Importing from the UK - definitive guide (Q and A)

mickdw

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121435433#Comment_121435433

If selling to you on irish plates, I doubt you will make any great saving as they will be doing exactly the same as every other Irish dealer so profit margins should be similar.

Foxx92

I've seen in mentioned a lot that for customs and vat to be exempt it must have been registered in NI prior to 01.01.2021 and this makes sense. What is the story with, for example, a NI car with one owner that was first and only registered in NI on 03.01.2021? This piece below seems to suggest it is exempt but I'm not sure.

"Customs Declaration Not Required

• Vehicles whose first registration in the UK was in NI and have never been exported or re-registered in GB or any other country outside the EU can be registered with no customs obligations in ROI. Supporting documentation may be required."

Foxx92

Say this car, https://www.usedcarsni.com/2021-Peugeot-208-100kW-Allure-Premium-50kWh-5dr-Auto-314932088. If its only been registered in NI then is it still chargeable for duties and vat?

skinny90

Anyone know how long it takes for a new stat code to added.

Its mad really, I have a rare enough model, the exact model as per the V5 is on the list with revenue but on the revenue side the difference in BHP between whats on their side vs the V5 is 4 so that warrants a new stat code.

They submitted my application Monday last week but I havnt heard back.

Any ideas?

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121442339#Comment_121442339

Usually 7 to 10 days. Sometimes you don’t hear back. Just go to the VRT centre if its not far from you and it will probably be ready. Or you can call the helpline and they’ll tell you.

mickdw

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121441928#Comment_121441928

As far as I'm aware, any new car registered in NI after brexit is exempt but it has to have been there from new and remained registered there until you export it.

A car pre registered or used as a demo in uk and then brought to NIwould be no good so you need to be careful.re what you.are actually buying.

poker--addict

What dictates that a 2021 car is vat qualifying or not

Marcusm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121455939#Comment_121455939

Whether or not it has always been owned by a VAT registered person (such as a business or a car subject to lease or PCP type finance) who is required to account for VAT on the sale (having recovered the VAT on the purchase). On Autotrader they are often specified as such.

poker--addict

After seeking clarification- it seems one car i was looking at was owned by a company - and being 3 years old or less, it means paying the difference in VAT - extra 3%, but the other was owned privately, so liable for full Irish VAT on top of whatever is paid to showroom. That sound coherent?

As a recap both 2021 cars are on UK reg in two different NI showrooms.

obi604

This popped in latest posts. A good few years ago I went to England myself and got a car etc.

just wondering really - has this practice fallen off a cliff in last couple of years?

poker--addict

Yes both Brexit and exchange rates, mainly Brexit.

mickdw

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121457052#Comment_121457052

There is no mechanism for you as a private person to just pay 3 percent vat as you cannot claim back the uk vat.

As i said before, if a vat registered dealer here bought that vat qualifying car, they would.claim back uk vat and pay irish vat amounting to 3 percent overall.

This is not open to you unless the dealer in question is operating in the south. They should then be presenting you the car on irish plates and in this case, all you should be considering is final price.

poker--addict

They could operate in south and still present car with U.K. plates could they not? So what they may mean is add 3% onto the price of the car (and they manage VAT).

mickdw

I think you are heading for a situation where you get scammed by the salesman telling you what you want to hear.

It's quite simple. Buy a NI car that qualifies for vat and duty exemption coming in here or buy in South on Irish plates.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121464438#Comment_121464438

The dealer needs to give you a 20% discount in order for you to only have a 3% difference to pay. Regardless of a car being VAT qualifying or not you still need to pay 23% Irish VAT when importing here. Theres no other way.

If they have a business here in Ireland it may be different but if you buy the car on UK plates for full price you will be paying full UK fat and full Irish VAT.

You should really clarify what they mean exactly about this 3% difference in VAT.

poker--addict

Yes now looks like what is meant is they sell via their company down south, customer pays full Irish vat - and UK vat is not customers concern (either they get it refunded or it is not qualifying). So reference to 3% is just what you add onto the price. All things being equal there should be little or no saving - but there is still a saving - possibly a coincidence - down to price point, and supply and demand on make and model (35,000e v 40-42,000e)

poker--addict

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121464505#Comment_121464505

It is one of the large reputable dealers.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121465881#Comment_121465881

Still makes no sense to me. What about the 10% customs duty and the VRT?

mickdw

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121465885#Comment_121465885

You have been told multiple times.

It's not a runner. It won't work out like you think. Salesman in NI doesn't care if you never managed to register it in South as long as he gets paid and it drives out the gate.

Tomcat007

Are there any main risks associated with importing a car from the UK/NI? For example if I bought a BMW - I'm not so sure that BMW dealers in ROI would continue its warranty if it was under warranty in UK/NI at the time of import.

Would it be more difficult to sell it on in the ROI a few years down the road?

Or is it all much of a muchness?

Any advice is appreciated.

bazz26

Original BMW 3 year manufacturer's warranty on a UK is still valid here. BMW Ireland and BMW UK are the same distributor for both countries so technically they are covering warranty work. Most of my BMWs have been used UK imports and never had any problem getting warranty work done or trading them here afterwards.

