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

scanner1

Mc Love wrote: »

Lets say it came in under 13,000 euro with VRT included for 08 1.6TDCI ZETEC

Mc Love, not looking for exact figures here, but was there much of a discount off their list price from when you first saw it listed??

privateBeavis

Leeside wrote: »

Maybe the VRT page on revenue.ie should be cleaned up then. It states 6 months old OR 6KM. The word "or" is in caps to emphasise it. If you're correct, the word should be "AND".

from Citizens information website:

"If you are importing a new car from another EU country you have to pay VAT (Value Added Tax), usually when registering the car. A new car means a car that has been in service for 6 months or less, or has been driven for 6,000 kilometres or less."

i.e. you do have to pay if car is less than 6 months OR less than 6,000 km

Leeside

privateBeavis wrote: »

from Citizens information website:

"If you are importing a new car from another EU country you have to pay VAT (Value Added Tax), usually when registering the car. A new car means a car that has been in service for 6 months or less, or has been driven for 6,000 kilometres or less."

i.e. you do have to pay if car is less than 6 months OR less than 6,000 km

Thanks for thats clarification - I was misreading it.

Esel

s.welstead wrote: »

Have sourced a car I really like. Only problem is that although it has about 5k miles on it was only first registered at the start of November 09. So by that reckoning it's due for VAT on import as not 6 months old.

What's my options here? Can I purchase and keep it off the road for a month and then go VRT it? What do the revenue look for to determine how old the car is?

My understanding is that they will want to see your invoice, and will determine the age from that, NOT the V5 as Kotek Besar said.

alanlynch

Hi, im new here and was wondering could someone help me out, I bought a uk car off a neighbour who brought it back from the uk, my neighbour then moved to university abroad, he never gave me a v5 form, he said he applied for a replacment logbook and put it in my address but it never came, i then applied myself to the dvla and they said the car was a category C write off and there was a salvage cert issued and once they issue one they will not issue a 2nd one to the rep of ireland, once the car is a category c write off they destroy the log book, i have since been talkin to my neighbour who told me me he sent the salvage cert to the dvla thinking thats wat was needed to get the log book, i asked citizen information but they were no help, they didnt know what to do, is there any way i could get paperwork to pay the vrt?? if anyone has any idea's to help me it would be most appreciated

Kotek Besar

esel wrote: »

My understanding is that they will want to see your invoice, and will determine the age from that, NOT the V5 as Kotek Besar said.

The VRO didn't want to see an invoice from me.

They wanted my V5C, my application form and my cheque. That is all.

Leeside

Kotek Besar wrote: »

The VRO didn't want to see an invoice from me.

They wanted my V5C, my application form and my cheque. That is all.

I had the same experience. I had collected the form from revenue before I went to to UK just to see what was involved. On my return, I completed it, handed it and the V5C form to revenue, it only took 5 minutes for the chap to input all the details. He told me what vrt I needed to pay - exactly the same as shown on their web site, I wrote the cheque and that was it. All done inside 10 mins.

I confirmed the reg no to my Insurers, got number plates done up and fitted them.

The following day, I taxed the car online. Very smooth operation.

Boskowski

Question for the experts please.
Fancy a E46 Bmw 320ci sport automatic. Automatic because a) I love it b) less chance previous owner has driven the sh1t out of the car.

Anyway...
On autotrader.uk one can find beautiful fully loaded 04 to 06 ones between 8k and 10k sterling with just around 50k miles on them. Adding vrt to that we're talking 13k to 15k (ish) euro on the road here.
But the Vrt calculator gives an omsp of about the same or even less. So I was thinking why bother with uk?
But the problem is finding one here for that kind of money with an equal spec & mileage it seems.

So here is the question. Does this make sense to you going to the uk for this car or wait for right car here or could I be waiting forever?

BigEejit

alanlynch wrote: »

Hi, im new here and was wondering could someone help me out, I bought a uk car off a neighbour who brought it back from the uk, my neighbour then moved to university abroad, he never gave me a v5 form, he said he applied for a replacment logbook and put it in my address but it never came, i then applied myself to the dvla and they said the car was a category C write off and there was a salvage cert issued and once they issue one they will not issue a 2nd one to the rep of ireland, once the car is a category c write off they destroy the log book, i have since been talkin to my neighbour who told me me he sent the salvage cert to the dvla thinking thats wat was needed to get the log book, i asked citizen information but they were no help, they didnt know what to do, is there any way i could get paperwork to pay the vrt?? if anyone has any idea's to help me it would be most appreciated

Yer stuffed, if the DVLA are informed a car has been written off then thats it done and dusted. Its not like the V5 was lost or something.....

BigEejit

Boskowski wrote: »

So here is the question. Does this make sense to you going to the uk for this car or wait for right car here or could I be waiting forever?

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/number-of-cars-on-uk-roads-increases/219239
33 million cars on the road 2006 in the uk

The CSO.ie website has the details in there for Ireland but I doubt if its over 1.5 million vehicles.



So you are at least 20 times more likely to find a car you like in the UK :P

Leeside

BigEejit wrote: »

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/number-of-cars-on-uk-roads-increases/219239
33 million cars on the road 2006 in the uk

The CSO.ie website has the details in there for Ireland but I doubt if its over 1.5 million vehicles.



So you are at least 20 times more likely to find a car you like in the UK :P

A bit out of date but on 31st December 2006 there were 2,296,393 vehicles in the Republic.

http://www.environ.ie/en/LocalGovernment/MotorTax/News/MainBody,2747,en.htm

Esel

Kotek Besar wrote: »

The VRO didn't want to see an invoice from me.

They wanted my V5C, my application form and my cheque. That is all.

