, preferential treatment for civil aircraft and goods to be used in them: tulli.fi
4. Swiss Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (BAZG), VAT-exempt supply on export (Article 23 of the Swiss VAT Act): bazg.admin.ch
5. Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA/BAZL), legal bases for flight operations: bazl.admin.ch