Car at sea and on the way from Japan, need help sorting out practicalities...

blobert

Hello,

I've got the following Toyota Yaris at sea on the way from Japan:



It's the first time I've bought a car or indeed imported so I need a little advice on the practicalities of getting it on the road as soon as possible after it arrives at Dublin Port on the 29th of July.


I just paid the second half of the total purchase price today so they should be sending me the documentation to go with it by courier in the next week or so.

Here's a couple of questions I was hoping some people could help me with:

(1) Can anyone recommend a good clearing agent and a rough idea of how much this will cost? Do I pay them the VAT and Duty or is that done when I pay VRT?

(2) I'm assuming I can't go down to Dublin Port and tow the car away myself (I do not have a trailer)? Who can bring the car to me and how much should I pay? (I'm only 3 miles from the port)?

(3) Once I've physically got the car, in what order do I do things to get the car on the road as quick as possible. Pay VRT first, then insurance, then motor tax, then number plates, then NCT, then vroom, vroom? This seems like it could take a while to do all of, could I organise anything before the car arrives?

(4) My invoices from IBC list the price as the total price including shipping, insurance etc. Surely I dont have to pay duty and VAT on the total price so how do Revenue decide what price the car itself cost? Is there any way to inflate the delivery costs so it makes the car itself cheaper?

(5) Any ideas how much a general service for a Yaris is in a Toyota Garage? I'd like to get it checked out when it arrives and start to build up a bit of an Irish service history.

Any advice on any of the above (or if there is anything I'm leaving out) would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Robert

Stephen

The revenue don't give a sh1t what you paid for the car. They base the VRT on the "open market selling price" of the car. They have an online calculator for this available here: https://www.ros.ie/VRTEnquiryServlet/showVRT

alias no.9

Duty (10%) and VAT (21%) must be paid on the total cost of the car, shipping and any insurance. VRT must be paid on a fantasy number plucked from the arse of the revenue official see the VRT calculator at www.ros.ie.

blobert

Thanks, I knew about the VRT (its about €800 on this car) but that's annoying about the Duty and Vat, charging Vat on shipping does not make any sense.

Any further advice would be much appreciated.

sundodger5

i used to always deal with MCC for customs. they used to be on 01 8363408.
when you get the paperwork from ibc you can fax it over to them. they will then get the amount for clearing the car off the docks. you send them a draft for the customs and a draft for their fees you can also pay your dock fee to them (another hidden extra)
the car will not be released from the docks without these fees being paid. if you can insure the car without plates you can drive it away. expect the battery to be flat and may need changing and it will have almost no petrol in it.
from here you can take it to your local vrt office (if you have the paperwork from mcc in time) and pay that straight away. they will issue a registration number on the spot.
set of plates and away you go.

blobert

Thanks, so I pay customs to the clearance agent who pay it to Revenue? Do I also pay the VAT via the clearance agent or when I'm paying the VRT?

It would be very handy if I could collect the car in person, not sure if it will be easy to organise insurance for the car without registration info, will ring Quinn Direct to find out.


Any further advice would be much appreciated.

maidhc

blobert wrote:

It would be very handy if I could collect the car in person, not sure if it will be easy to organise insurance for the car without registration info, will ring Quinn Direct to find out.

Should be no problem. Axa will insure on the strength of the VIN.

blobert

Thanks for that, where do I get the VIN number from, I only have the chasis number so far.

Also, do I pay customs to the clearance agent who pay it to Revenue? Do I also pay the VAT via the clearance agent or when I'm paying the VRT?

Thanks

Our man in Havana

Chasis number = VIN number

sundodger5

there seems to be confusion. in this conversation customs and revenue are seperate entities. customs are the 10% to the invoice and then 21% to that figure people. revenue are vrt. you pay customs to get the car off the docks. you pay revenue to get your registration number.
so that is tax then tax on the tax followed by lets make up a number and double it vrt.

eamon234

why did you bother importing in the first place - you can't have saved that much could you? The Yaris is hardly a scarcity in these parts (or UK for that matter)

blobert

eamon234 wrote:

why did you bother importing in the first place - you can't have saved that much could you? The Yaris is hardly a scarcity in these parts (or UK for that matter)

I wanted an automatic and there is a much better range of these to choose from in Japan. I will save well over €1,000 even after everything is paid for for a much better car in much better condition and less than half of the mileage of one I could buy here. Plus the vast majority of automatic Yariss in Ireland are Japanese imports anyway so it's just a case of me doing the importing instead of the dealer and saving his mark up.

