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

spuddy

Trying to summarise things as I see them (excluding cars under 6 months/6k km)

1) You can buy any UK registered car in NI without attracting VAT or customs duties. This can include cars originally registered in GB, providing there's proof it was imported/sold by a NI dealer, per what I understand. You pay the VRT when registering here, exactly as pre-Brexit.

2) You can buy any UK registered car in GB. On arrival here, you'll need to pay IE VAT, VRT, and an import tariff if it was manufactured outside the UK. Ideally you'd buy as a UK VAT-free export, as it's more cashflow efficient (but if not, assume you can reclaim the UK VAT from HRMC afterwards?).

3) Resumption of the margin scheme in NI is probably good for the average punter here wishing to buy a car from a dealer in NI, however it does put ROI dealers at a disadvantage, as they require more capital to buy GB stock, to cover the VAT (& duties if applicable) when they import them.

Throw stones!

Car99

spuddy wrote: »

Trying to summarise things as I see them (excluding cars under 6 months/6k km)

1) You can buy any UK registered car in NI without attracting VAT or customs duties. This can include cars originally registered in GB, providing there's proof it was imported/sold by a NI dealer, per what I understand. You pay the VRT when registering here, exactly as pre-Brexit.

2) You can buy any UK registered car in GB. On arrival here, you'll need to pay IE VAT, VRT, and an import tariff if it was manufactured outside the UK. Ideally you'd buy as a UK VAT-free export, as it's more cashflow efficient (but if not, assume you can reclaim the UK VAT from HRMC afterwards?).

3) Resumption of the margin scheme in NI is probably good for the average punter here wishing to buy a car from a dealer in NI, however it does put ROI dealers at a disadvantage, as they require more capital to buy GB stock, to cover the VAT (& duties if applicable) when they import them.

Throw stones!

Nobody knows or nobody is telling. Eventually the facts will become commonish knowledge and we can again make a decision on whether value can be had buying in the uk or ni.

MuffinsDa

Is VRT calculator on ros.ie down? I've been trying it with a number of cars and each time it tells me:

We were unable to process your enquiry. Please try again later.

Has revenue stopped providing that service due to all the confusion, or is it just a glitch?

reubenreuben

MuffinsDa wrote: »

Is VRT calculator on ros.ie down? I've been trying it with a number of cars and each time it tells me:

We were unable to process your enquiry. Please try again later.

Has revenue stopped providing that service due to all the confusion, or is it just a glitch?

It was like that last night.
Probably raising the omsp, the tight gets

deezell

reubenreuben wrote: »

It was like that last night.
Probably raising the omsp, the tight gets

I hadn't thought of that. I've already speculated that used car prices will rise due to all the new barriers to importing, but if they rise, OMSP rises, so VRT rises on the few NI reg, UK origin, VAT Qualifing cars that are available. So after several kicks in the bo**ix to put you on the floor, here's a kick in the teeth. Think it's time to let the ref stop the fight, and give in.

fryup

so as i said before, they basically don't want us importing cars....simi must have leaned on them

contrary_devil

There's something I have been trying to get my head around since Brexit became a reality, maybe someone would be able to ease the confusion in my head.
Up until the UK left the EU wouldn't all vehicles there have been in free circulation i.e. all duties and taxes paid and therefore could have been brought in here with only the VRT to pay?
Now that the UK has left the same vehicles coming in here attract duties and Irish Vat? So here's the bit that has me muddled, are we paying the duties twice?
As an example take a 2016 Peugeot 308 bought new and first registered in the UK, it would have had all applicable duties and VAT paid at the time of being purchased by its first owner. If that car had been on a garage forecourt in 2019 for sale secondhand and I decided to buy it all I had to do on bringing it into the Republic of Ireland was pay the VRT due.
Take the same car being on a UK forecourt now (February 2021) and I wanted to bring it in here I would have to pay duties and VAT along with the VRT so therefore I am paying duties again and VAT too unless I was able to get the UK seller zero rate it or claim it back from HMRC.

Explanations appreciated, thanks

Schorpio

I had the same thought, so I asked the European Commission, via the 'Your Europe Advice' portal. This is the response I got:

Dear Citizen,

Thank you for your enquiry to the Your Europe Advice service.

