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

There's a good few Ukrainian reg cars that I see that have been here for a couple few years now. If they are ever in an accident involving a local car, that's when things get messy (for both parties).

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) useage by the Garda will begin to make this harder for people to get away with this in the future.

Could anyone clarify - for UK imports to NI, , by a garage. Then when I buy and import to ROI( to be only paying VRT, except from VAT ,customs duty )

Does the car then have to be registered by private individual/address for 3 months. I am getting conflicting information from the dealer…. (they say all you need is a document showing the car has been imported under windsor framework, it only has 1 registered owner from car check, the owner from new in UK)

Looking at revenue website, Thats all they say you need?

https://www.revenue.ie/en/vrt/registration-of-imported-used-vehicles/registering-vehicles-from-ni.aspx

I'd asked this ages ago but I'm not sure it was answered

for the sake of it if you are doing a GB import does a trade-in have any impact on the customs and vat part of it , assuming the UK dealer will take the Irish car ( assume it used to be a UK car ) . What I am wondering is can you reduce the customs and vat exposure by the tradein value . Presumably not.

Not answering the question you have asked, but just wanted to add that if you are exporting a car out of Ireland you can get some of the vrt back. Something to think about aswell, as it will reduce the cost. There is a bit of criteria for this, but it's possible. 👍👍

I did it a few years ago. Check the revenue website for transfer of residence / get vrt exemption.

She would need the following. Worse case.

Diesel/petrol receipts

Motor tax documents

Insurance documents

Rental tenancy agreements

Letter from job stating that she is relocating

P45 /P60

Mot

Proof of purchase

V5

UK driving licence

All for at least 6 months

Some might say this is over the top, but revenue love to ask for more documents. But when you hit them with all these they won't have nothing to say. Also you need to fill in a vrt exemption form which asks if she had family back in Ireland and if she owned a house.

You kind of need to show that she moved to UK permanently and is now transferring her residence back to Ireland.

As I said I did it back in 2015 with my car so only going by what I did.

You get a letter from revenue that you need to bring to the NCT centre.

Hi all,

Looking for a bit of advice on a car I’m hoping to bring into Ireland.

It’s a 2020 Tesla Model 3, crash damaged and not repaired, and I’d love to get it as a project. It has Northern Ireland plates but no V5, and I’m trying to figure out if it was genuinely used in NI or just registered there by a dealer then coming to GB.

The MOT history shows it was tested in mainland UK, not NI, so the only thing pointing to Northern Ireland is the registration. The seller hasn’t been particularly helpful and doesn’t have any paperwork.

I know I could try applying for a replacement V5 using a V62 form, but the bigger issue is proving that the car was genuinely in Northern Ireland before 2021. Without that, I could get hit with VAT and customs charges

From what I understand, if the car was originally used in GB, I’d need a customs declaration showing it entered NI under the Windsor Framework. Otherwise I’ll get hit with customs and VAT here. The problem is I don’t have that declaration and the seller doesn’t either.

I’ve asked for the VIN to check its history, but while I wait, I was hoping someone here might know:

1. Is there any way to confirm if a car was genuinely in NI before 2021 without a V5 or ferry ticket
2. Has anyone dealt with a similar situation where the car had NI plates but no real NI history
3. Can a customs agent file a declaration after the fact, or is that just not realistic these days
   

I’d really appreciate any advice. I’d love to get this one over the line if it’s possible.
Thanks in advance

Yeah, I know they won’t post the V5 outside the UK. I’ve seen some NI address forwarding services and a few lads on DoneDeal offer to sort it for €250. I’ve also got a friend in the mainland UK, but not ideal. Still figuring out the best option.

You know, that’s actually not a bad idea. I was really focused on finding a Northern Ireland car, but going for a mainland UK one and then changing it over might be a lot more straightforward. I can sort tax and insurance on it myself. I’ll definitely look into that, thanks for the tip.

I’ve bought a vehicle in NI with a UK reg and am going to register it in my name to a Northern address for 3 months. Can I then sell that car to a family member so they could import it