Eastern Europe & Caucasus / Poland
Auto export to Poland.
Poland is the biggest market in this region and one of the strongest US-car destinations in Europe, with deepwater ports at Gdynia and Gdansk. A US car arrives by direct ocean call and clears into the EU customs union. Poland adds a layer the Baltics don't have: alongside 10% duty and 23% VAT, there's akcyza, an excise tied to engine size. That excise is the number that makes or breaks a deal on a big-engine American car, and it's why a Mustang and a Camry land very differently here.
For reference purposes only. Regulations, policies, and procedures change constantly. Ensure you verify and validate all requirements for your specific shipments before initiating any.
The Poland lane, in four numbers.
Gdynia and Gdansk, the two big Baltic ports for US cars into Poland. Direct ocean call, container and RoRo. No overland leg.
Six container warehouses, five RoRo terminals. Container is common for muscle and salvage, RoRo for running cars.
East Coast to Gdynia runs about 20 to 25 days. West and Gulf Coast are longer. The desk gives current numbers on the quote.
10% duty on CIF, 23% VAT, plus akcyza excise by engine size: 3.1% under 2.0L, 18.6% over. EVs are akcyza-exempt. No age cap.
A real destination market, and the akcyza decides the car.
Poland buys American cars in volume, both for the diaspora and for dealers who know the US auctions price the same model lower than any European listing. The lever that sorts the winners from the losers isn't duty or VAT, which are flat. It's akcyza, the engine-based excise, which jumps from 3.1% to 18.6% the moment displacement crosses two litres.
Where the math works easily.
A car with an engine at or under 2.0 litres carries akcyza of just 3.1%, and a full EV pays no akcyza at all. Add 10% duty and 23% VAT and the landed cost on a smaller-engine American car or a Tesla still beats the Polish dealer price by a wide margin. This is the bulk of the clean, easy lane.
- Akcyza 3.1% at or under 2.0L
- Full EVs pay no akcyza
- Hybrids get preferential 1.55% or 9.3%
- 10% duty, 23% VAT, LHD
Muscle and big SUVs, eyes open.
A Mustang GT, Camaro, Challenger, Corvette, Escalade, or Grand Cherokee with a big engine pays 18.6% akcyza on top of duty and VAT. For these cars the US-versus-Poland price gap is so wide that the deal often still works, but the akcyza is real money and has to be in the calculation before you bid. We run the full stack first.
- Akcyza 18.6% above 2.0L
- Often still profitable on muscle and SUVs
- The excise has to be in the bid math
- We run the number before you buy
A direct ocean call to Gdynia or Gdansk.
Poland is reached straight by sea. The car sails from the US to Gdynia or Gdansk and clears there. No transit country. Container or RoRo, then EU customs, akcyza, and the technical inspection.
Container origins
Load at one of six container warehouses: NY/NJ, Savannah, Miami, Houston, Long Beach, Seattle. Container is the usual method for muscle cars, high-value units, salvage, or anything co-loaded with parts. A 40HC commonly takes four cars, five when they're small enough to nest, fewer with full-size units, and how the box is loaded decides the per-car number. Carriers on the North Europe lane include Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, and Hapag-Lloyd. Gdansk is the largest container port on the Baltic.
Transit: roughly 20 to 25 days from the East Coast, longer from the Gulf and West Coast.
Customs: 10% duty on CIF, 23% VAT, then akcyza filed within 14 days of arrival.
RoRo origins
Five RoRo terminals: Baltimore, Brunswick, Galveston, Jacksonville, Port Hueneme. RoRo is the cheaper choice for a running car. Gdynia has an established RoRo terminal. Lines into Northern Europe include Hoegh, Wallenius, and Grimaldi. Quarter-tank fuel maximum per SOLAS rules.
Not available: any onward leg through Belarus or Russia.
Personal effects permitted in containers, not in RoRo.
EU customs at the port, then akcyza and the inspection.