Because I am no expert in cars the advantage of getting to see/test a car in person was not that great and I would sooner trust the Japanese than Irish second hand car dealers.

We'll see how it turns out, car arrives in about 3 weeks.

blobert

sundodger5 wrote:

there seems to be confusion. in this conversation customs and revenue are seperate entities. customs are the 10% to the invoice and then 21% to that figure people. revenue are vrt. you pay customs to get the car off the docks. you pay revenue to get your registration number.
so that is tax then tax on the tax followed by lets make up a number and double it vrt.

So do customs charge 10% of the total cost of the car (including shipping etc)?

And then I pay VAT (at the same time as VRT) at 21% on the new total (original total + 10% duty)?

I assumed both of these would be charged on the purchase price of the car alone (ie not including shipping) but I guess I was wrong.

IBC have dispatched the documentation to me today, will this include the keys to the car or are they with the vehicle?

Thanks for the continued help.

blastman

As far as I can remember, customs charge on what you tell them you paid for the car, which does not include shipping. It may however include other costs like agents fees, Japanese taxes and transport within Japan itself (to get the car to the port). They will want to see a receipt of some sort saying what you paid for the car. Duty of 10% is calculated based on that figure. Then they add the duty to the figure you gave them and work out the VAT as 21% of this figure. Then they add the 10% and the 21% VAT figures and this is what you owe them.

The clearing company will process customs clearance for you and pay this fee to customs. They will also charge you about 150 Euro for doing this. Once you've paid them, the car can be taken off the docks. The clearing company can normally arrange to have someone meet you there and take you to the car. Don't leave it there any longer than you have to as you're being charged a daily rate after the first 24 hours. The keys will be with the car (Japanese cars rarely have a spare anyway)

It BeeMee

blobert wrote:

Thanks, I knew about the VRT (its about €800 on this car) but that's annoying about the Duty and Vat, charging Vat on shipping does not make any sense.

It does make sense : this covers the total cost that you paid to get it into the country. The breakdown between the initial cost of the car and the shipping charges is irrelevant, you've paid that total so the car is worth that total.

Think of it on a smaller scale : ever buy anything off Ebay or online? Say you buy something for €10, pay another €5 to get it posted.
How much is that item now worth to you?

Highlander

Hi Blobert

If you're still looking for a clearance agent you can give my company a call, Avant Air & Sea, ask for Carl, Ph 842 5844, were specialists in car imports

Emmet

projectgtr

sorry to thread jack but emmet.....

i am also importing a car from japan and would also be interested in a clearing agent, do your fees differ from car or is there a set fee?

drogheda man eh only up the road from myself

quon

projectgtr wrote:

sorry to thread jack but emmet.....

i am also importing a car from japan and would also be interested in a clearing agent, do your fees differ from car or is there a set fee?

drogheda man eh only up the road from myself

Would there be enough interest/importers on boards to be be able to make "a guide to importing from Japan" similar to the UK one in the Sticky?

I'd like to import a car from Japan, I saw one online but am not sure of where to take it from there.

Blobert, best of luck with the import, when it's all done and dusted maybe you could let us know what had to be done?

blobert

I got the documentation today, nothing much, just an invoice, certificate of exportation and details of the shipping.

Was hoping they would send me the original auction sheet (which would be good as proof of mileage) but no sign of it.

Just as a matter of interest, what is there to stop someone making their own invoice with a lower price on (to reduce duty and VAT), other than the fact its illegal? The invoice is just an A4 printed page with the logo of the company on and there are is no mention of the price on any of the other documentation.

Thanks

smash

you need to call the company you bout the car from and find out who their shipping agent is. if they don't have one, you can contact the shipping company and find out who's going to be clearing the cars on the boat.

blobert

I got a letter from Marine Cargo Ireland today about the car and a bill for €108 for "Local Terminal Handling Charges" (which I assume is the Clearance Fee?)

Does this figure sound about right or am I better off trying to get someone else to do it?

