Customs VRT crackdown in Drogheda

bf

Intersting to see Customs have a much higher presence now in chasing down cars not VRT'd. I live in a large housing estate in Drogheda where there are at least 50 or so cars with NI plates and some UK plates.

I have seen 2 or customs men doing checkpoints from time to time in Drogheda but this morning there were at least 12 customs officers with 2 checkpoints (at each entrance to the estate).

They weren't short of cars to stop! Is this finally the VRT crackdown we have been told about?

GerardKeating

bf wrote:

Intersting to see Customs have a much higher presence now in chasing down cars not VRT'd. I live in a large housing estate in Drogheda where there are at least 50 or so cars with NI plates and some UK plates.

I have seen 2 or customs men doing checkpoints from time to time in Drogheda but this morning there were at least 12 customs officers with 2 checkpoints (at each entrance to the estate).

They weren't short of cars to stop! Is this finally the VRT crackdown we have been told about?

They had a check in Furbo the other day as well...

Owen

When I brought my UK bike into Ireland in October, I fully intended to VRT it immediately, and then I didn't ride it at all, and it sat in my Garage until Feb, when I drove it for the first time, and got pulled. Needless to say, it was VRT'd straight away.

I'm looking at importing a UK car for myself now at the moment, and that'll be VRT'd immediately too!

blastman

Hmm, I suppose I should consider getting mine done...

ballooba

ned78 wrote:

I'm looking at importing a UK car for myself now at the moment, and that'll be VRT'd immediately too!

A car salesman importing a car for himself. Not a good advertisment.

Owen

Ah yes, but I have very specific needs that this country can't cater to in the used segment of the market

drdre

ned78 wrote:

When I brought my UK bike into Ireland in October, I fully intended to VRT it immediately, and then I didn't ride it at all, and it sat in my Garage until Feb, when I drove it for the first time, and got pulled. Needless to say, it was VRT'd straight away.

I'm looking at importing a UK car for myself now at the moment, and that'll be VRT'd immediately too!

What car are you thinking of getting?

Owen

R53 MINI Cooper S, with all the John Cooper Works toys, the engine, suspension, brakes, seats, steering wheel, all the toys! Just have to find the right one first.

drdre

ned78 wrote:

R53 MINI Cooper S, with all the John Cooper Works toys, the engine, suspension, brakes, seats, steering wheel, all the toys! Just have to find the right one first.

Sounds very nice.Why not go for the new GP . It looks beautiful

Owen

Wow, if this ain't threadjacking! Well, the GP is still running at inflated prices, too inflated, so I'm not all that interested in it myself. It's a great car, but one year old models are still 20k Sterling!

Turner

bf wrote:

Intersting to see Customs have a much higher presence now in chasing down cars not VRT'd. I live in a large housing estate in Drogheda where there are at least 50 or so cars with NI plates and some UK plates.

I have seen 2 or customs men doing checkpoints from time to time in Drogheda but this morning there were at least 12 customs officers with 2 checkpoints (at each entrance to the estate).

They weren't short of cars to stop! Is this finally the VRT crackdown we have been told about?

Did they have Gardai with them.

If they didnt you do not have to stop for them.

Customs officers do not have the power to stop traffic at a checkpoint. They require the presence of the gardai to do this.

yop

Mate got nailed in Claremorris, think he paid over a grand of a fine!

drdre

Chief--- wrote:

Did they have Gardai with them.

If they didnt you do not have to stop for them.

Customs officers do not have the power to stop traffic at a checkpoint. They require the presence of the gardai to do this.

They can if your car is parked eg in a car park etc maybe not on the road.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Chief--- wrote:

Did they have Gardai with them.

If they didnt you do not have to stop for them.

Customs officers do not have the power to stop traffic at a checkpoint. They require the presence of the gardai to do this.

Totally wrong Chief. The regulations below are still valid-

S.I. No. 117/1968:

CUSTOMS (LAND FRONTIER) REGULATIONS, 1968.


(3) The person in charge or control of any vehicle within twenty miles of the Land Frontier shall, on request by an Officer, stop the vehicle if it is in motion and shall allow any Officer to examine the vehicle and any goods being carried thereon and to take account of the goods, and shall produce to the Officer all documents in that person's possession relating to the goods and shall answer all questions relating to the vehicle and journey or to any goods being conveyed put to him by the Officer.

