Importing Cars From Outside the GCC

I'm from the UK, and I like my car, so I wanted to bring it with me to Qatar. But finding out the rules for importing cars into Qatar from outside the GCC was very difficult, so I thought I would share what I found out so far. This may be helpful to others, but I still cannot say I am totally sure this is all correct - hopefully some kind souls will either confirm or correct. Better still, maybe someone knows where these rules are actually written down, because I got the feeling that nobody I spoke to knew for sure!

- The same import rules apply to all motor vehicles, including cars, motorcycles and trucks.

- Ensure the vehicle is be registered to the same name as the shipper, or else expect long delays with Customs.

- Only LEFT HAND DRIVE Vehicles may be imported into Qatar.

- To register the vehicle, the owner must be a resident in Qatar. For registration, proof of ownership at origin and original import manifest are required.

- Customs Duty is applicable, approximate rate is 6 - 7% of Customs Declared Value.

- Vehicles must be less than 5 years old. Customs told me that this meant the difference in the year of the car's registration and the year of import must be less than 5 years i.e. if the year of import is 2009, then you can only import cars first registered in 2005 or later. That means if a car was registered in December 2005, it could not be imported in January 2010 because 2005 is five years before 2010(!) This seems like an odd way to interpret a rule like this; do other people think this is how Customs apply the rules in practice?