Not your usual vintage/DOE/NCT/CVRT questions!

pryantcc

Hi folks, I know this is done to death on a regular basis, and it goes to show that there's no great clarity out there in the rules and regulations, at least not that I've been able to find in spite of some fervent googling and searching through past threads!

Here's the situation:
I have a pre 1980 pick-up, just imported today where the NCT inspector insisted that it be registered as a commercial vehicle despite having a bench front seat, sliding rear window and bench seat in the pick-up bed at the rear. And despite being told it would not be used for commercial purposes. "All pick-ups must be registered as a commercial, regardless" was the line at the NCT centre. DGVW is 3,800KG.

I have no company and will only use it for private use.

Now, the questions:
Will I need a company registration number and tax clearance cert and all that stuff to tax it for the first time?
Is there any problem having it registered as commercial and insured privately?
Is there any need, and if so, any possibility of changing the classification to private?
If the vehicle is vintage and registered as private rather than commercial, does it still then need to be subjected to a DOE test?

I'd love it if anyone could point me towards official documentation that contains answers to any of this stuff....

Silvera

pryantcc wrote: »

Hi folks, I know this is done to death on a regular basis, and it goes to show that there's no great clarity out there in the rules and regulations, at least not that I've been able to find in spite of some fervent googling and searching through past threads!

Here's the situation:
I have a pre 1980 pick-up, just imported today where the NCT inspector insisted that it be registered as a commercial vehicle despite having a bench front seat, sliding rear window and bench seat in the pick-up bed at the rear. And despite being told it would not be used for commercial purposes. "All pick-ups must be registered as a commercial, regardless" was the line at the NCT centre. DGVW is 3,800KG.

I have no company and will only use it for private use.

Now, the questions:
Will I need a company registration number and tax clearance cert and all that stuff to tax it for the first time?
Is there any problem having it registered as commercial and insured privately?
Is there any need, and if so, any possibility of changing the classification to private?
If the vehicle is vintage and registered as private rather than commercial, does it still then need to be subjected to a DOE test?

I'd love it if anyone could point me towards official documentation that contains answers to any of this stuff....

Thats odd, I would have thought that (being over 30 years old) it would have been registered as 'Vintage' - pay your €200 VRT fee - and away you go?!

It doesnt make sense, as there are plently of 'commercial type vehicles' out there which are taxed and insured for private use.

Regarding the DoE/CVRT situation, afaik, as it stands, you will have to have a yearly DoE/CVRT test - as the NCT centres don't test any 'commercial type' vehicles and 'vintage commercial type vehicles' are still not NCT / DoE exempt (I believe even small car-vans (e.g Fiesta vans) still cant/wont be tested in NCT centres?!).

It appears to be 'a bit of a grey area' when it comes to 'vintage commercial type vehicles'!

As a matter of interest, what VRT Office / NCT centre did you use?
I know that some VRT Inspectors take their position a bit too seriously and can make things difficult for no other reason than to make themselves feel important. I personally avoided my local NCT/VRT office when registereing my classic following the stories I heard about their inspector (including from a Customs Officer who has to regularly deal with this person!). I went to another county and sailed through the process..with smiles all round!

type85

Get a copy of a current VLC for any vehivle you currently own, you will see that the body type and taxation class are 2 different things.

The body is a pick-up (1 row of seats with open load area to rear) so it is a commercial type of vehicle.

The taxation class will be vintage/veteran given it is over 30 years old and being used privately. (If actually being used for commercial use/ hire or reward then it it cannot be taxed V/V)

The fact its over 3500kg check that you have the correct licence to drive it, as the ordinary B licence won't cover you no matter how its taxed.

pryantcc

Thanks for your input guys. It was Arklow NCT centre. Very serious business altogether.
In my understanding, pre 1980 would be NCT exempt but not DOE exempt. So it'll probably need to be DOE tested anually. The vehicle wasn't in the "System" so it'll be a day or two before I have to go back and pay the duty once they have it all set up.

Silvera

Interesting, I used Arklow NCT centre and found them very easy to deal with (the female I dealt with was very pleasant). It was Enniscorthy NCT centre which I was advised to avoid.

As stated, perhaps it's the vehicle category thats 'commercial', not the 'taxation class'. The person you dealt with could have explained it better to you I suppose!

Can you tell us what sort of pick up it is? Pics?

pryantcc

Silvera wrote: »

Can you tell us what sort of pick up it is? Pics?

