Does the model year change the assembly country?

Sometimes it does. Manufacturers move production between plants partway through a generation, so a Altima from two different model years can carry a different assembly country. That is why the rate is set for a VIN and not for a model name.

Does mechanical condition affect duty?

No. A damaged Altima clears at the same rate as an intact car from the same plant, because what counts is the country of final assembly. Condition does affect the purchase price, and through it the customs value and the taxes charged on it.

How long does a VIN check take?

A matter of seconds. You enter the number and get the country and city of the assembly plant plus the answer to whether that Altima meets the condition for the customs preference. The check is free, needs no account and can be repeated for every lot you consider.

Does a sale in the USA mean assembly in the USA?

No. American sales also move cars built in Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia. Where a car was auctioned has nothing to do with the origin condition, which is why the assembly plant of a Altima is checked separately, on the VIN.

Who deals with customs clearance?

We do. We put together the proof of origin, prepare the customs declaration and keep contact with the agency. For a Altima that qualifies on its VIN we apply for the 0% rate, and the customs office decides on the documents.

Nissan Altima from the USA — 0% duty or 10%

Our database holds 185,503 Nissan Altima cars with an American assembly plant on record. Those clear at 0%, the rest at 10% — one model name, two different rates. Before you set a bidding limit, check which line the car you are looking at came off.

Where is the Nissan Altima assembled?

The Nissan Altima comes out of plants that do not always sit in the same country, and those plants set the rate. A car from an American line enters the EU at 0%, a car from a plant elsewhere at 10%. Every row here is built from real cars in our database, not from a manufacturer's plan.

Plant	Country	VIN prefix	Cars in our database	Duty
Smyrna	United States	1N4	86,864	0% duty
Canton	United States	1N4	83,242	0% duty
Smyma	United States	1N4	15,397	0% duty
Aguascalientes	Mexico	1N4	3	10%
Yokosuka City	Japan	1N4	1	10%

Made in USA • Tax 0%

How do you check a specific car?

The VIN settles the matter in seconds. Altima cars from plants in the USA carry the prefixes 1N4 here, but we look deeper — at the final assembly plant tied to the whole number. Only that answers the question of 0% or 10%.

How much will you save?

The gap is 10% of customs value, plus a side effect: 23% VAT is charged on the value with duty added, so a zero rate also lowers the tax base. On a Altima assembled outside the USA neither effect fires. Work the result out in the calculator — the rates are fixed, the customs value is not.

Work out the import cost

What the import cost is made of

The bill is made of a few fixed percentages and one variable, which is the customs value of the car. Duty is 0% on a Altima assembled in the USA and 10% on the rest, excise is 3.1% or 18.6% by engine size, and 23% VAT is charged on the value with duty and excise added.

Component	Rate
Duty — car assembled in the USA	0%
Duty — everything else	10%
Excise	3.1% up to 2.0 l, 18.6% above 3.5 l
VAT	23%

Rates, not amounts — the calculator works the sum out on current data.

Zero-duty paperwork — our job

You put nothing together yourself. We check the origin of the car by VIN, prepare the papers and run the clearance; if the production data points to assembly outside the USA, we declare it at 10% so the bill does not change when you come to collect.

What to watch for when buying at auction

An auction description talks about damage, not about origin, and the other way round. A Altima with a wrecked front can be assembled in the USA and come in at 0%, while an untouched car from the same sale comes from Mexico and pays 10%. Check both separately.

Damage	Cars in our database
Front end	93,452
Rear end	37,274
Side	23,872

From the USA or from Europe?

The difference comes down to what you add and what you get back. Buying a Altima in Europe, you skip the ocean crossing and the clearance; buying in the States you add both, but on a car from an American line duty is 0% instead of 10%. Your choice depends on how much paperwork and repair you take on.

See current listings: Nissan Altima