Importing from the UK - definitive guide (Q&A)

Zane97

MidlandsM wrote: »

BCA's policy is that if you are not an a/c holder, yes - you will have to wait for it to clear. A/C holders like me can pay for vehicles today, and take away today, but not the general public.

BCA are a tight shower. If you pay cash up to 4 or 5k is the limit I think, and there's cash handling fee's. There is fee's on CC's, however debit card transactions are free....just make sure these is no individual limit or daily limit on your debit card.

I was told to open an account in Newry and deposit the money there and just used the debit card at the auction then.

sunnysoutheast

Hello all

I wondered if anyone had any information about a specific scenario - I posted on another thread so thanks in advance for anyone who replied there - but I thought I'd ask more widely.

In 2012 we moved to UK taking our 2004 car with us, reregistering it in the UK. Due to recent (positive) changes in our plans we will now be returning to Ireland and bringing the car back with us. We had originally planned to replace the car in the UK and bring the new one back.

This is a genuine transfer of residence so all OK there with docs etc.

Do I need to go to Revenue with the TOR form, then book NCT etc. or is the process more direct with the car being a Irish original? The car is still in NCT (!) and we have copies of Irish reg cert etc.

Thanks!

boardsusername

Hi,
I have a query which I can't seem to find the answer for, thought to be honest my head hurts a this point & I don't think I can google any more!
I want to buy a VW Caddy van being sold in the south with NI plates on it.
(Haven't contacted seller as I want a bit of info before i have that conversation.)

What do i have to do if i want to buy this? I need to figure out the final cost to me.

Pay import duty? How much?
Pay VRT? Can't find commercial calculator. Is it 50 or 200euro on commercials? Saw those figures somewhere?

Thanks.

timmy4u2

boardsusername wrote: »

Hi,
I have a query which I can't seem to find the answer for, thought to be honest my head hurts a this point & I don't think I can google any more!
I want to buy a VW Caddy van being sold in the south with NI plates on it.
(Haven't contacted seller as I want a bit of info before i have that conversation.)

What do i have to do if i want to buy this? I need to figure out the final cost to me.

Pay import duty? How much?
Pay VRT? Can't find commercial calculator. Is it 50 or 200euro on commercials? Saw those figures somewhere?

Thanks.

Its flat rate of €200.00 as the van qualifies on its size etc.
Are you buying private or off a garage. If private it would need to be attached to another EU country. If off a garage it has to be cleared for you.

boardsusername

Thanks.
It's private. The seller is in a southern county bordering on the north. It has Northern Ireland plates on it. (and says all UK mot & tax is up to date. Not much good to me.)

Would they have already paid an import duty on it (in order to sell it in the south)? And if & I have to pay it , how much would that be about? Is that where the OMSP scary figures come in?

aujopimur

It's illegal for a private seller to sell a foreign reg. vehicle in ROI. Get him to clear it before you buy.

boardsusername

Ok. Thanks.

timmy4u2

boardsusername wrote: »

Thanks.
It's private. The seller is in a southern county bordering on the north. It has Northern Ireland plates on it. (and says all UK mot & tax is up to date. Not much good to me.)

Would they have already paid an import duty on it (in order to sell it in the south)? And if & I have to pay it , how much would that be about? Is that where the OMSP scary figures come in?

A garage cannot sell it to you without having it cleared first and they can only have it for sale if they have a tan number.
So it is a private seller.It may be illegal for him to have it I dont think selling it compounds the issue.
I guess he has a northern Ireland address so that will do.
In any event omsp does not come into it. Its flat €200.00.plates €18.00 test something over €100.00, (increased lately) tax €330.00.
As regards tax you will need to satisfy the tax office for commercial tax by vat no or herd number etc.

boardsusername

Great. Thanks. It seems less expensive to do than i first thought.

panama

How long is it taking on average for the motor tax office to register a used import from the uk and send out the new logbook?

timmy4u2

panama wrote: »

How long is it taking on average for the motor tax office to register a used import from the uk and send out the new logbook?

When you get the receipt from the NCT office you will also get a tax form. Fill that in, wait two days just in case there is a glitch with the 24 hr and you can tax it there and then. Book will take a further week to ten days

bazz26

They are quite busy at the moment with it being the holiday season, volume of people declaring their cars off the road in advance and extra volume of ownership transfers to avoid paying arrears.

CiniO

aujopimur wrote: »

It's illegal for a private seller to sell a foreign reg. vehicle in ROI.

This only applies to ROI residents I assume.

aujopimur

Wait 24hrs, tax it using the last 6 digits of the VIN, VRC will then be issued.

aujopimur

CiniO wrote: »

This only applies to ROI residents I assume.

It applies to all private sales.

CiniO

aujopimur wrote: »

It applies to all private sales.