It's a heavy duty Jeep J20. In work at the moment, so no pics, but Google has lots....

hi5

What ever happened to the RSA report that was submitted to the department of Transport and was supposed to be decided upon before the end of last year as regards CVRT on vintage vehicles, is It Shane Ross's department now?

246. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the position regarding a review of the national car test policy for vintage cars; and if he will make a statement on the matter. (Question 27917/15 asked on 08 Jul 2015 - National Car Test)

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (Deputy Paschal Donohoe): The review by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) of the arrangements in relation to the roadworthiness testing of vintage vehicles will be examined by my officials for submission of recommendations to me which I will consider in due course. Given the pressures of other work in my Department, this matter will be dealt with later in 2015.
 ...

Max Headroom

hi5 wrote: »

What ever happened to the RSA report that was submitted to the department of Transport and was supposed to be decided upon before the end of last year as regards CVRT on vintage vehicles, is It Shane Ross's department now?

246. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the position regarding a review of the national car test policy for vintage cars; and if he will make a statement on the matter. (Question 27917/15 asked on 08 Jul 2015 - National Car Test)

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (Deputy Paschal Donohoe): The review by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) of the arrangements in relation to the roadworthiness testing of vintage vehicles will be examined by my officials for submission of recommendations to me which I will consider in due course. Given the pressures of other work in my Department, this matter will be dealt with later in 2015.
 ...

Its on that looooong finger...hope it doesnt come back to probe us in the bum...:)

elperello

hi5 wrote: »

What ever happened to the RSA report that was submitted to the department of Transport and was supposed to be decided upon before the end of last year as regards CVRT on vintage vehicles, is It Shane Ross's department now?

246. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the position regarding a review of the national car test policy for vintage cars; and if he will make a statement on the matter. (Question 27917/15 asked on 08 Jul 2015 - National Car Test)

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (Deputy Paschal Donohoe): The review by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) of the arrangements in relation to the roadworthiness testing of vintage vehicles will be examined by my officials for submission of recommendations to me which I will consider in due course. Given the pressures of other work in my Department, this matter will be dealt with later in 2015.
 ...

Yes Shane Ross is Minister for Transport Tourism and Sport. He is an Independent and seems like an approachable sort of man. I wonder has anyone asked him about the review lately?

He might be well disposed to the classic car enthusiasts who do their bit for Tourism and Sport while raising funds for local good causes. What's not to like?!!

pryantcc

Got the thing from Shannon and back into the NCT centre today to pay. I just got blank stares when I repeated that I had no intention of using the machine commercially, don't own a company, etc. However, she held fast that it HAS to be registered as a commercial vehicle given that she deemed only 2 of the 5 seats fitted to be "Seats". So, it has to be registered and tested as a commercial vehicle regardless of how it will be used.
No way to appeal either, apparently.

It just doesn't make sense that a LandCruiser, Amazon, for example, can be either a commercial or passenger vehicle depending on the configuration of the seats but that this machine cannot.

savagethegoat

I imagine it has to be registered commercial because the NCT has no way of testing it. Same as a motor caravan has to have a CVRT.

pryantcc

savagethegoat wrote: »

I imagine it has to be registered commercial because the NCT has no way of testing it. Same as a motor caravan has to have a CVRT.

That's precisely what confuses me, though. They can test a dirty big LandCruiser, monster Audi Q7, BMW X5, etc. (provided it has seats, whatever difference that makes!) but they can't test a pickup?!
It would be exempt from the NCT anyway because it's pre 1980, but that's beside the point.

Testacalda

I would imagine that it could be more of a weight issue, you mention in the first post that DGVW is 3,800KG. Isn't 3500kg the cut off for private and light commercials

Red Kev

If weight is an issue then you can have the DGVW reduced to 3,500kg. I presume the curb weight of the Jeep is well below 3,500kg? (A quick google suggests it's just over 2,200kg).

As 3,800 kg is written on the documents this may be diificult at first, but I know someone who had a Hiace van changed from commercial to private after they were imported. So it's not impossible.

savagethegoat

pryantcc wrote: »

That's precisely what confuses me, though. They can test a dirty big LandCruiser, monster Audi Q7, BMW X5, etc. (provided it has seats, whatever difference that makes!) but they can't test a pickup?!
It would be exempt from the NCT anyway because it's pre 1980, but that's beside the point.

but they are car-based vehicles, I don't think yours is