VAT liability when selling on imported used cars...

isnottheword

I've fallen in to a situation whereby I'm importing 2nd hand cars from the UK as a non authorised dealer, then selling them onwards. I've only done this with a couple of cars at the moment but may continue to do this as a hobby (with some financial upside).

Naturally, I understand that I have an obligation to declare as per regular tax returns. However, do I have an obligation in terms of VAT? i.e. should I be accounting for VAT when I sell a car on - on this basis? If so, would this be 23% based on the margin between the price I buy a car at - and the price I sell at?

isnottheword

This is the section I've found that revenue provide guidance ref. vat on 2nd hand cars.

"11. VAT due on sales of second-hand motor vehicles
In the case of Irish-registered second-hand vehicles, VAT is due on the difference between the sale price and the purchaser price of the vehicle. Under no circumstances can any portion of the price, e.g. the VRT element, be separated from the rest of the sale price when calculating the VAT liability. Where an authorised dealer brings a second-hand vehicle into the State that has been registered in another country, he/she is not obliged to register the vehicle in Tax and Duty Manual VAT and VRT on transactions involving Motor Vehicles 8 Ireland until it is being sold. At that stage, the dealer is obliged to ensure that the vehicle is registered in Ireland in the name of the purchaser (or the nominated person, where the purchaser is a company) before the vehicle is released to the purchaser. In this situation Revenue generally accepts that the portion of the sale price that represents the VRT liability is paid by the dealer in the name and on the account of the purchaser, i.e. the customer pays the VRT, and the dealer simply administers the payment from the money handed to him or her. Accordingly, the VAT liability on the sale by an authorised motor dealer of a secondhand vehicle, brought into the State from another country, is generally calculated on the VRT-exclusive amount received from the customer. (This also applies in the case of a new vehicle sold by an authorised dealer prior to being registered in Ireland.) In the case of the sale of a second-hand vehicle by any person other than an authorised dealer, a VAT liability arises on the full VRT-inclusive amount received, and no adjustment is allowed."

I guess I'm not an 'authorised dealer' - given that I'm not VAT registered either, then I suppose it's that last sentence that's of relevance;

"In the case of the sale of a second-hand vehicle by any person other than an authorised dealer, a VAT liability arises on the full VRT-inclusive amount received, and no adjustment is allowed."

I don't really understand. What I've read elsewhere is that you can only collect VAT if you're VAT registered??. However, I'd be liable for VAT on which amount exactly (cars are electric - so there's a refund or allowance (up to the first €5k) on VRT.
What do they mean by the full VRT inclusive amount? I charge VAT on the full cost of the car??? (if so - it seems totally unsustainable) - or I can just do so on the margin between purchase price in the UK and sales price in Ireland?