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

deezell

For fun wrote: »

I register these regularly and a private individual can register a van in their name. A van has an M1 designation by default its commercial, insurance is another issue but tax by definition is commercial

Theres no incentive to revenue anymore to tax it as a car, since cc based road tax became obsolete in 2008.

mickdw

For fun wrote: »

I register these regularly and a private individual can register a van in their name. A van has an M1 designation by default its commercial, insurance is another issue but tax by definition is commercial

You are ignoring the issue of taxing it - as in motortax. Unless one of the scenarios I mentioned applies, you cannot get commercial tax and I don't think private tax is even an option.

deezell

mickdw wrote: »

You are ignoring the issue of taxing it - as in motortax. Unless one of the scenarios I mentioned applies, you cannot get commercial tax and I don't think private tax is even an option.

That doesn't make sense. You could register it, pay small vrt, insure it, not be able to road tax it privately but be refused commercial road tax also coz you've no VAT number or farm. That means you can drive it around road tax free? No way Hosé

For fun

bazz26 wrote: »

We had a few hiccups alright. Delay with payment transfer by his credit card was down to the credit card company not releasing the money despite being prepped in advance. Sorted when he rang them. Second delay was with the dealer not being familiar with selling to an Irish customer. Kept trying to tax the car for 1 month which meant setting up a direct debit but wouldn't work unless you have a UK bank account. Eventually paid by card for 6 months and got a refund from the DVLA for the unused tax when we got home and it was registered on Irish plates.

Luckily the ferry wasn't until later in the evening as we left the dealership during rush hour. The ferry ticket was a flexible ticket so we had a bit of time to judge if we would make the original ferry or if we had to change to the later sailing. But once we got outside Preston we made good progress on the motorway and luckily there were no roadworks or major delays getting our original ferry.

Preston is close but UK traffic is a nightmare, you still need to get around Liverpool, Warrington etc going to Holyhead, I got caught on the M4 for hours at 11am on a Monday in August. Driving in the UK requires having days of flexibility not hours like here. I did it regularly and its difficult to predict. Alot of stress and curse words. Don't do it anymore

For fun

deezell wrote: »

Theres no incentive to revenue anymore to tax it as a car, since cc based road tax became obsolete in 2008.

If its a commercial vehicle as defined during the registration process then tax is commercial, even crewcabs, VRt'd at 13.3% of COMSP are commercially taxed

michellie

For fun wrote: »

If its a commercial vehicle as defined during the registration process then tax is commercial, even crewcabs, VRt'd at 13.3% of COMSP are commercially taxed

That's wrong. Yes the van may be registered commercially and pay a VRT of €200. But tax will not be automatically commercial too.

L-M

These are the facts

Vans with two 2 seats €200 VRT

Jeeps/Crewcabs etc with 5 seats 13.3 percent VRT

If you are a business you can Pay motor tax at €333

If you are not a business or eligible person, you have to pay tax at the old (Pre 2008) CC based system irrelevant of the commercial status.

Ie a 1.6 Berlingo would be close to 600
A 2.0 Caddy over 700
A 3.0 Amarok 1500

/end confusion

For fun

michellie wrote: »

That's wrong. Yes the van may be registered commercially and pay a VRT of €200. But tax will not be automatically commercial too.

Always open to learn but in my experience the vehicle is listed as commercial - eg a bog standard van - registered at a VRT office eg Northpoint - then you tax it online through motortax.ie as commercial

L-M

For fun wrote: »

Always open to learn but in my experience the vehicle is listed as commercial - eg a bog standard van - registered at a VRT office eg Northpoint - then you tax it online through motortax.ie as commercial

You can’t tax any van online for the first time, it has to be done in a tax office and depending on which tax office you must produce relevant documentation.

michellie

For fun wrote: »

Always open to learn but in my experience the vehicle is listed as commercial - eg a bog standard van - registered at a VRT office eg Northpoint - then you tax it online through motortax.ie as commercial

Commercial vehicles cannot be taxed online for the first time. It must be done in the tax office where you have to prove its being used commercially or tax it privately

For fun

L-M wrote: »

You can’t tax any van online for the first time, it has to be done in a tax office and depending on which tax office you must produce relevant documentation.