MercMad

They can if your car is parked eg in a car park etc maybe not on the road

........if you are parked they wont have to stop you will they ?? Or have you found a way to park without actually stopping at all !

Turner

Johan Mysterious Zinger wrote:

Totally wrong Chief. The regulations below are still valid-

S.I. No. 117/1968:

CUSTOMS (LAND FRONTIER) REGULATIONS, 1968.


(3) The person in charge or control of any vehicle within twenty miles of the Land Frontier shall, on request by an Officer, stop the vehicle if it is in motion and shall allow any Officer to examine the vehicle and any goods being carried thereon and to take account of the goods, and shall produce to the Officer all documents in that person's possession relating to the goods and shall answer all questions relating to the vehicle and journey or to any goods being conveyed put to him by the Officer.

Ya when was the last time you saw a customs post at a "Land frontier"

Land Frontier = (boundary point between Republic and Northern Ireland or Border Post)

They have all been dismantled.

Stephen

One would think that the border still counts as a land frontier, regardless of how porous it is now.

Alun

Stephen wrote:

One would think that the border still counts as a land frontier, regardless of how porous it is now.

Exactly.

bf

No Gardai with them, but I'm sure they would be on the radio to the Gardai pretty sharpish if you had a yellow reg and didn't stop!

Turner

Stephen wrote:

One would think that the border still counts as a land frontier, regardless of how porous it is now.

That legislation was designed for customs posts at border points. It gave the customs the power to stop vehicles within twenty miles of the post.


Not going to work well if the customs are trying to stop a car in cork.


Trust me, only the Gardai have the power to stop vehicles.

yayamark

Chief--- wrote:

That legislation was designed for customs posts at border points. It gave the customs the power to stop vehicles within twenty miles of the post.


Not going to work well if the customs are trying to stop a car in cork.


Trust me, only the Gardai have the power to stop vehicles.

no chief i have to agree with the others the customs have the power to stop vehicles on a public road. but u usually see the gardai with them just for a presence

CLADA

The key part of that power is "within twenty miles of the Land Frontier" if you are further than 20 miles from the border ......

Turner

yayamark wrote:

no chief i have to agree with the others the customs have the power to stop vehicles on a public road. but u usually see the gardai with them just for a presence

You are right..

Just after finding legislation in the Finance Act 2002 which authorises "officers" to stop vehicles.


--edit--
2 ) ( a ) Any person in charge of a moving vehicle shall, at the request of an officer of the Commissioners in uniform, stop the vehicle.
--edit--


Never knew that.

yayamark

Chief--- wrote:

You are right..

Just after finding legislation in the Finance Act 2002 which authorises "officers" to stop vehicles.


--edit--
2 ) ( a ) Any person in charge of a moving vehicle shall, at the request of an officer of the Commissioners in uniform, stop the vehicle.
--edit--


Never knew that.

god they'd let anyone be a mod these days-- only joking:)

its a thing that the majority of people don't know about.

someday it may lead to an incident, like a violent confrontation or a customs man been knocked down

i think its something that should be put out into the public domain, like an ad on tv like those road safety ads

Alun

It doesn't surprise me at all that they have this power. Customs Officers in other countries often have more powers than Police Officers in some regards, including being able to enter premises to search them without a warrant, for example.

BANZAI_RUNNER

trust my wife is a customs officer and not only can they stop you but they can confiscate your vehicle on the spot if they want to, she has done it to a truck driver , he was not impressed but had to find some other mode of transport

Turner

Aye, with regard to VRT i know the Gardai can stop and seize any vehicle for the purpose of carrying out enquiries, to see if the vrt has been paid, whether the person is exempt etc etc.

.Longshanks.

Bit off topic here but maybe somebody can shed some light on something i've been thinking about;

In theory, is it possible to import a reasonably expensive car in towards the end of the year.....keep it locked away in the garage until Jan:rolleyes: ....and then pay the VRT in the new year?
As the cars Irish value will have dropped due to the change of the year, the VRT payment should also drop. This could be a saving of €1000 on a €30k car....

Stephen

Legally, you are supposed to pay the VRT within 24 hours of landing the vehicle.

.Longshanks.

Stephen wrote:

Legally, you are supposed to pay the VRT within 24 hours of landing the vehicle.