Poland's clearance has one more step than the Baltics. Duty and VAT clear at the port, then the importer files akcyza on the PUESC portal, then the car passes a technical inspection, then it registers. The akcyza class is the number to lock before you buy.
ICS2 pre-arrival declaration
The European Union implemented a new customs pre-arrival security and safety program — Import Control System 2 (ICS2) that will require an Entry Summary Declaration (ENS) with additional safety and security data. The following information must be provided for shipments to Europe prior to the loading to avoid delays and fines: full name and address of the consignee including P.O. Box number, postal code, sub-division code; and the Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number of the consignee.
Buyer and seller information is defined as per Regulation (EU) 2446/15: the "seller" is the last known entity by whom the goods are sold or agreed to be sold to the buyer; the "buyer" is the last known entity to whom the goods are sold or agreed to be sold.
The clearance path
Pre-purchase cost check, including akcyza
The desk works the full stack: 10% duty, 23% VAT, and the akcyza class for the exact engine, 3.1% or 18.6% on combustion cars, 1.55% or 9.3% on hybrids, zero on EVs. On a big-engine car the akcyza is what decides the bid.
US-side preparation
AES filing, ISF where required, HBL issuance, commercial invoice, packing list. Clean title, or a salvage certificate where the car is sold and shipped as salvage. HBL consigned to the Polish buyer or their customs agent.
EU customs at Gdynia or Gdansk
The car clears import: 10% duty on CIF, then 23% VAT on the duty-inclusive value. The bill of lading releases against payment. A Polish customs agent files the entry.
Akcyza, inspection, and registration
The importer files the AKC-U/S excise declaration on PUESC within 14 days of arrival and pays within 30. US documents are translated by a sworn translator. The car passes the technical inspection, usually headlight work, a rear fog lamp, and a km/h speedometer. With proof of paid akcyza, the buyer registers and takes plates. LHD.
Required documents
Original title or salvage certificate
Clean title for a car that will register. Salvage certificate where the unit is sold and shipped as salvage.
Commercial invoice on Dapex letterhead
Consignee, vehicle details, declared value, engine size, HBL number. The declared value drives duty and VAT, and the engine size drives akcyza.
Packing list
Standard format. Needed when personal effects are co-loaded in a container.
HBL
Consigned to the Polish buyer or their customs agent. Released after payment of the quoted amount.
What Dapex files, US side
AES filing with US Customs. ISF where required. HBL under Dapex's NVOCC license, consigned to the Polish buyer or their customs agent. Commercial invoice and packing list on Dapex letterhead, with accurate engine data so the akcyza class is right. Title verification through our title team before pickup, and the full duty, VAT, and akcyza pre-check before purchase. Standard consignee screening, and no routing that touches Russia or Belarus. Pre-alert pack to the Gdynia or Gdansk agent. The akcyza filing itself is the Polish importer's step; we make sure the paperwork supports the correct rate.
What sells into Poland.
Poland is where American cars sell on price and on want. The diaspora and the enthusiast market both pull hard, and no age cap means classics and older muscle can register. The akcyza just decides how the math lands.
American muscle and SUVs.
Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Corvette, Dodge Challenger, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Wrangler, Cadillac Escalade. The cars where a US auction price plus all the Polish taxes still undercuts the local listing, often by tens of thousands of zloty. This is the heart of the Poland lane.
Economy cars and Teslas.
Toyota Camry and RAV4, Honda, and other sub-2.0L cars carry the light 3.1% akcyza. Full EVs like Tesla pay no akcyza at all and clear cheaply on the engine side, which makes a clean late-model EV one of the best-value imports here.
RHD, and anything eastbound.
RHD cars can't first-register in Poland. Beyond that, the standing Dapex rules hold: clean title or salvage certificate (25-year US Customs exception), no unreleased liens, no personal effects loose in RoRo, no routing through Russia or Belarus. Quarter-tank fuel maximum on RoRo per SOLAS.
What moves the rate on this lane.
A clean ocean lane, so freight is freight. The variable that swings the landed cost most isn't the shipping, it's the akcyza class, which depends entirely on the engine.