Thanks,
Robert

smash

well they're the handling company so you have to pay that handling fee
and VAT and bill of laiden before they'll release the car and then you ppay VRT on it.

blobert

Thanks guys, just to clarify, do i pay VAT at the same time I'm paying customs (while the cay is still at the docks) or do I pay it at the Revenue office when I'm paying VRT?

Our man in Havana

You pay it whilst the car is on the docks.

Highlander

projectgtr wrote:

sorry to thread jack but emmet.....

i am also importing a car from japan and would also be interested in a clearing agent, do your fees differ from car or is there a set fee?

drogheda man eh only up the road from myself

Hi There, cars is not my section so not to sure of the fee's but you can call and ask for Carl 01 842 5844 and he'll help you out

blastman

blobert wrote:

Thanks guys, just to clarify, do i pay VAT at the same time I'm paying customs (while the cay is still at the docks) or do I pay it at the Revenue office when I'm paying VRT?

You pay what you owe customs i.e. duty (10%) and VAT (21%) via the customs clearing company. Revenue get VRT only.

blobert

Thanks for that, it seems the €108 is for "handling" the car only.

I've got in touch with MCC as they will take care of the clearing and paying of Customs and VAT for me. I'm going to fax them the info and they'll get back to me. Any idea what kind of a fee I'll be looking at?

Just as a matter of interest, what is there to stop someone making their own invoice with a lower price on (to reduce duty and VAT), other than the fact its illegal? The invoice is just an A4 printed page with the logo of the company on and there are is no mention of the price on any of the other documentation.

ShowUsYourXbox

A man, buying an automatic Yaris.. whats the world come to

blobert

ShowUsYourXbox wrote:

A man, buying an automatic Yaris.. whats the world come to

I know, it could have been worse though, I resisted the urge to buy a very fetching pink one:)

I do all my driving in the city and thus a small engined automatic is the most practical car for me, I'm not really concerned about appearances.

Plus, my last car was a 0.8 litre Fiat Cinquecento so this is comparatively quite the muscle car.

blobert

Thanks for that, it seems the €108 is for "handling" the car only.

I've got in touch with MCC as they will take care of the clearing and paying of Customs and VAT for me. I'm going to fax them the info and they'll get back to me. Any idea what kind of a fee I'll be looking at?

Just as a matter of interest, what is there to stop someone making their own invoice with a lower price on (to reduce duty and VAT), other than the fact its illegal? The invoice is just an A4 printed page with the logo of the company on and there are is no mention of the price on any of the other documentation.

blastman

Fee would be about 150-180 Euro, I'd guess. I think I went with MCC and it was around 150, but that's a couple of years ago.

There's nothing to stop you doing your own invoice. When I imported my car all I had was an email with a breakdown of the charges which I printed and gave them. If you really try to take the p*ss though, they will spot it.

drdre

MCC charge 120 as my friend got a car cleared last week.They are abit slow to deal with.

smash

just a tip for anyone bringing a car in from japan... if you ca do it, send the car through the uk first.

pay the vat in the uk at lower rate and then it's been cleared in the eu so all you have to pay is the vrt when it arrives here.

I saved a grand.

Our man in Havana

Is it all nice and legal like?

Do you get UK export plates to drive it to Ireland?

smash

no, no uk plates, you just get the receipt of VAT, handeling and bill of laiden paid. Then you just go into the port with your ref number and take the car out.

It's all legal.

blobert

Sadly its too late for me to find out about that now, but the duty and VAT on this vehicle is not going to be much anyway so I doubt I would have saved.

I have sent payment to the handling company, and faxed my info to MCC for a quote on clearing charges, but they have yet to get back to me.

Thanks for all the continued advice.

blobert

Hello Again,

MCC do indeed want €120 for their services, they say I have to get a bank draft made out to them and one for "customs".

Can someone tell me who I actually get this one made out to? Is it "Revenue"? or will "Customs" do?

Also any idea how much a bank draft costs?

I do all my transfers online but MCC dont seem to want to let me do this.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

blobert

Just to update I paid MCC and gave them a bank draft for "Customs and Excise".

The ship is due to arrive this Wednesday but MMC reckon it will be the following Monday before I am able to go down and pick up the car.

Tell me this, what are the chances of it starting up or will the battery most likely be dead?

