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If you plan to travel to parts of Tajikistan not well served by public transport, driving your own vehicle may be the answer. This page covers the complexities of bringing your own vehicle to Tajikistan or buying a vehicle after you arrive.
It is possible to bring your own car or motorcycle to Tajikistan. You will need to pay some tax at the border (see below).
The full text of the law on bringing foreign-registered vehicles into Tajikistan is reproduced below (in Russian). Click on the thumbnail images to view the text. It is recommended that you print a copy of this document and bring it with you when you travel. In case you have any problems at the border you can produce the document.
The rate of tax payable for foreign (non-C.I.S.) vehicles is shown in the following table:
| Private vehicles |
| Motorcycle | USD $10 |
| Car | USD $25 |
| Buses and passenger vehicles |
| Up to 12 seats | USD $50 |
| 13 to 30 seats | USD $75 |
| More than 30 seats | USD $100 |
| Goods Vehicles |
| Up to 10 tonnes | USD $100 |
| 10 to 20 tonnes | USD $150 |
| Over 20 tonnes | USD $200 |
| Vehicles are generally cheaper in Khujand than in Dushanbe. If you are travelling from Kirgyzstan, note that vehicles are generally cheaper in Bishkek than in Tajikistan. |
Central Asian car bazaars usually operate on Sunday mornings. Turn up early, at six or seven AM. By mid-morning, the best deals may already have gone.
In Dushanbe, the car bazaar is at the south of the city, in Giprozem. The Khujand car bazaar is in Chkalovsk to the east. Ask for the bozori moshin.
Typical vehicles available include the ubiquitous Lada Zhigoli and 4WD Lada Niva, Russian 4WD UAZ Jeeps, and Daewoo's Tico, Nexia and Damas (manufactured in Uzbekistan). Foreign vehicles are also sold, but check on the availability (and cost!) of spare parts before buying.
If you find a vehicle that you like, negotiate a price. When you reach an agreement, you can arrange a separate time and place for the transaction to take place. Do not carry large amounts of cash around the bazaar.
If going to the car bazaar is too intimidating, try asking local contacts if they know of anyone selling a vehicle.
Vehicle registration is carried out by the GAI (traffic police). In Dushanbe, you should register the vehicle at the main GAI headquarters on Rasulova Street. You should go with the previous owner of the vehicle and take a number of documents with you:
- The existing vehicle registration document
- Your passport
- Proof of your address in Tajikistan (known as a spravka, obtainable from the head of the district where you live).
- If the vehicle was imported, proof that all customs duty has been paid
It is wise to withold some or all of the purchase price until the formalaties have been completed. Upon payment of the transfer tax and other fees, the vehicle will be registered in your name and you will be issued with a new registration document. Vehicle transfer tax is currently 10% of the value of the vehicle. The process takes about a day to complete.
The vehicle will be registered for the validity period of your Tajik visa, i.e. it must be reregistered annually. There is no charge for the registration to be renewed.
One way to avoid the bureacracy of buying a vehicle is not to register it in your name. Instead, have the owner give you a power of attorney document giving you the right to drive the vehicle and to sell it (see below). You should carry both the vehicle registration document and power of attorney document with you when you drive. The power of attorney document is valid for up to three years. After that, you need to get a new one or sell the vehicle (to yourself, if you plan to keep driving it).
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Note that if you plan to drive a vehicle with Tajik license plates into Uzbekistan or Kirgyzstan, you will probably encounter difficulty at checkpoints along the way. Tajik plates are often seen as an excuse to extort money. To enter Uzbekistan, you will need to buy a one-month insurance policy at the border, cost USD $45. |
There are no car hire companies in Tajikistan at the time of writing. (If you would like to be the first, apparently Hertz are looking for a franchisee). It may still be possible to borrow or hire a car from a private individual or company.
You can drive a car belonging to someone else as long as you have legal permission from the owner. To obtain this permission, you need to go with the owner to a notary office. There is one for each district in Dushanbe.
Present the owner's passport and your passport, and ask the notary to draw up a power of attorney document (devernost). This document can be valid for any length of time up to a maximum of three years. You will be given permission to drive the vehicle, and optionally to sell it.
| Driving is on the right. Stop at traffic lights and pedestrian crossings, even if local drivers do not - if you get caught jumping the lights you will be fined. You may not cross a solid white line in the middle of the road, even to turn into a side road. |
Ensure that you always have the following documents with you when you are driving:
- Your driving license.
- A talon (see below).
- The vehicle's registration document.
- If you are not the owner of the vehicle, the power of attorney document listing you as a named driver (devernost).
- Car tax receipt (nalog).
- Proof of insurance document (spravka).
While driving, you will frequently be stopped by the traffic police, and they will want to see the above documents. Failure to produce them may result in an on-the-spot fine, or your vehicle may be impounded.
International driving licenses and foreign licenses are acceptable. If your license does not have a photograph on it, make sure you also carry photographic ID.
If you plan to stay in Tajikistan for more than three months, you should apply for a temporary talon from the traffic police. This is a yellow card for recording traffic offences.
The only legal requirement is that you have third-party liability insurance, to cover medical injury in the case of an accident. Most travel insurance policies include the required liability insurance.
Petrol (benzine/gasoline) and diesel fuel is freely available. Filling stations can be found in the larger cities; in the regions you can usually buy fuel from sellers at the roadside. Look out for a row of five litre jars filled with fuel.
The higher-grade petrol is usually graded as 93 or 95 octane. Lower grades are available. Find a good vendor and stick to them - sometimes the fuel is not pure.
Fuel is cheapest in Khujand and most expensive in Gorno-Badakhshan.
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