How to import a Chinese electric car into Serbia (2026)

CRAVEUO EV Export · Sources last checked 2026-11-01 · General information, not legal advice. We do not clear customs in Serbia. Nothing here is a promise or a quote.

Quick answer

Serbia has a free trade agreement with China, and its duty on electric cars steps down every 1 January. On our reading of the official schedule, a new pure-electric car with Chinese origin pays 3.5% in 2026 and 3.0% in 2027. VAT is 20%. A person can be the importer. The hard part is homologation: the agency's published path for new imports relies on an EU whole-vehicle type approval and a CoC, and a China-market car normally has neither.

Duty under the China agreement

The agreement entered into force on 1 July 2024. Its Annex says year one is the year of entry into force, and each later cut applies on 1 January. So we read the schedule like this:

Press and forwarder pages still quote 4.5% and 4%. That was the 2024 rate, reported from customs in November 2024. Confirm the current rate with customs before you sign.

The lower rate is not automatic. You need a certificate of origin or an approved exporter's declaration, and direct transport between China and Serbia (Articles 35 and 37–38). A car routed through another country needs to meet the transit conditions. Without proof, plan on the 5% base rate.

The EU's extra duties on China-built cars (Regulation 2024/2754 (search excerpt, not opened)) do not apply, because Serbia is outside the EU. A 2024 press report says Chinese-origin cars bought in the EU pay 12.5%, which does not match the 5% base for pure electric cars. Ask customs if your car comes that way.

VAT and other charges

Homologation is the real gate

Customs says a homologation document from the Road Traffic Safety Agency (ABS) goes with the import of a new car. The homologation rulebook says an importer can be a natural person or a company.

The ABS page for new M, N, O and L vehicles covers vehicles "with WVTA and CoC". It lists:

• a request naming the VIN for individual approval;
• a copy of the CoC, and the original at the laboratory;
• the full WVTA file, in electronic form;
• a conformity check of the vehicle at an authorised laboratory.

The page does not give a path for a new car without WVTA and CoC. ABS's new-vehicle section also runs approval under UN regulations and individual approval for vehicles built in Serbia. We did not find a route that clearly fits a China-market car imported one at a time. So our reading is this: ask ABS in writing first. If the answer is no, the car should not be ordered.

This is where a China-spec GB/T car and an EU-spec car differ. A Serbian forwarder says laboratories check charging compatibility with CCS and Type 2. That is a forwarder's statement, not an ABS text.

New, used and private buyers

Models to ask about

China guide prices, not delivered prices. All are pure electric.

Send your country, model and version through the inquiry form. We tell you whether we can supply that car before any contract.

How an order works

1. Send ABS the VIN or version details and ask which document path applies.
2. Ask the exporter whether a CoC and WVTA file exist for that version, and whether a certificate of origin can be issued.
3. Sign with the licensed Chinese export company. Nothing is paid before it is signed, and payment goes only to the company account on the invoice.
4. Clear the car with a Serbian customs agent, using the origin proof and the ABS document.
5. Complete the laboratory check and registration.