Fine for no NCT on CAR-VAN

wondering82

I was stopped at a checkpoint recently in a commercial car-van which is taxed privately. When it was taxed originally, about 5 years ago, i was advised by the person in the tax office to tax it privately so that it would be DOE exempt and wouldn't have to get it tested.

When i was stopped at the checkpoint i was asked for CRW I explained this to the guard and they said that this was not the case and that it would need Either a CRW or NCT, i was unsure which test applied a it was taxed privately .

I accepted this,
I handed my licence and insurance into nearest garda station as instructed, booked the van in for CRW test as required (not an NCT) which it has now passed and waited to pay the fine,

however when the fine came in the post it stated the offence was "use vehicle without NCT certificate".

fine 60 euro and 3 points

could i get off this on a technicality because technically you cant do an NCT on a car-van. it should have been "use vehicle without CRW" if i don't pay the fine and it goes to court would the judge throw it out or say well it didn't have a proper cert either and give me the higher penalty of 5 penalty points of that offence.

Paulw

wondering82 wrote: »

however when the fine came in the post it stated the offence was "use vehicle without NCT certificate".

fine 60 euro and 3 points

could i get off this on a technicality because technically you cant do an NCT on a car-van. it should have been "use vehicle without CRW" if i don't pay the fine and it goes to court would the judge throw it out or say well it didn't have a proper cert either and give me the higher penalty of 5 penalty points of that offence.

You can certainly ignore the fine, and go to court and argue your case. The judge can alter the documents at that point, and then issue the higher fine/points. It will all come down to if the judge agrees with you or not.

Either way, your vehicle wasn't properly tested for roadworthiness (sp???), so the charge/fine seems valid.

Markcheese

You are probably right - probably - could depend on how the legislation is worded and on the mood of the judge on the day ... So do ya feel lucky punk ?- well do ya?

my3cents

Look at it this way the fine is less than the cost of 4-5 CRW's so pay it and its still a win.

Fred Swanson

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Losty Dublin

If the vehicle is taxed as a private car then you will need an NCT for it. A CWT applies if the vehicle is being taxed as a commercial vehicle. If you are in doubt on which tax class you are paying then look at your tax disc and see what it has on it. Chin up, pay the fine and get your NCT as soon as possible if it says "Private".

Fred Swanson

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Tony Beetroot

Case will get thrown out, the fine has the wrong wording. Bigger question is what is a cwt cert?

paulmclaughlin

I'd assume they meant a CRW.

Tony Beetroot

Thats assuming they knew what they were talking about.

paulmclaughlin

Fred Swanson was correct though, a vehicle with commercial status will go through the CVRT and get a CRW, regardless of tax.

Tony Beetroot

Fred Swanson was incorrect he said a cwt test, no such thing as a cwt test.

paulmclaughlin

It was pretty obvious what was meant, stop being awkward.

Tony Beetroot

It wasn't

BaronVon

I would pay the fine. The offence is for not having a test certificate, under Section 18 of the Road Traffic Act. That's what the summons offence will be. Both the NCT and CRVT are certificates under this section.

Pat Mustard

Tony Beetroot wrote: »

Case will get thrown out, the fine has the wrong wording. Bigger question is what is a cwt cert?

Mod:

This is legal advice. Legal advice is not allowed

NO LEGAL ADVICE

monkeynuz

If you use the vehicle privately then tax it as a car and pay the relevant tax for emissions or engine size, if using it commercially then do a declaration at your local Garda station and tax it commercially for less money but remember you must only use it for work.

Seamus1964

Ignorance of the law is no excuse, it is a bitter pill to swallow : just pay the fine ( learn your lesson ) and move on - it's cheaper.

FreudianSlippers

infacteh wrote: »

I would pay the fine. The offence is for not having a test certificate, under Section 18 of the Road Traffic Act. That's what the summons offence will be. Both the NCT and CRVT are certificates under this section.

Thanks infacteh - to the rest of you, it took 14 posts after the OP to reach anything resembling a post that I would consider to the standard we expect in Legal Discussion. Shape up or ship out.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

FreudianSlippers

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

By the sounds of the explaination that the OP gave to the Garda, perhaps s/he was just confused as to which vehicle a test certificate was required (eg. the status of the van being commercial/private). As was pointed out, s18 RTA 1961 looks to me to cover all the bases on this.

BaronVon

FreudianSlippers wrote: »

Thanks infacteh - to the rest of you, it took 14 posts after the OP to reach anything resembling a post that I would consider to the standard we expect in Legal Discussion. Shape up or ship out.

Happy to oblige!

FreudianSlippers wrote: »

By the sounds of the explaination that the OP gave to the Garda, perhaps s/he was just confused as to which vehicle a test certificate was required (eg. the status of the van being commercial/private). As was pointed out, s18 RTA 1961 looks to me to cover all the bases on this.

I think the issue here is there is no Fixed Charge ticket for 'No VRT', only for No NCT. As they're both from the same Section of the Road Traffic Act, it's just the ticket is worded incorrectly.