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

vibe666

personally speaking (and I'm not a lawyer or anything like that, so don't take it as gospel) but one of the things they will try and do to collar you is to look at your banking history in Ireland. If you're not getting paid by an irish company into an Irish bank then they will have a hard time proving anything.

if this is the case then just make sure you have a full UK insurance policy, valid road tax & MOT and a big GB sticker and make sure you keep abag of clothes in the boot and the odd bit of touristy looking tat and thewy'll be hard pressed to come up with a case against you.

alternatively, you could get yourself something nice in the UK and leave it there for 6 months whilst driving and old banger here for that time, then bring it in then and you won't have to pay a heap of VRT, just the normal registration fees AFAIK. as long as you can prove it didn't come here until 6 months after you bought it (original bill of sale and ferry ticket with the reg on it would probably do) someone correct me if I'm wrong?

This whole VRT thing is really starting to get my back up when people say "oh it's the law, you're a law breaker you are and you deserve everything you get!" from up on their high horses like anyone trying to avoid coughing up is going out stealing babies and selling them or something.

it's an unfair and unjust tax on people who are trying to do a bit better for themselves by going to the trouble of buying a bargain WITHIN THE EU where trade should be fair for any state within it.

a state where the government taxes the living sh1te out of everyone in it at every turn and then p1sses those taxes up the wall and wastes millions upon millions of euro every step of the way and then to top it all off the head honcho rubs everyones noses in it again by flounting the tax laws he helped put in place when he was minister for finance of all things.

and yet people trying to save a few quid here and there in one of the most expensive countries in the eurozone are the bad guys.

there is something rotten in the state of Denmark.

blastman

They have VRT in Denmark too, all right...

The_Conductor

blastman wrote:

They have VRT in Denmark too, all right...

Lol, and a top rate of income tax of 60%.....

whizzbangmcgui

It's like this:

If you are a resident of ROI and import a car from NI/UK legally you have to officially import it within 24 hours. that usually never happens for most people. What usually happens is you will ring your insurance company and get insured in your new car, with the NI/UK reg. That's not a problem. Most insurance companies will give you time to import the car, but the amount of time they give you will vary from insurance company to insurance company.

e.g. My bro imported a car from the UK and his insurance company insured him for over a year on the UK plates. I imported a car and they gave me 2 months. So it differs. What doesn't differ is the law. 24 hours to import!!!

Legally, a Garda or Customs official can impound your car if it isn't imported. they normally don't of course. But they can if they feel like it.

You import the car by going to your nearest VRO (vehicle registration office) and paying the (as far as I'm concerned) illegal VRT tax. Just bring the car and the log book. Simple, but a bitter pill to swallow when you have to pay money for nothing. You get a document, bring that to the motor tax office, then you tax it, then they send you your new Irish log book.

That's it.

For people who are resident in NI/UK and moving back to Ireland it goes as follows.

You have to prove that you were resident in NI/UK for at least 6 months from the purchase date of the car. This usually requires you to produce car insurance details, work details, rental (or otherwise) details for the specified period. Some people have suggested that you need only buy the car and leave it somewhere in the UK for 6 months and then drive it over. Not true. You have to prove you were a resident there and had it insured for the previous 6 months. IT'S NOT THAT EASY OR WE WOULD ALL BE DOING IT. (well i would anyway)

Then, if you want to avoid paying VRT, you must also show that you are now resident in Ireland. Again, work, living, car insurance details. (otherwise every ****er from NI/UK could just drive their car over, transfer it without paying VRT and sell it.) (pity they can't by the way. then we could all get our mates to drive their cars over and sell them to us).

Anyway. That's the long and short of it. There is no legal 3 or 6 month amnesty on paying VRT on imported cars as some people have suggested (not for Irish residents anyway).

To the original poster of the thread:- You could transfer the car to your sisters name in UK and get her to put you as a named driver on the car, but her insurance would have to cover extended periods of driving abroad, and if you were involved in a collision, and the insurance company investigated thoroughly (which they usually do) then you could find yourself in a spot of bother.

the best thing to do is to buy the car, insure it and try and get as long as possible out of the insurance company before they hassle you to import it (or if the Garda or customs make you do it).