Was your car close to 6 months old, or 6,000 km though?

alanlynch

BigEejit wrote: »

Yer stuffed, if the DVLA are informed a car has been written off then thats it done and dusted. Its not like the V5 was lost or something.....

I'm not completly stuffed, the repair work that was carried out on the car was top notch, the dvla said if the car is returned to the uk mainland then they can issue new documentation but im trying to find out has anyone had or heard of any similar circumstances, i could get someone i know in uk to write to dvla with all the car details and pretend they are the new owners to get the documents or does anyone know if i go to commisioner for oaths here in ireland and sign an oath would i be able to get something to be able to change the plates over?

friarpat

If I bring my Spanish-reg car home for the winter and take it away again next year, can I safely drive it in Ireland. I have Spanish bank account, address, voter registration, Spanish tax number etc

Careful

correct me if i'm wrong but if it is a temporary visit (less than 12 months) you don't need to replate the car

Kotek Besar

Careful wrote: »

correct me if i'm wrong but if it is a temporary visit (less than 12 months) you don't need to replate the car

Must be for less than six months, according to the EU. Unless you're a foreign student who is Ireland only to study, in which case you need not register your vehicle in Ireland at all.

friarpat

So I have to bring it up north for a day to keep it longer than 6 months?

friarpat

just found this on citizens info page
'Temporary exemptions
In certain cases foreign-registered vehicles may be imported into Ireland temporarily by a non-resident without the requirement to pay VRT or register the vehicle. A non-resident is someone who usually lives outside Ireland for at least 185 days each year and the temporary exemption is for a period of up to 12 months. Foreign students who are studying in Ireland may bring a foreign-registered vehicle into Ireland and the 12-month time limit will be extended to cover the completion of their course. Further information is in the Revenue leaflet VRT2 Foreign Registered Vehicles Temporary Exemptions.'

So it depends on who stops me - if they could be bothered.

The_Conductor

friarpat wrote: »

So I have to bring it up north for a day to keep it longer than 6 months?

You'd have to bring it to the continent- we have a free travel area with the UK- going shopping up North for a day is *not* going to cut it.

There was a big crack down on foreign registered vehicles here (it was more NI and Polish registered vehicles than anything else)- but the planned joint checkpoints nationwide will have Revenue officials involved (alongside C&E, DSFA and the Gardai). It really is a case of you'll be taking one hell of a chance. Its not like years ago where every second driver here was on NI plates......

Kotek Besar

smccarrick wrote: »

You'd have to bring it to the continent- we have a free travel area with the UK- going shopping up North for a day is *not* going to cut it.

What's the difference between entering the UK and entering France? Not the CTA anyway, what's being discussed follows an EU directive.

friarpat

Do I have to produce evidence of date of entry if I'm stopped? I wouldn't be using that often and only around Cork.

The_Conductor

friarpat wrote: »

Do I have to produce evidence of date of entry if I'm stopped? I wouldn't be using that often and only around Cork.

Ferry ticket would suffice.
If you can't prove your PPR is in Spain to the satisfaction of the Gardai- its 24 hours to register the vehicle (never mind the 6 month waiver).

Re: the 185 day rule- its a tax rule- and is the average over the previous tax years 3 years for nationals claiming to be non-resident. You can be asked to prove this- more from the perspective of income tax than VRT- but the sections there increasingly do talk to each other.

fergalmcgee

Anyone used car craft in the uk to import a car from as i am thinking of going over soon,
fmg

fergalmcgee

Hi ,
thanks for the info , i am hoping to go over soon,
re- the rac check, the rac asked me to get some info from carcraft in relation to log book details like issue date and the front page details bur the guys in carcraft wont release them, is that normal and would you trust carcraft, have done a hpi check and thats ok,
Thanks
Fmg

_feedback_

Great Thread Guys.

I'm in the early stages of pricing things up. I just can't get my head around one thing for sure - on autotrader UK etc. are the prices shown PLUS vat or INCL vat? (UK VAT - will be buying over 6k mileage) Can't seem to find a definative answer ! Thanks in advance

Kotek Besar

elviscostello wrote: »

on autotrader UK etc. are the prices shown PLUS vat or INCL vat?

Usually including VAT unless stated otherwise.

_feedback_

Kotek Besar wrote: »

Usually including VAT unless stated otherwise.

Thanks Kotek - again, great thread - I'm sure i'll be back with more questions!

Shoneen

Hi, I'm planning on moving back to Ireland later this year after living in the UK for 14 years so I know I'm allowed bring my car into Ireland without paying the VRT. My problem is that I own two cars, both in my own name, neither of which I'd like to leave behind.

Both cars were bought second hand and were under £12k each when I bought them but when I look at the VRT calculator on the revenue its still coming out at €5-€6k VRT on either of them.

My question is whether I'm allowed to bring back two cars without paying VRT or whether the transfer of residence exemption limits each person to one car.

macplaxton

Shoneen wrote: »

My question is whether I'm allowed to bring back two cars without paying VRT or whether the transfer of residence exemption limits each person to one car.

Check with the Revenue of course, but I don't see a problem, providing all the requirements are met for each vehicle.

Tax Relief on Transfer of Residence - VRT 3

Worth having a look at the Revenue Manual 16/2 on Reliefs and Exemptions to VRT (pdf)

(The other VRT manuals are on this page)

Shoneen

Thanks for that Macplaxton - they both qualify, although one of them just about qualifies.

Of course even I do get them both back tax free I'm going to have to get my head and wallet round Irish motor tax levels. One of them is going to have car tax that's 4 times the level I'm paying in the UK! Oh well, I suppose its the price we pay for our brand new road network. At least the petrol is cheaper in Ireland.