Troy McClure

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121466384#Comment_121466384

Mick,

You seem to have a good grasp of this. I called the VRT and Customs yesterday to get some info. When I mentioned to the Customs guy, about the 1 Jan 2001 pre brexit date for bringing down a an NI car to avoid VAT and customs, he said as long as the car started it's life in NI, it would not have Customs or VAT even its newer than that! (Exception been within 6 months old or 6k KM where it's classed as a new car.)

I had read this date in a few places, and was focusing on it, along with sourcing an NI car, to avoid the charges. He also said that a car that originated from UK mainland, even if shown to be in NI since before that date would attract customs. So not sure he is on top of his brief but he sounded very knowledgeable. He kept saying you should get an import agent to do it, but concluded by saying until a car is presented to custome you won't know as the law is constantly changing with this around brexit.

Any tips around this and even in sourcing a car (apart from Autotrader or usedcarsni ) would be much appreciated.

mickdw

Ya cars that are registered new in NI after brexit and remained registered there can be brought in here without vat or duty.

He is wrong regarding uk cars being in NI pre brexit. The only thing that might have changed regarding that is the level of proof required.

They were originally excepting ferry tickets and haulage dockets but as time goes by, they may be looking for more info to confirm this as very few cars would still be hanging around NI without having been sold or put to use since 2021 so more proof perhaps required of being in NI genuinely since before brexit. Ideally at this stage, I'd be looking at NI plate cars only with registration to current owner in NI pre brexit. Or cars registered from new in NI after brexit.

The problem with the newer NI cars is that you need to be sure they were first registered in NI and not ex uk pre reg or demo cars. You would need to see V5 and see that there are no previous keepers.

Stock levels are sh1t in NI though.

Troy McClure

So if I can find a 2022 VW for example, as long as the car started it's life in NI it will only incur VRT charges? V5 would establish this I assume.

Before 1st Jan 2021 anything goes, as long as it has spent the time since then in NI, and you can establish this fact? Would service history be enough or are there other lines of proof they'll accept?

This must put original NI cars at a premium then and people in NI would be better off buying used cars from other parts of UK.

mickdw

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121503481#Comment_121503481

This would be my understanding re the 2022 car yes.

Re pre brexit Imports to NI, I'd say a car sitting in a NI dealers since Dec 2020 might be lacking sufficient proof at this stage. I'd be happiest buying a pre brexit import to NI that has since been sold to a NI resident and being sold on again as then you will have v5 showing when it came into north.

Good point re the NI car market. You will see a huge amount of used uk cars coming in to north. I'd say a large proportion of original ni cars that will be traded in would come down South but they know what they are worth at the same time.

Troy McClure

I take your point on finding a car with a V5 that has this clarity to it. Problem here is then your buying a car that maybe has had 3 owners. Possibly not a good sign for the car itself.

One thing I have seen btw is just because a car has an NI plate doesnt mean it's originally an NI car, as plates can be changed in the UK. If a car had a personalised plate when new and brought into the north then the owner would have kept their plate and car would get an NI plate. Just an example.

If I was a used car buyer in the North I would be buying an mainland uk car to get better value, as you would'nt be competing against buyers down here. From our perspective we are hoping this is happening to keep the NI cars competitive price wise. Used car prices in England have softened a bit from what I read.

So the Jan 1st 2021 date is only relevant if the car you are looking at originated from the mainland uk, and is completely irrelevant if a car originated in NI.

mickdw

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121505505#Comment_121505505

Re your last paragraph. You are correct as long as a car that originated in NI didn't do a spell registered in mainland uk. That would again make the brexit date relevant.

In my opinion, you need to look for a v5 with NI owner and zero previous owners for NI cars 2021 onwards or v5 with NI owner prior to brexit for other stuff.

Depending on a haulage receipt is imo taking a risk when this far removed from brexit date.

Re private plates in uk etc, well all new cars get a proper age related plate and get swapped onto the private one.

In any event, the v5 should tell a tale. If it was an ex uk car moved to NI with same owner, at the minimum the updated v5 with northern address would have the later date so would need looking into.

mulbot

Hi. I've a query regarding buying a car from Northern Ireland if anyone can help or guide me. The car is an A180, 2016,dealer says it was first registered in Northern Ireland, and has had 1 owner. My understanding is this particular car will only be chargeable for VRT, is this correct?

What documents should I be looking for from the dealer. Thanks

mickdw

In that case, the car should be on NI plate and the V5 registration document should show the owner with an NI address and importantly the section with number of previous owners should show zero.

If all that is correct, the car is good for coming south. If not, you need to look deeper. If there was 1 previous owner recorded for example, you would need the date of ownership of that owner to be pre brexit as who is to know whether it would have been an ex uk car in that scenario.

The one thing you dont do is take the salesmans word for anything.

mulbot

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121516245#Comment_121516245

OK thanks for that. I never thought about the situation for previous owner. Hopefully it's as he described but yep, I know what salespeople can be like..