Car transport from Germany by truck: price, papers, customs and VAT

On a car transporter the car travels as cargo: it needs no export plates or insurance for them, no German road tax is due, and one transport price replaces fuel and tolls. BiH import guides of 2026 put one car on a transporter from Germany at about €410 to €820, and a Serbian tow service asks €1,200 to €1,800 to bring one car to Serbia; these are market prices, not official ones. The car goes in transit to an inland customs office, not to your door, and only the transport up to the border goes into the customs value; the rest is added to the VAT base. The dealer then needs your Serbian or Bosnian customs or registration papers before the sale is free of German VAT.

What changes when the car is carried

On a car transporter the car travels as cargo, so it needs no export plates and no insurance for them, and no German road tax is due: German customs say export plates are for a car that will be driven, not carried on a truck, and that the tax liability arises only with them. One transport price replaces fuel, vignettes and tolls, so the calculator leaves them out when you choose the transport service.

The car still needs an export declaration (the ABD with its MRN), and it enters Serbia or BiH in transit like a car that is driven. Because it does not leave on export plates, a dealer selling without German VAT will also need proof from Serbia or BiH (see below).

What transport costs in 2026

There is no official price. These are market estimates and prices, and none says whether VAT is included:

one car on a car transporter from Germany to BiH: €450 to €700 (auto24.ba, updated May 2026), €500 to €800 depending on the loading place and the number of cars on the truck (gaga.ba, 25 April 2026) and 800 to 1,600 KM, about €409 to €818 (uvoz.ba, 11 July 2026); taken together, about €410 to €820;
a tow service from Germany to Serbia, priced by the kilometre: usually €1.0 to €1.5 per km one way, including fuel, tolls and the driver, €1,200 to €1,800 for a car, cash only; customs duties and border forwarding are usually not included (Royal šlep služba, page read on 23 September 2026).

No 2026 price for a shared transporter to Serbia was found. The calculator starts from €650, which lies within the BiH figures; enter the price from a written quote, and ask whether it includes VAT, insurance and customs forwarding.

What the carrier needs

The contract of carriage is confirmed by a CMR consignment note, in three originals signed by the sender and the carrier (CMR Convention, articles 4 and 5); the sender is whoever hires the carrier, you or the dealer. The sender hands the carrier the papers customs need (article 11):

the ABD with its MRN, and the invoice or the purchase contract;
both registration documents, Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I and Teil II (the Serbian customs guide says when a certified copy is accepted);
the CoC: in BiH the car is homologated within the transit deadline, and the technical service asks for the CoC or the manufacturer's confirmation;
for Serbia, your power of attorney if someone else brings the car for you (see the Serbian customs guide);
the keys.

Papers needed only at the inland office, such as the EUR.1, can instead go straight to your customs agent. The carrier need not check the papers, and the sender is liable to the carrier for any damage caused by a missing or incorrect paper, unless the carrier is at fault (article 11).

Transit at the border

In Serbia a transit declaration is lodged for vehicles entering the country, even when they are loaded on a car transporter (Serbian customs, questions and answers on used cars). Into Serbia the transit may instead start in Germany, into BiH it cannot (see the export guide).

On a truck the holder of the transit procedure, in practice the carrier or a forwarder working for it, lodges the declaration and the security, and need not be based in Serbia or BiH (Customs Law, articles 148 and 199; Službeni glasnik BiH 38/21, articles 5 and 12, and Customs Policy Law, article 76).

Where the car is delivered, and who takes it over

The truck takes the car to the customs office named on the transit document, not to your door: in Serbia to one of the offices designated for used cars; in BiH, within the transit deadline, to an authorised technical service for homologation and then to the destination customs office, or to a customs warehouse where the car is homologated. The customs guides for Serbia and BiH cover the deadlines and the other steps.

You, or a customs agent with your power of attorney, take the car over there. The law allows a representative (Customs Law, articles 13 and 14; in BiH the Customs Policy Law, article 6), and no official text requiring you to come in person was found.

Transport in the customs value and the VAT base

Only the transport up to the border goes into the customs value. The rest, up to the first destination named in the CMR note or other transport document, goes into the base of the import VAT, so that part bears no separate domestic VAT (VAT Law, article 24; BiH VAT Law, article 26). The guides on duty and VAT in Serbia and in BiH explain how customs split an invoice for the whole trip.

The calculator counts the whole transport price in the customs value, so without proof of origin it slightly overstates the duty and the VAT on it.

The dealer's proof for a sale without German VAT

A car on a transporter needs no export plates, and without them the exit note is not enough: before the sale is free of German VAT the dealer also needs your Serbian or BiH customs or registration papers. A VAT deposit, if the dealer takes one, can therefore come back only after clearance or registration. Agree in writing which papers you send and by when; the export guide explains the proof, the deposit and who may buy without VAT.

Damage and the carrier's liability

Paid carriage from Germany to Serbia or BiH falls under the CMR Convention, to which every country on the way is a party. The carrier is liable for loss of or damage to the car from the time it takes the car over until delivery, but only up to 8.33 units of account per kilogram of gross weight (the IMF's special drawing right, SDR; article 23 as amended by the 1978 Protocol). At the IMF rate of 23 September 2026 that is about €9.94 per kg, or about €14,900 for a car of 1,500 kg; a claim is converted at the rate on the date of the judgment or a date the parties agree. More is paid only if a higher value or a special interest in delivery is entered in the consignment note, against an agreed surcharge (articles 23, 24 and 26), or if the carrier caused the damage by wilful misconduct (article 29).

If carriage on an open vehicle is expressly agreed and entered in the consignment note, the carrier is not liable for damage from the special risks of open carriage (articles 17 and 18). Check the car when it is handed over and report visible damage to the carrier then; report hidden damage in writing within seven days, Sundays and public holidays excepted (article 30). Claims are as a rule time-barred after one year (article 32).

Common mistakes

"The transport service brings the car to your door." An uncleared car must go to the customs office named on the transit document, in BiH by way of homologation; it can go on to your address only after clearance.
"The whole transport cost goes into the customs value." Only the part up to the border does; customs split an invoice for the whole trip by distance, and the rest goes into the VAT base.
"The purchase contract and the registration papers are all the carrier needs." The car also needs the export declaration (ABD) to leave the EU, Serbia wants your power of attorney at the border, and BiH homologation needs the CoC or the manufacturer's confirmation.
"Without export plates the car cannot be imported legally." Plates are needed only to drive it; Serbian customs also accept a car that is not deregistered and has no valid registration.

This step of the import

Work out the whole cost

Sources

The official laws, decisions and pages this guide rests on, read on 23/09/2026. Rules and amounts change, so check the ones that matter to you before you buy.