Hope this helps some people,

W.

p.s. If you import a commercial vehicle, the VRT is a fixed fee of only €50.

WillyWonka

Is it worth looking to Germany to import cars? (or elsewhere in continental europe)
Given that its the home of many manufacturers?

promethius

Apologies if this is already covered but this thread but does anyone have any experience of any good dealers in the greater Manchester Region.
The reason I ask is that I can fly direct to Manchester quite easily and get the Holyhead ferry back.
London would have more choice but is a lot trickier logistically for me.
Cargiant down there looks pretty good with a lot of stock but would make for a difficult trip.
Thanks a lot!

GavMan

One quick question?
Is the VRT you pay calculated off the price you payed for it or what the price of the car was new on the open market?

IE: if i bought a car in the UK for 15K, and the VRT was 24% rate, is the VRT i pay 24% of 15,000?
Or is it 24% of say 30K(price of Car new?)

lynchie

GavMan wrote: »

One quick question?
Is the VRT you pay calculated off the price you payed for it or what the price of the car was new on the open market?

IE: if i bought a car in the UK for 15K, and the VRT was 24% rate, is the VRT i pay 24% of 15,000?
Or is it 24% of say 30K(price of Car new?)

It is a % of the OMSP (Open Market Selling Price) - A price which is what revenue think the car would sell for here. Check out the VRT calculator and you will see what it says the OMSP is for the car you are interested in is.

yellabelly

promethius wrote: »

Apologies if this is already covered but this thread but does anyone have any experience of any good dealers in the greater Manchester Region.
The reason I ask is that I can fly direct to Manchester quite easily and get the Holyhead ferry back.
London would have more choice but is a lot trickier logistically for me.
Cargiant down there looks pretty good with a lot of stock but would make for a difficult trip.
Thanks a lot!

Car People have a lot of stock http://www.thecarpeople.co.uk/visit/manchester.asp

GavMan

lynchie wrote: »

It is a % of the OMSP (Open Market Selling Price) - A price which is what revenue think the car would sell for here. Check out the VRT calculator and you will see what it says the OMSP is for the car you are interested in is.

Fair play.
Bit gay isn't? Would be much better if it was calculated off what you paid for it, but what ya gonna. Its a money making racket....

B00MSTICK

Unless the OMSP is cheaper than what you pay...

Guy:Incognito

GavMan wrote: »

Fair play.
Bit gay isn't? Would be much better if it was calculated off what you paid for it, but what ya gonna. Its a money making racket....

Nah, bit gay would be if the guy in the Vro made you toss his salad while he worked out the figures. Anyway, if it was off the figure you paid everyone would just get the dealer to do out a receipt for a few grand less than the actual price paid.

As Boomstick says, it can go either way, just depends on what your buying.

Anyhoo. I know this is in the thread somewhere but cant find it. Exactly what part of the V5(or any uk document) do I need to make sure I get off the dealer so I can VRT it straight away when I get back?

The_Conductor

Stekelly wrote: »

As Boomstick says, it can go either way, just depends on what your buying.

An example of it going "the other way" would be bringing in a low mileage diesel Volvo V40 which has a UK list price of St£10k but an Irish OMSP of EUR14,500. It actually costs more in the UK than its Irish listprice- so you pay slightly less VRT than you would have otherwise done, but the car is worth less also. Then again- try sourcing a low mileage diesel estate with a few extras this side of the Irish Sea- they simply don't exist.......

daRobot

Guys, can anyone tell me what the situation with VAT is.

I want to buy a brand new car in the uk, so VAT will obviously have to be paid on it.

I don't want to be double taxed with regard to VAT so how do you avoid that?

Any help greatly appreciated as info on this particuar aspect of the import process is hard to find!

zing

Stekelly wrote: »

Anyhoo. I know this is in the thread somewhere but cant find it. Exactly what part of the V5(or any uk document) do I need to make sure I get off the dealer so I can VRT it straight away when I get back?

Sections 1-8 iirc. Best off to just get the entire cert.