Supposed to being the word! I think its generally accepted that theres a bit of leeway when it comes to paying the VRT within 24 hours..... Personally know of a lad in work who waited 3 weeks with no hassle

Head The Wall

Chief--- wrote:

Trust me, only the Gardai have the power to stop vehicles.

So what about someone doing road works who has all the relevant permits?

Esel

Chief--- wrote:

You are right.....Never knew that.

Chief, this is the 'embarrassed' smilie. Appropriate?

Henry Ford III

I'm delighted they are cracking down tbh.

Turner

Head The Wall wrote:

So what about someone doing road works who has all the relevant permits?

I wouldnt think they have the legal power to do so.

But show me the legislation and you will change my mind. Its already been changed about revenue officers.

bo-bo

Head The Wall wrote:

So what about someone doing road works who has all the relevant permits?

thats to do with regulation of traffic rather than the "stopping" of traffic, as in the instance of this topic.

the fella stopping traffic for road works would generally be acting as a traffic light - quite often authorities grant permission for temp traffic measures to be put in place, but its up to the road works company how to implement them (eg traffic light or some dude with a stop/go sign)

rebel.ranter

Someone in charge of animals also has the right to "stop" traffic. Although I'm pretty sure they normally don't sieze cars:D

ninty9er

Uncle took his UK import 320ci to work for the first time on Monday, is only waiting for plate number, everything else's has been taken care of, VRT and paperwork.

Customs called into reception and asked for the owner of the Green BMW first day!

.Longshanks.

ninty9er wrote:

Uncle took his UK import 320ci to work for the first time on Monday, is only waiting for plate number, everything else's has been taken care of, VRT and paperwork.

Customs called into reception and asked for the owner of the Green BMW first day!

:eek: Fe*kin hell, they were quick off the mark there..... Surely it must happen sometimes that the customs land to an office or somewhere to investigate a car like that only for it genuinely in the country for only a day or so with the registered foreign owner. Would love to see their faces:D

All of which make me wonder, how are all these left hand drive Eastern European car getting away with it. Theres at least 5 in my estate and nothing appears to be done about them. Surely these cars would be more obvious to spot....

galwaytt

Longshanks100 wrote:

All of which make me wonder, how are all these left hand drive Eastern European car getting away with it.

now, don't get me started. When people on a lot less than me are driving around in S6's and VRS.........I get really pissed. I won't even mention seeing a RHD car.........on Eastern European plates............doesn't take a scientist to work that one out.

By all means have a period where the non-Irish can bring/use their cars - but make it, say, 6 months, and re-reging it mandatory. And no more than 1 car every.......3 years? That'll stop the 6-month dash to the UK........

astraboy

ninty9er wrote:

Uncle took his UK import 320ci to work for the first time on Monday, is only waiting for plate number, everything else's has been taken care of, VRT and paperwork.

Customs called into reception and asked for the owner of the Green BMW first day!

Excellent use of resources:rolleyes: . And when my car gets broken into there is not a cop or officer available to come out and have a look. Glad to see the states priorities to its citizens extends to getting tax off them but not protecting them....

Spitfire666

nothing is done about the east euopean car as they are not worth anything. its the same as old heaps that are going around with NI plates or UK plates.

The customs only want cars that they can get revenue from. in other words, new/expensive cars.

peasant

galwaytt wrote:

now, don't get me started. When people on a lot less than me are driving around in S6's and VRS.........I get really pissed. I won't even mention seeing a RHD car.........on Eastern European plates............doesn't take a scientist to work that one out.

By all means have a period where the non-Irish can bring/use their cars - but make it, say, 6 months, and re-reging it mandatory. And no more than 1 car every.......3 years? That'll stop the 6-month dash to the UK........

OR .....




just ax the tax

astraboy

The eastern europeans can only use their cars in Ireland for 6 months anyway I thought(or maybe its 3?) before they need to re-register it on Irish plates and pay VRT. I know of a couple of Polish lads that change their plates often to avoid being caught. The cops sometimes stop the foreign reg cars on the Cork to Dublin rd and note the reg and date. If the car is stopped 6 months later it mush be VRT'd. I doubt many actually get caught though.

peasant

Most of the "Polish lads" wouldn't have to pay VRT anyway and the rules for registering aren't exactly clearcut either.

