MGB not qualified as vintage because of interior change

Pieterblurb

I brought in a 1971 MGB GT from the UK this Monday and had started the customs declaration. Customs have now come back saying the car does not qualify for vintage because the interior was changed in 2019. I am very surprised by that. It is true that the seats and bench have been re-upholstered in a different color and the mats replaced. I am fairly pee'd off by this now and liable to another 10% to the state...

Is there any point in appealing this?

Shoog

Absolutely - but as I understand it you pay and then appeal. Many appeals are successful.

Stephenc66

How was the interior change flagged? I can imagine there are hundreds of restored classic cars that have been through vrt with out issue.

Or is this a post Brexit thing?

Pieterblurb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120929733#Comment_120929733

Ok, thanks, that is useful to know.

Pieterblurb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120929751#Comment_120929751

I bought the car from an auction so i guess they looked up the sales pitch/car description. I am surprised by the detail they seem to go through.

Shoog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120929991#Comment_120929991

To be frank they are low grade arsehole civil servants. They think they are been clever.

You can't get a reasonable decision until you go up a grade by appealing. Its a totally untenable position to take since almost all vintage cars will have major repairs and upgrades over the years.

Pieterblurb

I feel like being kept at ransom with this kind of thing. Anyway, I will have no choice to pay up and appeal. Any experience on how to appeal?

Shoog

We did it once on an inherited car which was exempt, went smoothly but they did a bit of face saving demands of letters from other beneficiaries.

JP 1800

The vintage status is based on the year of registration of the chassis number and not the interior or engine number etc. Land rovers can have a new cab on a "vintage" chassis to get vintage status, so why would interior make a difference. You can state that the interior was restored which would be the same as a majority of vintage vehicles at some stage. As stated earlier it is just some jobsworths making things difficult.

JP 1800

The only exception to this rule would be Q cars which are kit cars and they have a Q registration and based on the registration year when the kit car was presented for inspection

Ryano87

I'm not sure on this one. I think an appeal won't be successful.

If I am understanding this correctly the amount of VAT being applied is 23% as opposed to 13.5% which applies to "collectibles".

This is a total grey area and I believe you are unfortunate but I think the car would have to be largely original to qualify for the lower rate of VAT so revenue are correct on this occasion (pity the ad highlights the new interior and purchasers will have to be wary of things like this going forward).

The "vintage" land Rovers (rebodied chassis') wouldn't get in on the lower rate either tbh.

Nice B's are getting thin on the ground I've noticed so even if you are stung for the 10% you've a lovely car which will hopefully bring you good times. The additional VAT will be forgotten about after a few nice sunny spins.

hoodie6029

This is ridiculous, they might as well charge you extra for an upgraded stereo or a new cabriolet roof. It’s not like you’ve stuffed a new interior in the boot and are trying to avoid the customs on it. Or got some work done on the car in England and are trying to avoid VAT.

The work was done before the withdrawal agreement was even drafted. They were still farting around in the High Court and lying to the Queen about proroguing parliament back then.

Best of luck with the appeal.

When you have to deal with pettiness and downright obstruction like this, any wonder people were just buying tax books off DoneDeal for years?

kdevitt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120953409#Comment_120953409

Its nothing to do with Brexit - it predates that by years. Its do to with the treatment of duty on vintage cars - EU ruling says they're exempt, but also says they must be in original condition. Cars are never presented for inspection for VAT and customs purposes, so does seem odd how this flagged this.

Heres the criteria -

• 1. Heading 9705 includes collectors motor vehicles of historical or ethnographic interest which are:
  • (a) in their original state, without substantial changes to the chassis, body, steering, braking, transmission or suspension system and engine. Repairing and restoring is allowed, and broken or worn-out parts, accessories and units can/have been replaced, provided that the vehicle is preserved and maintained in the historically correct condition. Modernised or modified vehicles are excluded;
  • (b) in case of motor vehicles at least thirty years old, in case of aircraft at least fifty years old;
  • (c) of a model or type which is no longer in production.

You might be able to argue that the interior change was a restoration / repair.

hoodie6029

That’s great info to have. Was looking at a Merc 123 with a 4.2 v8 conversion on the UK a few years ago. Glad I didn’t now, I’d probably have had some hassle registering it.

kdevitt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120958229#Comment_120958229

The criteria above is purely to determine if the car can pass customs clearance without incurring duty - you can still register a modified 30 year old car easily, it'll just cost 10% more if revenue decide its not original (and its still odd they picked up on this MG - they don't inspect the cars!). Had you been looking at the car pre-Brexit there would have been no issue anyway - because it wouldn't have been subject to either VAT or duty.

Pieterblurb

I ended up not having to pay the 10% customs duty. I had to list all 'modifications' done to the car (?) and only thing i could do was list all invoices that came with the car. After a couple of days Revenue decided payment was not required.

I went to the VRT office and paperwork was all in order but VRT could not be confirmed straight away. The car was categorised to be checked by Revenue (?). It took a couple of days again and received a message that the VRT was now known. €200 + 14 for tyres.

It took a while but everything is now in order.

By the way 13.5% VAT could not be applied.

Thanks for all the information, happy motoring!

kdevitt

Yep, they waive the duty and apply the 23% VAT normally. Sounds like a good result either way!

w124man

The VAT rate is 23% but there are some saying that its 13.5%. The 13.5% rate is for cars that have a specific historical value and are not been driven on the roads here. Good customs agents will confirm that if you get the lower VAT rate you literally cant drive the car home!

Talk to CarClear.ie its what they do