Any proof.
It doesn't make sense.

You are saying that if French resident wants to sell French registered car to Irish resident, then only option is for Irish resident to go to France to proceed with the transaction and pick it up from there, but the French guy can't come over to Ireland to bring the car for the buyer and finish transaction in Ireland?

colm_mcm

You have to vrt the car. There are exemptions to having to vrt the car. These don't allow for selling.
The key is the having to vrt the car AFAIK.
If you're not vrting the car you have to export it again.

CiniO

colm_mcm wrote: »

You have to vrt the car. There are exemptions to having to vrt the car. These don't allow for selling.
The key is the having to vrt the car AFAIK.
If you're not vrting the car you have to export it again.

It would be completely against EU rule of free trade, if resident of other member state couldn't bring his car to Ireland and sell it.
As above - I don't believe this can be the case.

colm_mcm

Ah sure vrt is against open trade anyway.

CiniO

colm_mcm wrote: »

Ah sure vrt is against open trade anyway.

But person who is not resident in Ireland and comes here with his/her car, can not VRT and register the car in Ireland.
Only ROI residents can register their cars in Ireland.

colm_mcm

For comparison, have a look at the uk system.

Marcusm

CiniO wrote: »

It would be completely against EU rule of free trade, if resident of other member state couldn't bring his car to Ireland and sell it.
As above - I don't believe this can be the case.

I don't think there would be an issue provided the usual VRT rules (appt made within 7 days, VRT assessed by NCTS within 30 are followed). The point about TAN numbers and dealers is that they are the only ones permitted to defer payment of VRT on vehicles held in stock. Otherwise, in your example, Revenue would look for proof (by way of ferry ticket) of when the car was imported. If the time limits have passed, interest and penalties would be due. It would be naive of an Irish resident to purchase a foreign registered car which has been in the country for a long time as without proof of the importation date, Revenue can look for penalties. Clearly NI sourced cars are the difficult ones.

colm_mcm wrote: »

Ah sure vrt is against open trade anyway.

Not really, foreign dealers can sell over the net and deliver here for the purchaser to deal with VRT etc. no greater burden or barrier is imposed. Cars aren't Irish manufactured and, even if they were, attract the same rate of VRT. As regards freedom of movement of individuals, the ownership thresholds might be arguable. Why should you not be able o buy a ar immediately before leaving (say) central Paris to live in the Dingle peninsula.

beachyboy

What are the best wen sites to look for English cars (ie best deals, near an airport etc) - want to get an Audi A4 estate Thanks

timmy4u2

beachyboy wrote: »

What are the best wen sites to look for English cars (ie best deals, near an airport etc) - want to get an Audi A4 estate Thanks

Hard question to answer. Most garages will be asking prices that will not make it viable to import by the time you take transport and exchange and VRT into consideration.
If you do not have contacts there who usually sell to the trade and who have all the hard work done I would suggest that you go on the likes of www.autotrader.co.uk and buy privately with full service record.

DieselPowered

beachyboy wrote: »

want to get an Audi A4 estate

Audi Used Cars UK.

timmy4u2

DieselPowered wrote: »

Audi Used Cars UK.

Ont think there would be any savings at those prices

bazz26

timmy4u2 wrote: »

Ont think there would be any savings at those prices

Importing is not always about saving money. It's about getting the right car with the right spec that has been better looked after and maintained, something the vast majority of Irish cars don't offer.

dnme

bazz26 wrote: »

Importing is not always about saving money. It's about getting the right car with the right spec that has been better looked after and maintained, something the vast majority of Irish cars don't offer.

There are absolutely plenty of bangers, write-off's, ringers, and vehicles that were ill-maintained on offer in the UK, plus the fact that it's a separate country, boundary, legal jurisdiction etc. Plenty of decent vehicles also but then they have nearly 60,000,000 people its a numbers game. Just saying be as as cautious if not more when looking in the UK.

bazz26

dnme wrote: »

There are absolutely plenty of bangers, write-off's, ringers, and vehicles that were ill-maintained on offer in the UK, plus the fact that it's a separate country, boundary, legal jurisdiction etc. Plenty of decent vehicles also but then they have nearly 60,000,000 people its a numbers game. Just saying be as as cautious if not more when looking in the UK.

Of course but like anything you have to do your homework and due diligence irrespective of where the car is located. You have about the same chances of picking up the right car in the UK as you have of picking up the wrong car over here imo.

beer enigma

I can't get a date with the VRT place until 2nd January, but just wondering if I can get the NCT done before on UK plates as I'll be working away midweek after that and need the car ?

Also, if I insure if from now with UK plates (I understand I have a month from the insurers to change the plates) is it legal to drive without NCT ? It has a valid MoT until 13th January