How much tax on an imported car in Jordan?

Jordan changed its import tax in 2025, and not the way most markets did: instead of three separate charges for customs duty, general sales tax and special tax, it merged them into one total rate set by fuel type. The rate fell and the arithmetic got simpler, but admission rules tightened at the same time, so keep the two apart.

Since 29 June 2025 Jordan charges a single total rate by fuel type: petrol 51%, hybrid 39%, electric 27%, applied once to the customs-assessed value. From 1 November 2025 electric cars must be within 3 years old, and salvage or junk vehicles are refused outright.

✓Petrol cars

Total rate 51%, same for new and used, charged once on the customs-assessed value

!Hybrids

39%, one bracket lower, but technical regulations and JSMO proof must be arranged in advance

!Electric

27%, the car must be within 3 years, including the year of clearance

×Salvage or junk vehicles

Fire, flood or write-off history, banned from import from 1 November 2025

Three types, three numbers

Type	Total rate	Conditions	Main obstacle
Petrol	51%	On the assessed value, new and used alike	Assessed by year, make, model and engine size, not the invoice
Hybrid	39%	Same, plus one of four technical regulations	JSMO conformity proof must be in hand before loading
Electric	27%	Within 3 years, including the year of clearance	Over-age cars are re-exported, no correction route

Petrol fell from 71% to 51%, hybrid from 60% to 39%, and electric, once banded by value up to 55%, is now a flat 27%. That is a real cut, but it is not the whole cost: assessment, freight, testing and clearance remain. Working backwards from the rate to a car price will undershoot.

The percentages here are the merged total rate, not the customs duty line. Do not split them back into duty, sales tax and special tax and stack them again: that inflates the figure and contradicts the published position. Line-by-line stacking is the West African method; Jordan no longer uses it.

Tax and certificate, two tracks

Tax runs on the customs-assessed value. Customs sets that value by year, make, model and engine size, does not read the sale invoice, and an understated invoice does not move it. This track is about money.

The certificate runs through JSMO. An imported passenger car must meet one of four technical regulations, European, American, GCC or Saudi, and conformity proof is completed before loading. This track is about whether the car may enter at all. The tracks are independent: a correct tax calculation does not help a car without the certificate.

Used cars have no separate tax on this track. The three fuel brackets apply as they are, and the difference falls on admission: age, accident history, testing.

Before ordering you can start with the on-site import duty calculator (/en/duty-calculator), estimate a range by fuel type and assessed value, then have the broker check it against the tariff in force.

The Zarqa Free Zone

From 1 November 2025 every used car must enter the Zarqa Free Zone for testing and clearance; without that route it cannot be registered. Inside the zone cars can be stored duty-suspended, reconditioned and displayed, with tax paid when the car is sold, cleared or re-exported, which is the channel used for transit to Iraq and Syria. How long a car may stay is set by the zone's rules in force, and we do not fix a number.

Four steps before ordering

Fix the fuel type

Petrol 51, hybrid 39, electric 27; the type sets the whole cost line

Check age and accident history

Electric within 3 years, salvage and junk refused outright

Confirm the technical regulation

One of four accepted, JSMO proof issued before loading

Clear through the free zone

Used cars tested in the Zarqa Free Zone, no registration otherwise

Five pitfalls

✓Calculating on the invoice — it is the assessed value, not the sale price
✓Splitting the total rate and stacking it — the three charges are merged, splitting inflates the figure
✓Treating electric as a full 3 years — the year of clearance counts, so a new year can push it over
✓Ignoring a salvage record — a write-off abroad disqualifies the car whatever its condition
✓Declaring outside the free zone — a used car that skips Zarqa cannot be registered

Jordan's rates and admission rules are set by cabinet regulation and enforced by customs, with changes in June and November 2025. This reflects the position verified on 5 November 2026, plus the tariff in force and the broker's assessment.