Car tax fine

reneey

I bought a new car 2 weeks ago from a local car dealership. The car tax had expired when I got it. The other day a traffic wardon gave me a fine because I had no current tax disc. I hadn't gotten the registration cert for the car at that stage so I could tax it before then. Is there any way to get out of paying the fine?

I went into the Garda station and I was told I shouldn't of been driving the car if it didn't have tax!

Kristopherus

reneey wrote: »

I bought a new car 2 weeks ago from a local car dealership. The car tax had expired when I got it. The other day a traffic wardon gave me a fine because I had no current tax disc. I hadn't gotten the registration cert for the car at that stage so I could tax it before then. Is there any way to get out of paying the fine?

I went into the Garda station and I was told I shouldn't of been driving the car if it didn't have tax!

You normally get 10 days to tax or renew tax on a car.

lau1247

can't quite remember how long you're allowed but when i got my car from the dealer, the receipt of the car was proof and when the guards stop me, i showed them the receipt and everything waas fine..

I think I was within the 3 weeks but couldn't fully remember the detail..
so you should really have some grace period

jhegarty

Legally there is no grace period.

MONEY_MAKER

Hard luck - if i was you i would just pay it before it goes to court

vw4life

you can tax it the day you buy it,you dont need the logbook just the details of the car

Yawns

They say you need the log book but if you write the details before hand it's ok, you just need the likes of the reg number, chassis number etc. But on the other side if you don't have your log book within 2 weeks start ringing. It's usually only a week to arrive.

I recieved a logbook in 6 working days only last week so don't think there's a big queue

Looking at your post you have the cert now? If you are planning on appealing in anyway get it taxed asap and show the guards or judge etc if it goes to court, they may be ok seeing as you taxed it for the period you were driving it.

Other than that there's not much you can do. You didn't have it taxed and were driving for two weeks.

L1011

Get it taxed, bring all supporting documents along and there is a good chance the judge will strike it out.

Sandwlch

Changed car last year. Collected the new (used) one from dealer on a Saturday and sent off the change of ownership there and then.
Tuesday morning, stopped and fined for no tax. Had the documents, receipts from dealer showing I had just bought it etc still beside me on the passenger seat. Garda wasnt interested - said I shouldnt even have driven it from the dealer until I had it taxed. Appealed to him, saying docs already sent, its not as if i was trying to avoid paying my tax etc - he said 'no such thing as a grace period'.
Was annoyed and went into my local station to see was he just unreasonable and could I do anything. They said he was a bit harsh, but that once it is issued they wouldnt change it.
I paid it (E60 I think).

Toots

Legally, you shouldn't be driving the car if there's no tax disc. That said, I was driving my car home about 2 days after I bought it, no tax disc and I got stopped at a checkpoint. I showed the Garda my licence and the receipt from the garage. She said that was grand and waved me along. She'd have been well entitled to fine me though. I think it all depends on the Garda who stops you.

reneey

Yea I'm just going to pay the fine, it is annoying tho.

Yawns

It can be annoying but if the guard is grumpy, having a bad day w/e they will fine you. Not too much of a choice then. Pay the fine or try to get a judge to strike it out but if that fails fine will increase then i think.

Most of the guards down my way are usually ok. I was driving to dub 1 day i na car with no tax to pick up a new car. The guard said ok and let me drive on. I was fully prepared to pay the fine tho if it came to it. I was only borrowing the car to get up there as I had no other means and it was only out of tax by 4 days I think. I was insured and it had nct so I think he was feeling happy and wanted to spread it around a bit

TheNog

OP you have two options, either pay the 60 euro fine or let it go to summons and appeal to the Judge showing him/her the logbook with the date of purchase. The judge may strike out the summons or he may not. Beware though the Judge may impose a much higher fine.

Frankly its all a bit harsh having only bought the car. A better option would be to make a lawful demand to produce your insurance cert or driving licence within the 10 days and to produce the newly bought tax disc as well. There is no legal power for a Garda to demand you produce the tax disc but if you do then you can avoid a fixed penalty fine.

Yakuza

jhegarty wrote: »

Legally there is no grace period.

I thought there was a period of a month; if your tax is out at the end of March, for example, you're ok as long as you get your tax during April?

Does the period when a car is sitting on a dealer's forecourt not count as "non-use"?

Yawns

yes but when you buy the car your obliged to get a guard to sign a declaration of non-use then go and get it taxed right away. Until it is taxed it is not supposed to be on the road.