EU member states will treat goods entering the EU from the UK in the same way as goods entering from other non-EU countries. This means import VAT and any customs duties (tariffs) are due when the goods arrive in the EU.
It therefore appears that if the vehicle arrived in Ireland after 1st January 2021 from the UK, VAT is payable in Ireland on the import value of the vehicle. You may be able to claim reimbursement of the VAT already paid in the UK.

We trust that the above information is of assistance to you. Should you have any further queries in relation to the above or regarding protection of your rights in the EU, please do not hesitate to revert to the Your Europe Advice service: https://ec.europa.eu/eu-rights/enquiry-complaint-form/home

Yours sincerely,
Your Europe Advice

contrary_devil

Schorpio wrote: »

I had the same thought, so I asked the European Commission, via the 'Your Europe Advice' portal. This is the response I got:

They clearly didn't answer the question, not even side stepped but jumped over it.

Schorpio

I know. It was disappointing not to get a direct yes or no. However, I took from it that the history of EU VAT paid on good was effectively extinguished when the UK left, and the only rules relevant are the ones in play at the time the car is imported.

contrary_devil

I'm after sending an enquiry to the link in your post as well just to see what answer they will give me.
I think it is about time to make our TD's earn their keep and we should put this question to them, surely it can't be right, I totally understand the application of duties on goods imported into the EU from a country outside that wasn't previously a member but the situation with the UK is unique.

Car99

contrary_devil wrote: »

I'm after sending an enquiry to the link in your post as well just to see what answer they will give me.
I think it is about time to make our TD's earn their keep and we should put this question to them, surely it can't be right, I totally understand the application of duties on goods imported into the EU from a country outside that wasn't previously a member but the situation with the UK is unique.

The UK has left the EU . No TD cares about joe soap who wants to import a car from the UK to save a few bob. You could take a case to court but you'll get eaten in costs and time. It isnt worth the hassle. Accept the reality it is now 30% more expensive to import a car from the UK than it was two months ago. Game over. When irish second hand cars start to increase in price due to supply and demand going to the UK may become a financially viablel option again until then the game is over.

VRT calculator down, surely there are not bumping up the costs of VRT at this time of all times. Who is driving this. Is it the politicians or senior civil servants.

Gatster

[Deleted User] wrote: »

VRT calculator down, surely there are not bumping up the costs of VRT at this time of all times. Who is driving this. Is it the politicians or senior civil servants.

It’s been down since Sunday or Monday, which is odd as it’s never usually down this long.

bazz26

Maybe the hamster caught covid and they are waiting for his replacement to arrive?

deezell

bazz26 wrote: »

Maybe the hamster caught covid and they are waiting for his replacement to arrive?

They're probably updating it to add 23% VAT and 10% Duty on top of the average 27% VRT and €600-€4000 NOX. The mad thing is, you can still tax a '08 2l diesel with the first generation low CO2 emissions for €240 a year, and get 50mpg, even though importing this car would cost a multiple of its purchase price. So hang on to your 'smokey" diesel.

deandean

In case you're thinking of sneaking over to the UK GB to bring back a car...

https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-man-slapped-fine-after-23479237

deezell

deandean wrote: »

In case you're thinking of sneaking over to the UK GB to bring back a car...

https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-man-slapped-fine-after-23479237

That or one similar was in the papers back in May. I wonder did he travel over for the case? No, wait, he couldn't. Will he pay the fine?

Car99

deezell wrote: »

That or one similar was in the papers back in May. I wonder did he travel over for the case? No, wait, he couldn't. Will he pay the fine?

If he doesnt pay the fine a bench warrant will be issued for his arrest and next time he visits the uk and if for some reason the police run his name and DOB through their computer he will be spending a few days as a guest in one of her majesties prisons until matters are sorted.

darragh o meara

deezell wrote: »

That or one similar was in the papers back in May. I wonder did he travel over for the case? No, wait, he couldn't. Will he pay the fine?

Pretty sure it was a lad who went over for an MX5 that got caught. I remember seeing it online at the time.

dickdasr1234

Deleted User wrote: »

VRT calculator down, surely there are not bumping up the costs of VRT at this time of all times. Who is driving this. Is it the politicians or senior civil servants.

Believe it or not the VRT rates are coming down for the cleaner diesels.