I dont think I'd be able to get a lift to tow the car back so I'm not sure of how to get it home if I can't drive it away.

Any advice?

Our man in Havana

Are you an AA member? If so and the car won't start give them a call and they will jump start it for you. Also the car will have close of zero petrol in it so bring along a gallon so you can get to the nearest petrol station.

blobert

No, I'm not an AA member sadly, my folks are but I believe one of them would have to come and be beside the car for them to come out.

I should be able to make it to a petrol station, but what do you think the chances are of being able to get the car started in the first place?

I believe you can buy some kind of rechargable battery pack to start a dead battery, jumping cars from another battery dirrectly is supposed to be very bad for the car. Anyone know how much these are or where I can get one?

Thanks

Our man in Havana

Halfrauds, any car accessory shop really.

How long has she been at sea for? Have you any idea when she was last started? I reckon your chances are 50/50 on her starting under her own battery.

blobert

I won the car at auction in Japan just under 2 months ago, so other than moving it around I'd has not been driven in at least that long.

My brother has a 12volt/22Ah battery which he thinks can be connected in paralell with the car battery to increase its current output to start the car. Is this likely to work?

I've never been to Dublin Port to collect a car before, will I be under pressure to remove it immediately or if I can't get it to start can I come back later if I can get someone to tow me? Any idea what time they close there at?

Our man in Havana

Using the battery in parallel will work. Just run the car for 5 or 10 mins before driving it just in case you stall on the road, you will have enough charge to restart.

No idea on how the port works. If you don't take it away when she arrives you will be hit for daily charges.

blobert

Ok, so to update the car should be arriving today but MCC think it will be next Monday before I can collect it (seems a bit slow to me).

Quinn Direct will happily insure on the basis of chasis number so armed with my makeshift battery to charge if nessesary and a couple of litres of petrol I will head down there and collect it as soon as I can.

Do I need to get the paperwork I have given MCC back to register the car (I think I might need the Certificate of Export?)

Is St John's House, High Street, Tallaght the only place on the Southside to go to pay the VRT and register the vehicle?

Will this take long? I'm assuming I can pay VRT, Road Tax, and Registration Fee all at once here and be good to go?

Will they inspect the vehicle or just go with the VRT calculators reckoning? The car has a couple of extras such as alloys, better hifi etc but otherwise it is just a standard model so hopefully they will charge me accoridingly. Can I pay by cash?

And does anyone know how much registering the car itself costs, I can't see it anywhere.

Thanks for all the ongoing help.

blastman

VRT IS your registration tax, have a guess what the letters stand for. You will probably need the Japanese de-registration document to pay the VRT, which the seller or your agent should have sent you (you may or may not have given this to MCC). It also needs to be translated for the VRT office and verified as a proper translation by reputable source, usually the Japanese embassy (of course, it may the case that your agent has supplied an English translation). How long you have to wait in the VRT office depends on many things, most of them completely non-scientific.

After waiting for this indeterminate time, you pay the VRT and they give you the new Irish registration no. and a stamped form that you bring to the car tax office to tax the car.

blobert

Thanks for that, that clears a lot of things up. MCC have both the original certificate of export and the translation, I'll try and get this back from them as soon as I get the car.

Is St John's House, High Street, Tallaght the only place on the Southside to go to pay the VRT?

Will they inspect the vehicle or just go with the VRT calculators reckoning? The car has a couple of extras such as alloys, better hifi etc but otherwise it is just a standard model so hopefully they will charge me accoridingly. Can I pay by cash?

Thanks for all the continued help.

Our man in Havana

Cash is most deffo welcome at the cleaners ahem VRT office.

blobert

Hopefully I'll be finally getting this car tmw.

Just wondering, Is St John's House, High Street, Tallaght the only place on the Southside to go to pay the VRT?

And does the motor tax office in Nutgrove shopping centre still exist?

watchinpaintdry

yep, just Tallaght on the Southside and Santry on the Northside. Both offices don't accept cash as payment, that's for sure. Don't forget to have your PPS number with you. Also probably worth printing out the online quote from their VRT calculator in case of a discrepancy.

neacy69

So did you get it yet?

NBar

They won't accept cash at the VRT Office, Cheque or Bbank draft and also have your PPS number as this is now required also