EU Commission comments on VRT

daRobot

This was on the Finegael website:

The European Commission has told Fine Gael MEP for Ireland North West Jim Higgins that the Irish residents must be given at least seven days to register cars recently imported from the UK and elsewhere. The Commission also said that drivers must be given at least one warning before vehicles are impounded.

EU tells Fine Gael MEP that public must be allowed seven days minimum to pay VRT

The European Commission has told Fine Gael MEP for Ireland North West Jim Higgins that the Irish residents must be given at least seven days to register cars recently imported from the UK and elsewhere. The Commission also said that drivers must be given at least one warning before vehicles are impounded.

The Commission said that the 24-hour period being imposed by Revenue Officials would in its opinion be illegal and that the European Court of Justice has already ruled on a similar case previously.

Speaking following receipt of confirmation from the EU Mr Higgins welcomed the clarification "Many people in Ireland especially the Border Counties Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan have been told they must register their vehicle within 24 hours by revenue officials. In many cases this is just not workable and is grossly unfair. Once I heard that revenue officials were pressurizing people and scaremongering on the issue of VRT I raised the issue with the European Commission."

"I have today received a response from Laslo Kovacs the Commissioner in charge of taxation and customs. He said and I quote:

"The Commission agrees with the Honourable Member that the requirement to register a vehicle within 24 hours should be considered to be a period that is so short that it makes it impossible or excessively difficult to comply with the requirements imposed."

Mr Higgins continued by saying "I now call on revenue officials to cease the practice of informing people that registration must be completed within 24 hours and allow people the full time frame allowed of seven days. If they do not, people would it seem, be entitled to take the Government to court in Europe and it would lead to more unnecessary and costly legal costs for the state, this must be a matter were common sense prevails."

Any thoughts?

Saab Ed

"Many people in Ireland especially the Border Counties Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan have been told they must register their vehicle within 24 hours by revenue officials. In many cases this is just not workable and is grossly unfair."

Well they found time to go buy the thing didnt they

Anan1

Isn't the current situation that the car must be presented by the following working day as opposed to within 24 hours?

rgunning

Sounds like pretty cheap vote-mongering for the Euro-elections. This shouldn't matter, it has to be done during working hours anyway. Most people buy on the weekend anyway and have ample time to go to the office on Monday.

I've never been in a situation in the VRT office when I couldn't get it done promplty on the day I was due to do it. And I hardly think there are queues out the door these days.

Seth Brundle

I'd like to see actual legislation on this as customs and/or gardai will only follow relevant law and not what is on the BBC oops Fine Gael website unfortunately.

-Chris-

I don't see it making any difference other than giving the purchaser of a new car a little more convenience.
Whether it's 24 hours, 1 working day or 7 days, the important thing is that people pay the correct taxes in a timely fashion.

McSpud

7 Days seems fair to me.

pred racer

AFAIK this is the way it is enforced right now I dont know of anyone who has had their vehicle impounded without a warning first(open to correction on this of course), although I do know of one case where a customs officer visited my mate the day he brought his 2 month old range rover in 'reminding' him that he owed 40K

As audichris said It doesnt really matter if its one day or 1 week once its paid in a timely fashion!

sparklepants

This is a non-issue. Higgins just wants to be seen to be doing something for his constituents, what with the elections just a couple of weeks away. I'm not impressed if this is the best he can come up with. I don't believe him when he says that people "have been told they must register their vehicle within 24 hours by revenue officials". Instead they must present their vehicles on the next working day. AFAIK, even when you present your car, the Revenue will not demand the VRT from you immediately. In many cases, the cars papers have to be sent to Rosslare to get the extras valued, and this can take several days.

Cars&cars

how about raising that fact that VRT should not exist in the first place - forget the 7 days!

-Chris-

I was going to say it in my first post, but held back.

Please keep this thread to discussing the effect of these changes and the way it'll impact drivers/the gov't/revenue, whether it's accurate, whether it's electioneering etc. etc.

If you think VRT is illegal, take it to another thread.

garyegt

sher took me well over a month to get my VRT done and nothin was ever said! the car wasnt being driven tho, but was parked in a housing estate

galwaytt

Saab Ed wrote: »

"Many people in Ireland especially the Border Counties Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan have been told they must register their vehicle within 24 hours by revenue officials. In many cases this is just not workable and is grossly unfair."

Well they found time to go buy the thing didnt they

I don't know anyone that's harranged over being a day or two late. Months, years, yes, but not days.

..complete waffle, that FG statement.

Anan1

Cars&cars wrote: »

how about raising that fact that VRT should not exist in the first place - forget the 7 days!

That one's been done to death, both here and elsewhere.

Cars&cars

Nice of the MEP to be mentioning the 24 rule on our behalf - what a good person.

Has that been done to death!

Read somewhere this week that a UK firm, I think Parklane motors are suing the Irish Gov on VRT charges - could be old news or incorrect.

Anyway -- my proposal would be 7 years to pay your VRT and 7 polite VRT officials when you go to the VRT office. Oh, and you only have to wait 7 minutes and pay 7 €

If he'd proposed that he'd have my vote!

Anan1

Cars&cars wrote: »

Nice of the MEP to be mentioning the 24 rule on our behalf - what a good person.

Has that been done to death!

Read somewhere this week that a UK firm, I think Parklane motors are suing the Irish Gov on VRT charges - could be old news or incorrect.

Anyway -- my proposal would be 7 years to pay your VRT and 7 polite VRT officials when you go to the VRT office. Oh, and you only have to wait 7 minutes and pay 7 €

If he'd proposed that he'd have my vote!

Zero chance. Like I said, the whole VRT is illegal/should be abolished thing has been done to death here - let's not rehash it yet again.