I purchased a July 2018 118d in October which had the WLTP rating on the V5C (WLTP only became compulsory in September 2018). The F20 118d had a NEDC rating of 99mg compared to 115mg under WLTP.

I was charged the 17% rate for 115mg rather than the 15% for 99mg.

The VRT site at the time stated simply that you would be charged according the output shown on your V5C.

The site calculator, as it was then, was a complete mess.

The F20 models on the calculator were showing the correct outputs but there were three anonymous 'D SE 5DR AUTO' options at the bottom, one of which happened to tally with 115mg output of mine. The OMSP was also inexplicably some €2k higher.

I attempted to explain this to the girl in the NCT centre when paying but she had not the slightest notion what I was on about.

The new 2021 VRT bands show a WLTP output of 115mg attracting a rating of just 14.25% VRT.

I have appealed but am not holding my breath.

galwaytt

Deleted User wrote: »

VRT calculator down, surely there are not bumping up the costs of VRT at this time of all times. Who is driving this. Is it the politicians or senior civil servants.

Rhetorical question is rhetorical, lolz.

As of 1 mintue ago - VRT calculator is still not working. It's been down for days now at this stage.

Curious Geroge

It doesn't appear that the UK HMRC would allow you to claim back VAT on a used vehicle (different rules on new cars). In Ireland, we have the
Export Repayment Scheme but its a VRT refund and the VAT is not refundable.

The addition of VAT on the UK (non NI) import will have a huge impact on the small dealerships around the country. There appears to be restrictions on routing cars from the UK through an NI dealership. As the dealers have a pipeline of cars coming from UK auctions, you'd assume there is going to be alot of these smaller dealerships closing.

User1998

Curious Geroge wrote: »

It doesn't appear that the UK HMRC would allow you to claim back VAT on a used vehicle (different rules on new cars). In Ireland, we have the
Export Repayment Scheme but its a VRT refund and the VAT is not refundable.

The addition of VAT on the UK (non NI) import will have a huge impact on the small dealerships around the country. There appears to be restrictions on routing cars from the UK through an NI dealership. As the dealers have a pipeline of cars coming from UK auctions, you'd assume there is going to be alot of these smaller dealerships closing.

You can only claim the vat back on vat qualifying vehicles. And dealers here can claim the irish vat they pay here when they import the car. So basically they can claim the uk vat back and the irish vat, but I’m not sure if they then have to charge vat? Its all a bit confusing

reubenreuben

galwaytt wrote: »

Rhetorical question is rhetorical, lolz.

As of 1 mintue ago - VRT calculator is still not working. It's been down for days now at this stage.

Its still down, what's going on Revenue?

gally74

https://www.beckevans.co.uk/how-do-i-get-vat-back.php#:~:text=A%20VAT%20Registered%20individual%20or,VAT%20from%20the%20purchase%20price.&text=Buy%20directly%20from%20a%20UK,to%20reclaim%20the%20VAT%20yourself.

just saying

Car99

User1998 wrote: »

You can only claim the vat back on vat qualifying vehicles. And dealers here can claim the irish vat they pay here when they import the car. So basically they can claim the uk vat back and the irish vat, but I’m not sure if they then have to charge vat? Its all a bit confusing

What has stopped alot of the Car sales places importing cars along with the extra taxes is that every car is now logged on to revenue system including purchase invoices so the guys selling have got to be sure to declare every sale truthfully because if revenue come looking you better have your books in order.

deezell

User1998 wrote: »

You can only claim the vat back on vat qualifying vehicles. And dealers here can claim the irish vat they pay here when they import the car. So basically they can claim the uk vat back and the irish vat, but I’m not sure if they then have to charge vat? Its all a bit confusing

yes they have to charge VAT when they sell it.

User1998

I don’t really understand that because they already pay vat on their margin? There is no vat so to speak on second hand goods? And dealers are still getting stock from the UK and their prices haven’t exactly jumped 20%. Not disagreeing with you, just failing to understand

deezell

reubenreuben wrote: »

Its still down, what's going on Revenue?

"I'll tell yiz whats going on, yisser days of gettin cheap cars is over, by the time I pay for the Covid, ye'll be lucky to have a shirt on yer back, never mind a fancy beamer under your ar5e."

Signed

The Minister for Hardship