Our work, our cost.
- Warehouse operations
- Booking fee
- Documentation handling
- Title verification
- HBL issuance
- Full tax pre-check, with akcyza
Carrier and routing-driven.
- Ocean freight (carrier-set)
- Fuel and bunker surcharges
- Container versus RoRo choice
- Gdynia or Gdansk port handling
- Inland trucking to loading point
- Inland delivery within Poland
Service standards.
- Compliance
- Documentation accuracy
- Submission urgency
- Dispatch priority
Lane-specific drivers
The akcyza class
This is the deal-maker. 3.1% under 2.0L versus 18.6% over it, with hybrid and EV breaks below. On a big-engine car the akcyza can dwarf the freight, so we lock the class on the exact engine before you bid.
The full tax stack order
Duty on CIF, then VAT on the duty-inclusive value, then akcyza. The order compounds, so the headline rates understate the total. We show the all-in landed number, not just the percentages.
Container versus RoRo
Muscle and salvage usually go container; a clean running car often goes RoRo. The desk prices both.
Title quality
The buyer runs their own VIN check, so we verify title before pickup and flag any branded history in advance.
Who handles Poland accounts.
Poland runs through the same two-desk setup as the rest of the region. English through the US desk, Russian through the Russian-speaking desk. Either owns the file end to end, and either works the akcyza math with you.
Poland desk
Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, and Ukraine, plus the wider Baltic and Eastern European trade. Handled in English through the US desk or in Russian through the Russian-speaking desk, your choice. Business hours bridging US and Central European time zones, plus extended hours by request. Polish customs-agent coordination at Gdynia and Gdansk through partner brokers.
What the desk owns.
The full tax pre-check before purchase, akcyza class included, which matters most here. Container-versus-RoRo call. File management through BL, with accurate engine data for the excise. Title verification before pickup. Gdynia and Gdansk customs-agent coordination. Standard screening, clean routing, no Russia or Belarus leg. Escalation on customs, akcyza, or inspection holds.
Things buyers ask about the Poland lane.
Gdynia or Gdansk, the two big Baltic ports on the Polish coast. It's a direct ocean call from the US, container or RoRo, with no transit country.
Akcyza is Poland's import excise on cars, charged on top of duty and VAT. It's tied to engine size: 3.1% at or under 2.0 litres, 18.6% above, with lower rates for hybrids and zero for full EVs. On a big-engine car it's the single biggest swing in the landed cost, which is why we lock the class before you bid.
10% duty on the CIF value, then 23% VAT on the duty-inclusive value, then akcyza on top. The taxes compound, so a sub-2.0L car runs lighter than the headline numbers suggest and a big V8 runs heavier. The desk gives the all-in landed figure before you buy.
No age cap. Classics and older muscle can register. The gate is the technical inspection, which checks emissions and condition. Most US cars need headlight work, a rear fog lamp, and a km/h speedometer to pass.
Often yes, even with the 18.6% akcyza, because the US auction price on American muscle is so far below the Polish dealer price. But the akcyza is real money and has to be in the calculation. We run the full landed cost on your exact car before you commit.
The Polish importer files the AKC-U/S declaration on the PUESC portal, within 14 days of the car arriving, and pays within 30 days. You can't register without proof it's paid. We make sure the shipping paperwork carries the right engine data so the rate is correct.
On the excise side, yes. Full EVs pay no akcyza, so a Tesla or similar clears lighter than a comparable combustion car. You still pay 10% duty and 23% VAT, but skipping akcyza makes EVs one of the best-value imports here.
Roughly 20 to 25 days from the East Coast to Gdynia, longer from the Gulf and West Coast, then customs, the akcyza filing, the inspection, and registration. The desk gives current numbers on the quote.
Ready to ship to Poland?
Send VIN, lot number, vehicle year, engine size, whether it's an EV or hybrid, and the US loading point. We'll run the full stack, duty, VAT, and the akcyza class, before you buy, price container against RoRo, verify the title, and quote door to Gdynia or Gdansk.