Registering your car in Andorra:
what the law allows, what customs penalises.

The gap is real: in Andorra, a new car bears IGI at 4.5 % and no malus, whereas France applies 20 % VAT and a malus that will reach €90,000 in 2027. This has given rise to “turnkey” offers — a car registered in the name of an Andorran company and “rented” to a customer who lives in France. These schemes do not stand up to the legal texts, and the French judicial authorities made that clear in May 2026. This guide takes stock, rule by rule: who can register a vehicle in Andorra, what a resident of France risks, how to import legally, and what the malus costs in 2026 and 2027.

Who can register a vehicle in Andorra?

The Andorran traffic code (Law 12/2021, art. 97) and its registration regulation (Decree 534/2022) reserve ordinary plates for:

• resident Andorran nationals;
• foreign nationals holding a residence authorisation, or a residence and work authorisation, excluding temporary authorisations;
• companies incorporated under Andorran law and associations established in Andorra;
• public administrations, the authorities of the Co-Princes and the diplomatic corps.

A non-resident is only entitled to a temporary or “tourist” plate (MT), valid for one month to one year. Conversely, an Andorran resident may not drive a vehicle registered abroad or on MT plates in Andorra, except under temporary admission. Registration requires the invoice stamped by customs, payment of IGI, insurance taken out with an insurer authorised in Andorra and a certificate of conformity. For an imported used vehicle, the previous registration certificate and an Andorran roadworthiness test are also required; the vehicle must meet the current Euro standard or the previous one and be no more than six years old, counting from its year of manufacture. An annual ownership tax, calculated on the fiscal horsepower, is then payable by the holder of the registration certificate.

Resident of France, Andorran plates: what customs says

A car registered outside the European Union does not enter the EU freely: it can only circulate there free of duty and VAT under the temporary admission procedure. EU customs law reserves this procedure for vehicles used by persons established outside the EU — for a private individual, someone whose habitual residence is outside the Union (Delegated Regulation 2015/2446, art. 212). A person resident in France benefits from it only in narrow cases (art. 215): occasional private use at the request of the registration holder, who is present in the EU; short-term rental, in particular to return home; an employee of an employer established outside the EU, for the journeys or assignments provided for in the contract. Outside these cases, the car must be imported: customs declaration, VAT, malus, French registration.

The schemes on offer fit none of these exceptions. A long-term “rental” by an Andorran company to a customer who lives in France is not a short-term rental; the employee exception presupposes a real job with an employer genuinely established outside the EU. As for the French road traffic code, anyone who settles in France must register their vehicle in France within one month; driving without a valid registration certificate is a fourth-class petty offence, and the vehicle may be immobilised.

The penalties

Since the recodification of the French customs code, which took effect on 1 May 2026 (Ordonnance of 8 April 2026), these situations count as an undeclared import (art. L. 512-4); having a car registered without completing the customs formalities is expressly treated as one (art. L. 512-6). The consequences can add up:

• confiscation of the goods involved in the offence and of the means of transport (art. L. 514-4);
• a fine of up to twice the value of the vehicle, and a prison sentence in the most serious cases;
• recovery of the evaded VAT and malus.

A settlement with the authorities remains possible, but it comes at a price. The risk is not theoretical: in May 2026, according to the press, the prosecutor general’s office in Toulouse presented the findings of a Franco-Andorran investigation into sham rental contracts for high-end cars registered in Andorra. 170 French buyers, for purchases made in 2024 and 2025, were reported to the tax authorities; the loss to French public finances is put at €12.76 million. In Andorra, two people had been arrested in 2025.

Buying in Andorra and importing into France: the legal route

Nothing prevents a resident of France from buying their car in Andorra. It simply has to be brought into France like any other import:

1. Purchase free of IGI: a vehicle leaving Andorra is exempt from IGI on export (Law 11/2012, art. 14); the seller draws up the export documents.
2. Customs clearance in France: 20 % VAT is due on the value of the vehicle. Thanks to the customs union with Andorra, which covers industrial products, there is no customs duty if the vehicle is of European or Andorran origin, or in free circulation, and that status is proven (T2L document or equivalent); otherwise the Common Customs Tariff duty, 10 % for a passenger car, applies.
3. 846 A certificate: issued by customs once the taxes have been paid, it replaces the tax clearance certificate (quitus fiscal), which is reserved for vehicles coming from another EU state.
4. Registration on the ANTS website: the 846 A certificate, a European certificate of conformity (or individual vehicle approval), a roadworthiness test less than six months old if the vehicle is more than four years old.
5. Malus: it is due on first registration in France, under the rules below.

All in all, the saving is often limited to the pre-tax price difference between the two markets: French VAT and the malus remain due. The general rules on IGI and invoicing are set out in our guide to IGI, and the travellers’ allowances — which do not cover a car — in our customs guide.

The malus in 2026 and 2027: what you need to know

The CO₂ malus (French Code of Taxes on Goods and Services, art. L. 421-62) tightens on 1 January 2027, following the timetable set by the finance act for 2025. The finance bill for 2027, tabled on 1 October 2026, does not alter these scales.

On top of this comes the weight malus, due from 1,500 kg (€10 to €30 per kilogram depending on the band), the combined total of the two remaining capped at the year’s maximum CO₂ malus rate.

For a used imported car, three rules change everything:

• the scale applied is that of the year of first registration, even if it took place abroad;
• the malus is reduced by an age-based discount, counted in months since that first registration: 3 % up to three months, 12 % at one year, 28 % at three years, 64 % at ten years, up to 100 % after fifteen years; from 1 January 2027, a coefficient linked to average annual mileage is added, up to 3.5 points;
• the malus is nil for a vehicle first registered abroad before 1 January 2015.

Example: a new car emitting 160 g/km, bought in Andorra and registered for the first time in France in December 2026, bears €8,770 of CO₂ malus; registered in January 2027, €14,325 — excluding the weight malus. When you buy matters as much as where.

Moving to Andorra with your car

For a genuine Andorran resident, the situation is reversed: it is in Andorra that the vehicle must be registered. The rules to know:

• the vehicle may be driven on foreign plates for six months at most after residence is obtained;
• to re-register it in Andorra, it must have been in your possession for at least six months and be no more than six years old, counting from its year of manufacture — beyond that, another solution has to be considered;
• a foreign driving licence remains valid for six months after residence is obtained and must be exchanged within the year; an EU licence is exchanged without a test (Decree 226/2025);
• in France, an Andorran resident may drive their Andorran-registered car for private use — provided their Andorran residence is genuine. A “resident” whose household remains in France would be regarded as established in France, and the question of their tax residence would immediately arise.

On returning to France, customs grant relief from duty and VAT for a transfer of residence: at least twelve months of residence outside the EU, a vehicle owned and used privately for at least six months, a declaration within twelve months of settling (form Cerfa n° 10070) and a ban on selling, hiring out or lending it for twelve months. Note: this relief does not cover the malus, which remains due on French registration, less the age-based discount. The steps for settling in are detailed in our guide to relocating to Andorra.