New First Registration Duty charges in force

Sunday 01 January 2023

First Registration Duty charges for vehicles increase from today, as endorsed by the States Assembly as part of the 2023 Budget.

This duty applies to all new and second-hand vehicles being imported into, and registered in, Guernsey for the first time and increases according to the CO2 emission, or engine size if emission figures aren’t available.

Certain low-emission vehicles used to be exempt from this duty but now all vehicles will pay at least a £25 duty or £50 duty for motorcycles and other vehicles respectively to account for their increased market share. 

The only exceptions are those vehicles exempt from paying first registration duty, which include vehicles constructed more than 30 years ago and vehicles adapted for use by a person with a disability.

The Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure have also agreed that the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure will be used to measure CO2 emissions for new or imported vehicles where available. 

This is a more accurate measure of the environmental impact of a vehicle and is the official standard for official fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for all new cars. 

Where this measure isn’t available, engine size will be used to calculate the Duty.