Who are these people who can import cars at a lower duty?

Ecuadorians who want to buy a car abroad and import it into the country must fulfill the corresponding customs obligationssuch as meeting all requirements and paying duties and taxes.

The first requirement is that Vehicles can only be imported by natural and/or legal persons registered as importers in the ECUAPASS system and approved by the National Customs Service of Ecuador.

These are the car models that are assembled in Ecuador

The vehicle must be new and its model must be from the same year or from the year following importation. Depending on the nature of each importer, different fees must be paid.

These are the general rates:

In the case of persons with disabilities, diplomats or vehicles that would be part of the program of the Ministry of Transport and Public Works, this procedure could be more agile and cheaper.

According to him National Customs Service of Ecuador“Persons with disabilities and legal entities in charge of their care can import goods and vehicles exclusively for their own use, with exemption from paying foreign trade tax according to the percentage of disability.”

The maximum value for the import of personal means of transport must be 60 unique base salaries ($27,000) and for collective transport, 12 unified basic salaries ($54,000).

These are the best-selling vehicles in Ecuador in the first half of 2023, nearly surpassing the records of 2011 and 2018.

In the case of diplomats, more specifically heads of diplomatic missions who belong to the first category of the highest position, they can import up to two vehicles with full exemption from taxes, without cost limits.