Importing a Car from the USA to Poland — Cło, Akcyza, VAT and Checking the History by VIN

USA to
Poland

Poland imported 68,193 used cars from the United States in 2024, up 48% on the year before, and the US became the country's fourth-largest source of used vehicles. Almost every Polish import broker publishes a cost calculator. Almost none of them shows you what the car's American record says.

At a glance

Customs duty (cło)
10% (22% for pickups classified as trucks)
Excise (akcyza)
3.1% for engines up to 2.0 litres, 18.6% above; 0% for fully electric cars
VAT
23%
Arrival
Mostly via Bremerhaven, Rotterdam or Klaipėda, then road to Poland; some direct to Gdańsk/Gdynia
Registration
Technical inspection (badanie techniczne), excise payment confirmation, then the local starostwo

How big the Polish market is

IBRM Samar, the Polish automotive market institute, reported 68,193 used cars imported from the USA in 2024, a 48% rise, and a further 12.9% growth in 2025 while total used imports fell 2%. Imports from Canada grew 13.8% in 2025. The US is now behind only Germany, France and Belgium as a source, and ahead of Belgium in the first quarter of 2025. Model rankings published by Samar are dominated by Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger and Charger, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Tesla Model 3 and Y, and the big pickups.

What the Polish guides tell you, and what they leave out

Polish broker blogs are thorough on cost: cło 10%, akcyza 3.1% or 18.6% by engine size (0% for electric cars, which is why Tesla imports are so common), VAT 23%, and worked examples. When they reach the question of history they recommend Carfax, Bidfax or searching the VIN in Google Images. That leaves three gaps: Bidfax and the other free archives show auction bids and photos but not the US title brand or the odometer sequence; Carfax is resold at a margin; and Google Images finds photos only while they are still indexed.

The Polish company autoDNA sells a "historia pojazdu z USA" product built on AutoCheck data. It is a fair product for title history. Its sample report does not include the auction intake photos, which for a repaired salvage car are the record that matters.

Auction cars and the "auta powypadkowe" trade

A large share of Polish US imports are bought damaged at Copart or IAAI, repaired in Poland or Lithuania and sold on. That is a legitimate business when the buyer knows. The problem is the second sale: a car on OtoMoto described as "sprowadzony z USA, bezwypadkowy" whose VIN shows a Copart sale with front-end and airbag damage two years earlier. The Polish registration document, like the German one, starts fresh at first registration and carries nothing from the US title.

What to check before you bid or buy

  • Title brand: salvage, rebuilt, flood, junk, or clean. This decides both the price and how the car will behave at the badanie techniczne.
  • Prior auction appearances with photos, damage codes and sale price. If the car has been through Copart or IAAI twice, both records matter.
  • Odometer sequence in miles. Polish law penalises rollback, but only the American readings prove it for a US car.
  • For a Tesla or other EV: flood or fire damage codes, which are battery-relevant and not visible after a cosmetic repair.

The same check, wherever the car is going

Every guide in this hub ends the same way because every destination shares the same blind spot. Poland's registry, inspection and customs process each verify something real, and none of them reads the American title, the insurer's total-loss declaration or the auction record. Enter the VIN above to see which of those records exist for the car you are looking at. The preview is free; the report is $19.99, once.

Three things to check before money moves

  1. 1

    The US title brand

    Clean, salvage, rebuilt, flood, junk. Issued by a US state, invisible in every European registry.

    How it is checked
  2. 2

    Prior auction records and photos

    Copart and IAAI intake photos, damage codes and sale price, from every sale the car went through, not only the current lot.

    How it is checked
  3. 3

    The odometer sequence in miles

    Readings at US titles, registrations and inspections in date order. A reading below an earlier one is a rollback.

    How it is checked

Frequently asked questions

Ile kosztuje sprowadzenie auta z USA? What does it cost to bring a car from the USA to Poland?

Duty of 10% on the vehicle value plus freight, excise of 3.1% (engines up to 2.0 L) or 18.6% (larger) on the value plus duty, VAT of 23% on the total, shipping and inland transport, then inspection and registration. Fully electric cars pay no excise. Broker calculators give the numbers; none of them prices the risk of a bad title.

Is a car bought at Copart or IAAI always damaged?

Copart and IAAI sell mostly insurance write-offs, but also fleet, repossessed and dealer vehicles with clean titles. The lot page states the title type and damage codes for that sale. Whether the car was auctioned before, and what it looked like then, is only in the VIN history.

Can I check a US car's history for free?

Partly. Free auction archives show bid history and sometimes photos for cars that went through Copart or IAAI. The NICB VINCheck shows theft and some total-loss records. None of the free tools shows the state title brand, the odometer sequence or events after the auction. The free preview on this site shows which of those records exist before you pay for the report.

Does the Polish dowód rejestracyjny show that a car was imported from the USA?

It shows the date of first registration abroad, and the VIN itself (a first character of 1, 4 or 5 means built in the United States, 2 means Canada). It shows nothing about title brands, accidents or auctions.

Check the vehicle before you pay

Enter the VIN to see which US and Canadian records exist. The preview is free; the report is $19.99, once.