Most guards will understand if it's only out by a few days but if you catch a grumpy guard and he issues a fine it will go to court if you don't pay it and it will be up to you to prove your own case. If you paid for arrears it will help but in that case it's just as well to have just had the car taxed in the first place

Stoolbend

It was a traffic warden that issued the fine. They work for the local council so once it's issued the guards can't do anything about it. Most times a guard would let you away with it but at the end of the day it has to have tax displayed. It's hard luck but nothing you can do. Warden must have been in a bad mood!

Yawns

I see it now that I reread the op. I don't think I'v ever seen a happy warden on duty. I was with the oh's father one day and we pulled in across from a bank for 1 minute to await for somebody. Traffic warden told us we couldn't park there and she was sick of telling us every time we did it.

We were confused as he had never ever been there before so told her she must be mistaken and that we weren't parking there and if she wanted we'd move on and circle the block. No no she insisted she remembered his car, his face, his hair it was him and he's been parking there every Thursday for years. Now with the fact he only got a prov lic and this is his first car and he needed me for the directions to get there I would assume he was telling me the truth and she was having a really bad day and getting him confused with someone else, although she even swore it was the same plates. The previous owner was a female from another county so I hope she wasn't ugly enough to look like him

Fizman

Very bad luck tbh OP. I had a similar run in myself with a newly purchased car but thankfully the guard at the checkpoint was a sound lad and allowed me to drive on once I had explained.

Basically I bought the car at the end of January, with the tax up on the 31st. I got the log book mid February but with several extra hits to the wallet in the space of a few days (service, NCT, insurance, etc) and the fact that I don't get paid until the 1st of every month, I had to put payment off until today.

Was bringing the car down to Fermoy for a service on Friday evening, when just outside the town I come across a checkpoint. He just asked to see my license, but I then mentioned to him that my tax was out. I then explained that I had recently bought it privately, and had only received the logbook over the last few days, but said I'd be sorting out the tax on Monday. He seemed in good form thankfully and let me on my way!

slimjimmc

Yakuza wrote: »

I thought there was a period of a month; if your tax is out at the end of March, for example, you're ok as long as you get your tax during April?

Does the period when a car is sitting on a dealer's forecourt not count as "non-use"?

No, there is no grace period, once the tax expires you cannot legally drive, i.e. after 31st March. The one month period you refer you only allows you pay back tax without incurring a 12% additional charge for arrears.

Yawns wrote: »

yes but when you buy the car your obliged to get a guard to sign a declaration of non-use then go and get it taxed right away. Until it is taxed it is not supposed to be on the road.

Most guards will understand if it's only out by a few days but if you catch a grumpy guard and he issues a fine it will go to court if you don't pay it and it will be up to you to prove your own case. If you paid for arrears it will help but in that case it's just as well to have just had the car taxed in the first place

There is no such obligation. However declaring a car of the road is commonly done as a means of avoiding paying tax arrears. It is you who makes the legal declaration, the Garda only witnesses you make it. If you are caught falsely declaring that a car has never been on the road during that time (even to nip to the shops) when in fact it was you can find yourself with much bigger worries than tax arrears.

Yawns

That quote you referred to was an answer to what if the car is already out of tax sitting on a dealers forecourt / yard. Then he would either have to pay back tax, get a dealer to or sign a form in front of a guard which the guard must stamp or sign so a guard still has to do it anyway basically.

slimjimmc

Yawns wrote: »

That quote you referred to was an answer to what if the car is already out of tax sitting on a dealers forecourt / yard. Then he would either have to pay back tax, get a dealer to or sign a form in front of a guard which the guard must stamp or sign so a guard still has to do it anyway basically.

The new owner is only liable for motor tax from the date of purchase as stated on the change of ownership. If it expired before that then it's not his problem. The only reason the new owner would be liable for tax arrears would be if he didn't tax it before the end of the month in which he bought the car, eg if you buy mid Jan but didn't tax until early Feb. Alternatively, if the car hasn't been on the road since purchase the new owner can make declaration of non-use and get a Garda to witness him making it. Making a false declaration is an offence although I doubt many have been hauled over the coals for it.

Yawns

If your silly enough to get caught after making a false declaration you'd need a happy slap tbh

shawnee

Back tax the car and send the relative documents to the traffic wardens office with a letter of explanation. You may get the fine quashed in this case.I know of a similar situation and that is what happened:D

kadman

Its a revenue collection issue, and the government are going to do all they can to collect every penny thats owed by you lawbreakers:D:D

Pay the fine, or go to court and give them double, they will be delighted. Its about revenue collection:)

kadman