As NAATA members are aware, some U.S. states have passed legislation to protect franchised dealers from being punished by their manufacturers when vehicles ultimately end up being exported from the United States.  Florida passed a law a few years ago protecting dealers from chargebacks if the manufacturer does not have proof the dealer had actual knowledge of export.  If a vehicle is registered in the United States, the law deems a Florida dealer to have  no knowledge of export. 

When vehicles are purchased in the United States for export, either to Canada or overseas, some buyers pay sales tax on those vehicles.  Exporters would very much like to have a refund of those taxes on the basis that the vehicles have been exported.  However, there are legislative and policy restrictions on state sales tax refunds on exported vehicles. 

A couple of exporters sought refunds of state sales tax in Texas.  An administrative tribunal has ruled on their cases recently.   Click on the links below to read what happened to their refund claims. 

Read a decision on a vehicle export sales tax refund case

Click here for a second decision in Texas

Read an earlier tribunal decision

BMW is being investigated by the Swiss competi tion authority for blocking European sales to Swiss residents.   Consumers in Switzerland were allegedly prevented from buying BMW vehicles in other countries where prices were less expensive.  BMW is currently facing a lawsuit in Canada related to Canadian importers who bought BMW vehicles in the United States at lower prices.   

Read more about the investigation into BMW’s trade practices in Switzerland

With the civil war in Sri Lanka finally drawing to a close, and with major duty reductions, luxury car sales and parallel vehicle import into the country are thriving.  Sri Lanka has an active parallel import market because official distributors often have difficulty getting product to market in a timely manner.  Parallel importers can often beat long waiting lists facing official distributors for factory orders.

Read more about the vehicle export to Sri Lanka

Read even more about the Sri Lanka market

As knowledgable vehicle exporters and importers are aware, trademark control is an important issue in determining whether an importer has the right to bring a vehicle into a country and sell it.  There is a legal concept known as “trademark exhaustion”.  The right of an importer to sell is dependent upon when a manufacturer’s trademark rights are “exhausted”, or in other words, when the manufacturer loses control over the sale of their products.

A recent appeal court decision in the United Kingdon is important for dealers to export vehicles to Europe.

Read Court Decision

The volume of vehicles going north across the Canada – United States border continues at a strong pace.  In the first half of 2010, 89,523 vehicles were imported into Canada through the RIV program.  Monthly totals are approaching levels previously seen in 2007, a high volume import year.

The Used Car Dealers Association of Ontario has advised that some dealers have been turned away at U.S. border crossings when driving vehicles with dealer plates.

Download notice on crossing the border with dealer plates.