A Luxembourg resident was fined €60,000 and required to pay €64,000 in import duties after German customs intercepted him driving an undeclared Swiss-registered Ferrari valued at over €200,000.

A Luxembourg resident's attempt to import a Swiss-registered Ferrari without declaring it to customs ended in a costly interception by German authorities earlier this month.

The incident occurred when the 60-year-old man was stopped by German customs while driving the vehicle, valued at approximately €207,000. As a vehicle registered in Switzerland – a non-EU country – the Ferrari required the payment of import duties upon its first entry into the European Union, a step the driver had omitted.

Stopped at the Constance–Paradiesertor border crossing, the individual was required to pay a total of €124,000 on the spot. This sum consisted of €64,000 in import duties and a €60,000 fine. After payment and the posting of a deposit, the man was permitted to continue his journey in the car. "Tax fraud proceedings" have also been initiated against him.

Sonja Müller, spokesperson for the main customs office in Singen, commented that such cases are not isolated, though the value of the vehicle involved here was unusually high. She provided context, stating that between January and June 2025, customs in the Singen district intercepted 26 non-EU registered vehicles driven by EU residents, with a total value exceeding €230,000, generating about €71,500 in duties.

During the same period, 38 other vehicles being transported on trailers without proper customs documents were also checked. Their total value was over €330,000, with duties owed exceeding €165,000.

According to customs officials, there are only very limited exceptions that allow an EU resident to use a non-EU registered vehicle on a temporary basis.