What if the Legacy came off a line in Canada?

Then the car does not use the preference and enters the EU at 10% duty. Canada and Mexico are the most common source of confusion, because cars from there reach sales in the States on equal terms with cars of American production.

Does zero duty also lower VAT?

Indirectly. VAT at 23% is charged on customs value with duty added, so 0% instead of 10% shrinks the tax base. Excise is worked out separately by engine size and comes to 3.1% or 18.6% either way.

Since when has the customs preference applied?

Since 2026-07-01, under the EU–US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade. It covers passenger cars finally assembled in the United States. Cars from plants in other countries keep clearing at 10%, whatever the market they were bought on and whoever sold them.

Does the model year change the assembly country?

Sometimes it does. Manufacturers move production between plants partway through a generation, so a Legacy 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 Legacy 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.

Subaru Legacy from the Lafayette plant and 0% duty

The answer depends on the car: the Subaru Legacy is assembled in several countries, and the preference goes only to one that came off an American line. That car enters the EU at 0%, the rest at 10%. Neither the model name, nor the build year, nor the auction location settles it — the plant country in the production record does.

Where is the Subaru Legacy assembled?

The split shows in the data: 27,681 Legacy cars reached us with an American assembly plant, the rest came from plants in other countries. The first group qualifies for 0% duty, the second for 10%. The counts cover every car recorded in our database, not the current offer.

Plant	Country	VIN prefix	Cars in our database	Duty
Lafayette	United States	4S3, 4S4	27,681	0% duty
Lafayette	India	4S3	2,300	10%
Gunma	Japan	JF1, JF2	24	10%

Made in USA • Tax 0%

How do you check a specific car?

The check runs on the VIN, not on the auction description. You enter the number of a Subaru Legacy and you get the assembly plant plus whether the origin condition is met. The lot description, the seller's country and the yard location say nothing about where the car was built.

How much will you save?

EU–US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade strips 10% of duty from cars finally assembled in the States and has applied since 2026-07-01. For a Legacy that meets the condition, what is left on the bill is excise (3.1% or 18.6%) and 23% VAT. What that means for your car is a calculator job; here you get the rates.

Work out the import cost

What the import cost is made of

Three tax lines and one variable. Duty follows the assembly country of your Legacy: 0% for an American line, 10% for any other. Excise goes by engine size — 3.1% or 18.6%. VAT at 23% is worked out last, on customs 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

Our customs agency handles the formalities. We gather the assembly data for the Subaru Legacy, prepare the declaration and see the clearance through. The rate finally granted is the customs office's decision, taken on the documents submitted.

What to watch for when buying at auction

The most common damage on a Legacy in our database is features.lots.characteristics.damage_type.front_end, so start the photos and the report there. Repairing that area can eat the whole advantage of 0% instead of 10%, which is why you count it together with duty rather than separately.

Damage	Cars in our database
Front end	13,922
Rear end	3,865
Side	3,826

From the USA or from Europe?

You go to the States for choice and for versions never sold in Europe. On that side of the bill you add transport, clearance and post-damage repair; pulling the other way is 0% duty on Legacy cars from American lines. Decide after the VIN check, not before it.

See current listings: Subaru Legacy