Guy:Incognito

zing wrote: »

Sections 1-8 iirc. Best off to just get the entire cert.

Forgot I asked the question. Cheers Zing. Looks like I might be goin gover this weekend.

Does the seller need to hold onto any part of the V5 at all? Or send any of it to the DVLA to let them know it's being permenantly exported?

Esel

Stekelly wrote: »

Forgot I asked the question. Cheers Zing. Looks like I might be goin gover this weekend.

Does the seller need to hold onto any part of the V5 at all? Or send any of it to the DVLA to let them know it's being permenantly exported?

There's a tear-off strip that they have to send to DVLA.

Scruff

the vrt calculation site isnt working for me. https://www.ros.ie/VRTEnquiryServlet/ShowVRT

trying to see what the vrt on a 2003 bmw 320 E46 manula diesel would be and it keeps saying

There were no vehicles matching your selections found. Please try again.

niceirishfella

just go to carzone, see how much a similar car in age,spec,miles is retailing in a showroom (not privately) and note the asking price - this is the open market selling price.

30% of the selling price is an indication of the VRT you would pay today on the car..............tho' it will be cheaper to import in july.

quarryman

Not a great guide TBH. I've seen the OMSP by the VRO be WAY over-priced on occasion and (in rare cases) very under-priced.

Nodnedlog

Heard somewhere that the revenues online vrt calculator is a sneaky way of revenue seeing what type of cars people are bringing in most and therefore keeping the omsp high on these models?

Any truth in this and if there is is it better to use it as little as possible for the car you are interested in?

Seth Brundle

There are also runours about the VRO increasing their opinion of the OMSP based on the amount of queries through their website. However, as far as we know, they are just rumours.
It is true to say that the more demand that exists on a particular model, the more likely the VRO's opinion of the OMSP.

GavMan

Does anyone know if there is a limit to the number of cars one(a private individual) can bring in to the republic and register in one year?

Tipsy Mac

GavMan wrote: »

Does anyone know if there is a limit to the number of cars one(a private individual) can bring in to the republic and register in one year?

As far as I know there's no limit, however I'd say after importing in 3 or 4 in the same year they would pass your details onto Revenue officials to investigate if your selling the cars for gain, if your not selling them for gain or declaring your income from the sales then I suppose nothing they can do.

GavMan

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

As far as I know there's no limit, however I'd say after importing in 3 or 4 in the same year they would pass your details onto Revenue officials to investigate if your selling the cars for gain, if your not selling them for gain or declaring your income from the sales then I suppose nothing they can do.

Ta. Yeah, i know itd raise a few with the tax man

tomefc

Just wondering if anyone can help me....

I moved over to Ireland from the UK in October 2006 and bought a new car just before I came over. I had to pay about 1150 euro in VRT. I am now moving back to the UK after 18 months of living here.

Am I entitled to any sort of refund and can I claim any of the tax back?

lynchie

tomefc wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone can help me....

I moved over to Ireland from the UK in October 2006 and bought a new car just before I came over. I had to pay about 1150 euro in VRT. I am now moving back to the UK after 18 months of living here.

Am I entitled to any sort of refund and can I claim any of the tax back?

Blood from a stone.... Not a chance of getting a refund!

tomefc

lynchie wrote: »

Blood from a stone.... Not a chance of getting a refund!

Haha - Thought as much. Cheers anyway, no point even chancing my arm!

Gandalf23

tomefc wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone can help me....

I moved over to Ireland from the UK in October 2006 and bought a new car just before I came over. I had to pay about 1150 euro in VRT. I am now moving back to the UK after 18 months of living here.

Am I entitled to any sort of refund and can I claim any of the tax back?

Maybe try to sell the car here and buy another one in the UK? You'll get a higher price here and might be a round about way to get some of the VRT back ...

tomefc

Gandalf23 wrote: »

Maybe try to sell the car here and buy another one in the UK? You'll get a higher price here and might be a round about way to get some of the VRT back ...

Thanks for the advice - I would consider it but it's the only way I can get all my stuff back over on the ferry. I've come to terms with the fact I won't see any of that money again, just would have been nice to have a few extra quid in my pocket!!