Can-Am ATV from Canada to Moldova: No VAT, 0% Duty and Age-Based Excise

A buyer bringing an ATV into Moldova for the first time usually expects motorcycle-style rules. In tariff terms, though, a full-size ATV is closer to a passenger car: under the Harmonized System a quad with a petrol engine up to 1,000 cc is classified in subheading 8703 21 — the same group as cars. That has three consequences for 2026: no VAT is charged at import, duty is zero, and the main charge is excise, which depends on engine size and the vehicle's age. Below we work through what this means for the Can-Am models in our stock and which questions should be settled before purchase.

An ATV treated like a car: what follows

Engines up to 1,000 cc fall in subheading 8703 21, engines from 1,000 to 1,500 cc in 8703 22. All adult Can-Am models in our catalogue fit the first: the largest Rotax engines in the Outlander and Renegade are 976 and 999 cc. So passenger-car rules apply to the ATV: the same VAT exemption and the same excise table. We confirm Moldovan customs practice on the classification of the specific model at declaration. The general procedure for importing into Moldova, the documents and the clearance stages are described in our article on importing a car from Canada to Moldova — here we focus on what matters for an ATV.

Charges in 2026

We quote the duty from the latest data Moldova published in the WITS database, for 2023. The 2026 tariff text could not be accessed publicly, so we confirm the rate for the code in the estimate.

Excise: the age scale for engines up to 1,000 cc

Excise on an ATV is engine displacement multiplied by the rate for its age band. There are no coefficients: each band has a fixed amount in lei per cubic centimetre. For position 8703 21 in 2026:

• 0–2 years — 9.56; 3–4 years — 10.00; 5–6 years — 10.23;
• 7 years — 11.25; 8 years — 12.38; 9 years — 13.62; 10 years — 16.34;
• 11 years — 21.24; 12 years — 26.24; 13 years — 31.24; 14 years — 36.24; 15 years — 41.24;
• 16 years — 46.24; 17 years — 51.24; 18 years — 56.24; 19 years — 61.24; 20 years and older — 66.24.

For engines of 1,000–1,500 cc (8703 22) the scale is higher: 12.23 lei/cc at 0–2 years, 20.60 at 10 years, 26.79 at 11 years and 71.79 at 20 years and older. According to the government's announcement of 20.10.2025, vehicle excise rates did not change for 2026.

The most noticeable step is between 10 and 11 years: the rate rises from 16.34 to 21.24 lei/cc. For a 999 cc engine that is 16,323.66 lei against 21,218.76 lei, and at 20 years it is already 66,173.76 lei. Whether age is counted from the year of manufacture or from first registration is not clearly stated in public sources; for used machines on a band boundary we calculate both ways.

Excise on the Can-Am models in stock

Every Can-Am ATV in our catalogue is a 2025 model year, so it sits in the 0–2-year band at 9.56 lei/cc. The arithmetic by engine size:

• 650 cc — 6,214 lei: Outlander DPS 500 and DPS 700, Outlander MAX DPS 700, the work-oriented Outlander PRO HD5, PRO HD7 and the PRO Hunting Edition HD7 with a 3,500 lb winch.
• 649 cc — 6,204.44 lei: Renegade 650, Renegade X xc 650 and Renegade X mr 650.
• 976 cc — 9,330.56 lei: Renegade 1000R, Renegade X xc 1000R and Renegade X mr 1000R.
• 999 cc — 9,550.44 lei: Outlander XT 1000R, DPS 850, DPS 1000R, XT 850, XT-P 1000R, X mr 1000R and the two-seat Outlander MAX 1000R models.

The six-wheel Outlander MAX 6x6 with a cargo bed and the youth Renegade 70, Renegade 110 and DS 250 are calculated separately: for them we confirm the classification code before purchase. The excise difference between a 650 cc and a litre-class ATV is about 3,300 lei, so the model should be chosen for the job, not for customs. How to decide is covered in our guide how to choose an ATV from Canada.

2027: VAT on vehicles is under discussion

The current VAT-free regime for heading 8703 may change. VAT on vehicle imports was planned from 1 January 2026 but was postponed in October 2025. In June 2026 the Finance Minister stated that 20% VAT on cars would be introduced from 1 January 2027, with excise kept at a reduced level. At the time of publication we have not found an adopted law on this, so it is a plan under discussion, not a rule in force. If adopted, the change would cover all of heading 8703, and therefore ATVs too. Until there is a law, machines cleared in 2026 go through under the current rules.

What we confirm before purchase

Some questions about ATVs in Moldova are not clearly answered by public sources, so we check them for the specific machine and the specific buyer:

• Registration. The transport register of the Public Services Agency (ASP) covers quadricycles, but whether a full-size off-road ATV is registered as a quadricycle, as a tractor or not at all is something we clarify before the deal.
• Licence category for riding an ATV — clarified with ASP.
• Road tax for a registered ATV — which line of the scale applies is confirmed separately.
• The 0.4% fee — mandatory for companies; applicability to private individuals is checked.
• Luxury surcharge — whether it applies to an ATV with a customs value of 600,000 lei or more is checked for the specific trim.

Mexican assembly, Canadian warehouse

BRP builds the Can-Am Outlander and Renegade at its Juárez 1 plant in Mexico, with certain specialised models completed in Rovaniemi (Finland), according to the company's annual information form. A Canadian warehouse does not change the origin of the machine, and Moldova has no free trade agreement with Canada. For an ATV it does not matter: duty on position 8703 21 is zero whatever the country of origin.

What matters more is where the ATV comes to the buyer from. We source only on the Canadian market — new or clean used machines, no US auctions and no units rebuilt after damage — and send an estimate with excise from the age table before purchase. Models and availability are in the ATV section; request a calculation through the order form.

Rates are current as of October 2026 and may change; the classification of the specific model and the duty rate are confirmed on the date of clearance.