Thanks didn't know you couldn't tax it online, yet its an N1 commercial vehicle, my mother drove one to do the markets in Leinster for years and paid commercial tax. Beyond that i register vans regularly in private individuals names and I know they pay commercial tax. back in the '80's people used to remove seats in the back to get the commercial tax - not meant to be definitive but I do it for a living

mickdw

deezell wrote: »

That doesn't make sense. You could register it, pay small vrt, insure it, not be able to road tax it privately but be refused commercial road tax also coz you've no VAT number or farm. That means you can drive it around road tax free? No way Hosé

Ok maybe private tax is possible but then a caddy is 700 or so to tax.
My main point is that there are very strict criteria for taxing a commercial so if you cannot meet these, there is not much point in buying a van.
I've also seen insurers who will only put vans on commercial policies meaning private tax is then not possible.
There are plenty of people who have failed to have their van taxed after arriving at the tax office.

LillySV

For fun wrote: »

Evans Halshaw are huge, they own carstore(UK) and many main dealer franchises. I have a fair bit of experience with them and here's my advice

Don't ask them to move a car to a closer location - it takes forever and many times a car has taken weeks to do so

Be sure to get the car inspected, they are reputable but I have had issues with them - even 2018 sub 10K miles

Prices are fixed and generally come with an admin fee

Presence of the V5 is random, often, especially Carstore you get a copy - so beware

Other than that go for it!

where would their biggest store be? Im looking for the likes of a beamer in the 2015 years....

who do u advise for inspecting it? are rac or aa good?

deezell

L-M wrote: »

These are the facts

Vans with two 2 seats €200 VRT

Jeeps/Crewcabs etc with 5 seats 13.3 percent VRT

If you are a business you can Pay motor tax at €333

If you are not a business or eligible person, you have to pay tax at the old (Pre 2008) CC based system irrelevant of the commercial status.

Ie a 1.6 Berlingo would be close to 600
A 2.0 Caddy over 700
A 3.0 Amarok 1500

/end confusion

This seems like an authoritative answer. I'm just wondering why private use tax reverts to the punitive cc based system, pre 2008, and not emissions based, which is almost de facto for private use as pre 2008 vehicles disappear off the road.
So things are still as was in the 90's, revenue doesn't miss a trick The only other unanswered question is getting commercial road tax without a vat no. or farm. I just declared farm use on the first one I bought, back in 2001, didn't need proof, my lads later done the same if I recall, Didnt live even near the land by then.
How does a tradesman fare, who is in employment rather than self employed but needs a van, as part of his toolkit effectively. Can he claim the van is necessary to travel to his various places of work? Also, you could be self employed, below the vat threshold, but still need a van. Say a small B&B. How hard is it to get the €333 rate anyway? I love this thread, all the cans of worms it opens

Marcusm

For fun wrote: »

Preston is close but UK traffic is a nightmare, you still need to get around Liverpool, Warrington etc going to Holyhead, I got caught on the M4 for hours at 11am on a Monday in August. Driving in the UK requires having days of flexibility not hours like here. I did it regularly and its difficult to predict. Alot of stress and curse words. Don't do it anymore

For Preston to Holyhead I would probably head via Liverpool and Birkenhead for a much shorter route than via Warrington. Sure you have to go well into Liverpool but M6 can be a car park and often much slower.

elperello

deezell wrote: »

This seems like an authoritative answer. I'm just wondering why private use tax reverts to the punitive cc based system, pre 2008, and not emissions based, which is almost de facto for private use as pre 2008 vehicles disappear off the road.
So things are still as was in the 90's, revenue doesn't miss a trick The only other unanswered question is getting commercial road tax without a vat no. or farm. I just declared farm use on the first one I bought, back in 2001, didn't need proof, my lads later done the same if I recall, Didnt live even near the land by then.
How does a tradesman fare, who is in employment rather than self employed but needs a van, as part of his toolkit effectively. Can he claim the van is necessary to travel to his various places of work? Also, you could be self employed, below the vat threshold, but still need a van. Say a small B&B. How hard is it to get the €333 rate anyway? I love this thread, all the cans of worms it opens

By coincidence this subject is being discussed in another thread.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2058047146

What you need to do is check your local authority website Motor Tax section. See what documentation they require for Goods Vehicle ( Commercial ) tax.
If you can provide that and sign a statutory declaration at a Garda Station you can get Goods Vehicle tax.
It's important to check your own LA because the requirements can vary.

mickdw

deezell wrote: »

This seems like an authoritative answer. I'm just wondering why private use tax reverts to the punitive cc based system, pre 2008, and not emissions based, which is almost de facto for private use as pre 2008 vehicles disappear off the road.
So things are still as was in the 90's, revenue doesn't miss a trick The only other unanswered question is getting commercial road tax without a vat no. or farm. I just declared farm use on the first one I bought, back in 2001, didn't need proof, my lads later done the same if I recall, Didnt live even near the land by then.
How does a tradesman fare, who is in employment rather than self employed but needs a van, as part of his toolkit effectively. Can he claim the van is necessary to travel to his various places of work? Also, you could be self employed, below the vat threshold, but still need a van. Say a small B&B. How hard is it to get the €333 rate anyway? I love this thread, all the cans of worms it opens

An employer's letter is fine for getting the commercial tax.
The business below vat threshold is a good question. I'd suggest it must be sufficient to produce evidence of self employment.

