Moving to Ireland from UK - VRT Exemption

Saracen

Hi,

I'm new round here, but may well be a more frequent poster if a certain job offer comes through and I end up moving to Ireland. It looks to be a great place.

Anyway, my question is to do with exemption from VRT. As I understand it, you are free to bring in a car that you have owned for longer than six months and as long as you don't sell it within a year, you don't have to pay VRT.

My predicament is I've only just bought a car, and might be in Ireland within 3 or 4 months, so I won't have exceeded the 6 months. Now, it's clear that the spirit of the law is to stop people from importing vehicles for trade; this is not my situation. I very much would like to avoid having to pay this tax, considering my purchasing of a vehicle only recently is as a result of an increase in family size, as opposed to an attempt to get a cheap vehicle into Ireland.

Does the 6 months have to be from the date I first enter Ireland? If not, how would this work: I come into Ireland with the vehicle as normal, still insured and registered in the UK, and use it for a few months, until it has passed the six months, then I take it back out and officially import it after the 6 month period? Technically, I will be quite a bit back and forth in those few months, so I would still be entitled to have resident status in the UK. Just wondering if they will measure the 6 months to my date of moving myself (like registering with revenue) or whether it's only to the date the car is imported.

Any ideas what documents they will need to see?

Thanks for any direction on this.

peasant

This is a really tricky one, and basically (at least in my opinion) the whole thing is going to stand and fall depending on the mood of the vehicle reg officer on the day

On the one hand, the law allows european citizens to move countries and bring their personal belongings (including vehicles) along without restrictions or taxes.

On the other hand the 6 month rule is pretty clearcut and rigidly enforced.

And then there are all the grey areas inbetween:
You have to register your car here one the day following your arrival IF (and I stress the IF) you want to take residence here. But how do you know that you are taking residence? You might be tourist, you might stay for a limited period, you might only have a limited work contract ...for those cases there are exceptions to the rule.

If for example you come here on a temporary employment contract, you can register for your PRSI number immediatedly but still keep your car on foreign plates because you can prove (to the customs and excise officer that just stopped you:D ) by means of your employment contract that you will be going back in three months(for example).

But whichever way you work it, at whatever point you try to become a "legally permanent resident" and register your car, somebody clever enough will work it out that your car was only in your possesion for under 6 months at the time you set foot on this island. Will they ask you to pay VRT?

Who knows ...


I am tempted to suggest that you write to someone in the VRT office and explain your predicament ...after all ... life isn't always by the book and it's not your fault that somebody has offered you a job in under six months after you buying your car
It might just work and you might be given special dispensation.

And if it absolutely, definetly doesn't wash with the VRT guys ...at least you know where you stand and you could either pass on the job or try and sell the car

But then again you might just try and chance it.

Saracen

Yeah it's not so clear. If it's definietely six months to the date of import, then that's fine, if not, I'm not sure how they will expect proof of its use in the UK.

The other possiblity I suppose is to switch the car to my wife's name, and then import it at the later date, since she'll probably trail me by a month or two anyway, since I need to sort out all the housing and stuff before she comes over with the kids.

I did try ringing the VRT office in Tallaght but I was on hold for ages, and never got through.

Anyone got any experience of this?