Outside Spain there are excellent machines at prices you simply won’t see here. A crane that blows your budget on the domestic market can be, in another country, tens of thousands of euros cheaper. That is why more and more companies are looking at importing.
The problem is never finding the crane. The problem is that between the price you see in the listing and the machine registered and working on your site there is a road with several tolls — some obvious, some not — that can turn a bargain into a headache. In this article I’ll tell you, without unnecessary jargon, where those tolls are, what you actually pay, and the one question that changes everything before you put money down.
If what you need is the legal side of type-approval and registration, that is covered in our guide to type-approval and registration of mobile cranes in Spain. Here I focus on what is specific to bringing one in from outside the European Union.
Does importing from outside the EU pay off?
The honest answer is: it depends, and you have to run the numbers before you fall in love with a machine.
Importing adds costs that a domestic purchase doesn’t: international transport, customs clearance, duty in some cases, and the type-approval needed to register it here. Once you add all of that up, the initial saving sometimes eats into a good part of the difference.
The rule of thumb we apply is simple: importing pays off when the price gap against an equivalent machine in Europe is wide enough to absorb those costs and still come out ahead, and when the crane is in a condition that justifies the trip. For a cheap, low-capacity machine, the fixed costs of importing weigh too heavily. For a high-capacity crane in good condition, the sums usually add up.
The question that changes everything: does it have European type-approval?
If you take only one thing from this guide, let it be this.
Before you worry about the price, the hours or the photos, ask whether the machine has European type-approval (the Certificate of Conformity, the COC) or was previously registered in an EU country.
Why it matters so much: manufacturers already supply that type-approval on a good share of the more recent cranes. When the machine has it, you save the individual approval here — the process of taking it to a laboratory and certifying it one by one — you can register it far more directly, and you avoid a cost that can run to around 2,500 euros, as well as weeks of waiting.
When the machine has no type-approval and no history of registration in the EU, it goes down the long road: individual type-approval, possible testing, and an uncertainty that, in the worst case, ends in a crane that is expensive to make road-legal. It isn’t that it’s impossible; it’s that you need to know this before you buy, not after.
Our type-approval guide explains how each route works. What I want you to take from here is that this question comes first, because it sets the maximum price you should be willing to pay for the machine.
What you really pay to import: the cost beyond the listing
This is the section where buyers go wrong most often, because they look at the sale price and forget what comes behind it. To get a realistic picture, budget for these items:
The price of the machine. The starting point, and usually the least of your worries.
International transport. Moving a high-tonnage crane is not the same as putting a car on a ship. Depending on origin and size, you’re looking at abnormal transport, possible partial dismantling (jib, counterweights) and cargo insurance. It’s a significant line item, and one you should pin down in writing before you commit.
Customs. When the machine enters the EU, the import declaration (the SAD / “DUA”) is filed and the taxes are settled. There are two things to pay here:
- Customs duty, which depends on the tariff heading the machine is classified under. For self-propelled cranes it tends to be moderate, but it varies, so it’s worth confirming the exact classification of that specific crane before finalising your figures.
- Import VAT, at 21%, calculated not on the purchase price alone but on the customs value plus the duty plus the costs up to the point of entry. In other words: VAT applies to a larger base than the listing price. Factor that into your spreadsheet.
Type-approval and registration. The cost of making it legal here which, as we saw, depends entirely on whether the machine carries type-approval or not.
The paperwork. Customs clearance, the agent, DGT fees and the roadworthiness inspection (ITV) prior to registration.
None of these items is a surprise if it’s accounted for from the start. They only become surprises when someone buys looking at the price alone and discovers the rest once the machine is already at the port.
The process, step by step
Without going into the legal detail — that’s in the type-approval guide — the journey of a crane imported from outside the EU looks like this:
- Pre-purchase checks. The machine’s documentation, its real condition, and above all the question of type-approval. This is the step that prevents the headaches.
- Closing the deal and the transport. Purchase, and booking international transport with insurance.
- Customs entry. Filing the import declaration and settling duty and import VAT.
- Type-approval and ITV. Type-approval (direct) or individual approval (longer), and the technical inspection.
- Registration. Registration with the DGT and permanent plates.
While the type-approval stage is under way, in most cases the machine can be moved and put to work on temporary green plates, which allow it to circulate temporarily between the company’s base and the job site before it is registered. When everything runs smoothly, the whole thing usually resolves in around one to two months; delays almost always come from the time of year (summer holidays, Christmas and so on) or from slow preliminary inspection of the crane by the engineers at INTA / IDIADA, who only start moving the relevant paperwork once they have seen it.
Where the surprises are
These are the ones we see again and again:
Buying without confirming type-approval. The most expensive one. A machine with no type-approval and no EU history can look good on price and be dreadful to make road-legal.
Underestimating transport. A transport quote given “on a handshake” that later goes up, or a dismantling job or separate transport (for example, the counterweight racks) that nobody had planned for.
Forgetting that VAT is charged on a larger base. 21% on customs value plus duty and costs, not on the net purchase price.
Trusting condition from the photos. Real hours, boom condition, ropes, hydraulics and engine. Everything we check in any purchase applies just as much — or more — when the machine is thousands of kilometres away. I go into this in our guide on how to buy a used mobile crane without surprises.
Moving it too soon. Driving an imported crane without the paperwork in order is a risk of penalties that simply isn’t worth it.
How we handle it at KRANEX
Importing works out well when every step is tied down before the first one is taken. Drawing on our long experience in mobile crane trading, what we do is order the operation from start to finish: we check the type-approval and the documentation before you spend a euro, we give you the real total cost — machine, transport, customs and legalisation — so you can decide with the full picture, and we take care of customs and type-approval, prior to the ITV and registration (for the client’s account), so the crane is ready to work.
Put another way: you choose the machine; we make sure it arrives ready for registration and without nasty surprises.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost in total to import a crane from outside the EU?
There is no single figure: it depends on the price of the machine, on transport according to origin and size, on the applicable duty, and on whether it needs individual approval or not. The sensible thing is to ask for a closed total cost before buying; that is exactly what we prepare for each operation.
How long does it take?
When the documentation is complete and the machine has type-approval, around one to two months. Without type-approval, individual approval stretches the timeline.
Can I move the crane while it is being approved?
In many cases yes, temporarily, on transit plates between the port and the destination, or on provisional green plates to be able to work, in the region of two months.
Is a crane without European type-approval worth it?
Only if the price comfortably offsets the cost and time of individual approval, and accepting a degree of uncertainty. All else being equal, a machine with a COC or an EU history is always the safer option.
Which cranes should I avoid?
Those that cannot evidence their documentation, those with no reliable way to be approved, and those whose condition does not justify the cost of the trip. When in doubt, choose another mobile crane.
Thinking about importing?
Before you put money down, tell us which machine you have your eye on and we’ll tell you whether the sums add up and what your real costs would be. And if you’d rather skip the trip altogether, take a look at our mobile cranes for sale: many are already in Europe and ready to register.
Talk to us and we’ll look at it with no obligation.