On the one hand you're supposed to re-register on the next working day after arrival ...on the other there's a rake of possible exemptions.

Hence my suspicion that the "Polish lads" wouldn't exactly be top priority targets for the customs&revenue guys.

Naturally some of them take advantage of that and try on all sorts of trickery re insurance, tax, NCT and all that.

Personally I don't REALLY care whether somebody managed to dodge VRT or not ...but I get slightly furious when the authoriteis are too bone lazy to inform themselves on how to check for "foreign" insurance properly and just wave people through instead.

astraboy

peasant wrote:

Personally I don't REALLY care whether somebody managed to dodge VRT or not ...but I get slightly furious when the authorities are too bone lazy to inform themselves on how to check for "foreign" insurance properly and just wave people through instead.

Ya the insurance is my main concern. Also, I know that anyone from one EU country can bring their car to another for up to 6 months and not have to re register it, the same applies to the "Polish lads" I was on about. I specifically say Polish as I have not really spoken to anyone from the other accession states.

If you are a citizen and resident and import a car from another EU country, you need to pay VRT. However, if you owned the car in that country over 6 months, you can register the car and not have to pay VRT. You then cannot sell the car without paying VRT for the next 12 months.

If you are a resident of another country and move here, you can bring your car with you and keep it registered in your home country for up to 6 months.

Thats basically the rule(s) anyway!

ninty9er

astraboy wrote:

Excellent use of resources:rolleyes: . And when my car gets broken into there is not a cop or officer available to come out and have a look. Glad to see the states priorities to its citizens extends to getting tax off them but not protecting them....

Ah well, customs and the Gardaí are 2 separate entities

astraboy

ninty9er wrote:

Ah well, customs and the Gardaí are 2 separate entities

I know, well maybe the customs could have been doing something useful like, I don't know, stopping drugs and illegal firearms entering the country? I think that might fall under their job description too! What I have an issue with is how far they take the crackdown on finding VRT culprits. A bit of reason goes a long way. I mean, your Dad had the car a few days, what if he had been a UK citizen over here on business? Its a great image to send out to out EU neighbours.

junkyard

If the customs spent more time looking for drugs and firearms etc., I'd say it would be a lot better for this country than just collecting more taxes tbh. VRT should be scrapped anyway and motor tax should be standardised. My Audi is 1343 euros to tax it for the year here and 175 sterling to tax it for the year in the U.K., where's the justice in that? It's a total rip-off. Just because you have a decent car here your regarded as a social out cast of some sort, meanwhile our minister's are being driven around in top of the range Merc's, Audi's and Lexus's and are exempt from paying VRT and road tax. It's a great little country isn't it?:rolleyes:

MercMad

Yeah but if they made Governement cars pay VRT etc.., the taxpayer would be paying anyways !

Anyway Customs has nothing to do with Motor Tax !

In theory, is it possible to import a reasonably expensive car in towards the end of the year.....keep it locked away in the garage until Jan ....and then pay the VRT in the new year?
As the cars Irish value will have dropped due to the change of the year, the VRT payment should also drop. This could be a saving of €1000 on a €30k car....

Any car which is under 6 months old or has less than 6,000 miles is considered to be a brand new car and the full VRT applies !

If you are a citizen and resident and import a car from another EU country, you need to pay VRT. However, if you owned the car in that country over 6 months, you can register the car and not have to pay VRT. You then cannot sell the car without paying VRT for the next 12 months.

If you are a resident of another country and move here, you can bring your car with you and keep it registered in your home country for up to 6 months.

....thats it in a nutshell !

peasant

If you are a resident of another country and move here, you can bring your car with you and keep it registered in your home country for up to 6 months.

weeeell ...sort of ...:D

The law contradicts itself.

If you intend to take up residency in Ireland, you're supposed to register your car on the follwing working day immediatedly after your arrival. (and avail of your VRT exemption while your at it)

But who is a "resident" ?

- anyone who is not a tourist
- anyone who is not a student
- anyone who has spent 185 consecutive days out of the tax year in the same country
- anyone who is not on a temporary employment contract.

Now ...in real life ...when you move to Ireland from somewhere else, until a few months have passed, you're not going to know if you will stay permanently or not.

But there is no passage in the law that say that you have six months to re-register ...you don't!
...not really ...sort of ...-ish ....kinda ...