Millionaire only not

Car99 wrote: »

Up north is cheaper. Buying private or dealer?

Northern Ireland car dealers private and garages are crooks Worse than the normal run of the mill beware , personally wouldn’t buy an ice cream up there !

deezell

Marcusm wrote: »

For Preston to Holyhead I would probably head via Liverpool and Birkenhead for a much shorter route than via Warrington. Sure you have to go well into Liverpool but M6 can be a car park and often much slower.

On the way to Holyhead from Preston via Birkenhead last August, I put on Google maps on the phone though I hardly needed to, glad I did, yer one started calling out 40min traffic delays somewhere, diverted me across North Wales for a half an hour, then rejoined A55 somewhere past the blockage. She happily announced my jouney time was within a few mins of original estimates. Didn't have to look at the phone, couldn't anyway.

nophd08

Just another thing to be aware of, most insurers won't transfer your no claims from a private to a commercial. Some insist that you start from scratch.

crystalbrite

shirazhyder84 wrote: »

I got more clarity on the Brexit issue by going through the revenue website.

VAT + Customs duty + VRT will be payable if there is a no-deal brexit (if the UK does not sign the withdrawl agreement).

If the UK signs the withdrawl agreement then there will be no change in the registration process during the transition period until Dec 2020.

We will have to wait and watch.

So at this stage is it better to wait a week until after the 31st January before importing a car to see what happens with Brexit?

Or if I found a car I wanted on autotrader right now, do you think it would be possible to get it imported before the 31st?

Also exchange rate has been going in the wrong direction the last few days

Isambard

crystalbrite wrote: »

So at this stage is it better to wait a week until after the 31st January before importing a car to see what happens with Brexit?

Or if I found a car I wanted on autotrader right now, do you think it would be possible to get it imported before the 31st?

Also exchange rate has been going in the wrong direction the last few days

whatever happens it won't get cheaper!

The Mulk

crystalbrite wrote: »

So at this stage is it better to wait a week until after the 31st January before importing a car to see what happens with Brexit?

Or if I found a car I wanted on autotrader right now, do you think it would be possible to get it imported before the 31st?

Also exchange rate has been going in the wrong direction the last few days

The withdrawal agreement has been signed, by the UK and the EU. There's no change in imports and customs until the end of 2020, according to the UK papers

mickdw

Isambard wrote: »

whatever happens it won't get cheaper!

The car will though.

LillySV

From what I can see, the total cost of cars I like has got got more expensive in last while ... might as well buy here

moby2101

LillySV wrote: »

From what I can see, the total cost of cars I like has got got more expensive in last while ... might as well buy here

What are you looking for? Genuine question, if you are looking for a car less than 3 years old there's still massive savings to be made.

crystalbrite

LillySV wrote: »

From what I can see, the total cost of cars I like has got got more expensive in last while ... might as well buy here

I'm finding the same. Looking for 2016 A4s.
Called into an Audi dealer today and there was several in the €22k-€25k range. All decent spec and mileage. All the non s-lines had full leather seats, multi function steering wheel etc.

On auto-trader good spec 2016 A4s are around £13k-15k which I think will end up being €20k-23k once all is said and done.

Considering I get a 1 year warranty with the Audi dealership it makes it quite an appealing option. Also don't have to deal with the hassle of importing and all that entails.

I still think there might be some savings importing but you'll have to spend time searching and speccing the car correctly.

djunmark

Hi All,

Hopefully, somebody can help.

I am looking to import a car for myself from UK, and I think I am running out of time.

On revenue website it says for used cars "A vehicle brought into the State from the UK before 1 February 2020 can be registered as normal up until 1 March 2020."

What will happen if I buy just after February the 1st? Will I need to pay Customs Duty and Value-Added Tax on top of VRT?

https://www.revenue.ie/en/customs-traders-and-agents/brexit/information-for-businesses/vrt-implications-of-trade-with-the-uk/vrt-implications-of-importing-cars-from-the-uk.aspx

Thank you

User1998

That was in the case of a hard brexit. Theres a transition period until the end of the year so no vat or customs

djunmark

Thanks, so this seems do not apply either now due to transition period? "A vehicle brought into the State from the UK before 1 February 2020 can be registered as normal up until 1 March 2020."