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

Kotek Besar · 17-04-2010 5:01pm

Shoneen wrote: »

At least the petrol is cheaper in Ireland.

Used to be.. Tesco is now 131.9 - and that's the cheapest garage in Waterford.

Esel · 17-04-2010 5:13pm

Tesco Clearwater (Dublin) is 133.9 today.

Careful · 19-04-2010 8:25am

Shoneen wrote: »

My question is whether I'm allowed to bring back two cars without paying VRT or whether the transfer of residence exemption limits each person to one car.

Hello, one car per person every five years, have a look on the VRT section of [url]www.revenue.ie:[/url] http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/leaflets/vrt1.html

Sinister747 · 19-04-2010 12:47pm

Hi All,

I have a problem and i really need someones help, i didn't follow the guide and bought a used 00 MK4 GOLF up the North. The car was in terrible nick and i have fixed it up now (still worked out cheaper) however i think i have an issue with transfering ownership.

The seller gave me one half of the DVLA book which contains section 8-11 which to my knowledge is the way it works, however he did not complete any of the boxes for declaration etc... does he need to do this or do i just bring the car, dvla book and money to the Revenue and they will transfer it?

Please let me know as i want to get the car transferred thanks

Kind Regards,
Sinister747

macplaxton · 19-04-2010 9:49pm

Careful wrote: »

Hello, one car per person every five years, have a look on the VRT section of www.revenue.ie: http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/leaflets/vrt1.html

Looking at the wording:
"if you were working abroad on a task of duration of more than one year and you have been granted tax relief in respect of another vehicle in the previous 5 years."

It's not the same thing.

The Form C&E 1077 notes:
"1. Where more than one vehicle is involved a separate form should be completed for each vehicle."

Shoneen · 20-04-2010 7:26pm

Thanks again for the advice - the wording is a bit ambiguous but it does look like the five year rule applies to a previous instance rather than prohibiting two cars at once. The wording also refers to "vehicle(s)" so I guess I'm going to be okay on this one.

Probably best to give the Revenue a call first though just to be sure.

Cheers,

Esel · 20-04-2010 8:26pm

Careful wrote: »

Hello, one car per person every five years, have a look on the VRT section of www.revenue.ie: http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/leaflets/vrt1.html

Hello, not the case. The link you quoted does not refer to TOR (Transfer of Residence), btw.

Shoneen wrote: »

Thanks again for the advice - the wording is a bit ambiguous but it does look like the five year rule applies to a previous instance rather than prohibiting two cars at once. The wording also refers to "vehicle(s)" so I guess I'm going to be okay on this one.

+1

Shoneen wrote: »

Probably best to give the Revenue a call first though just to be sure.

A good idea. Just don't get told the wrong thing - if it's not going your way, ask them are they suuure, and if necessary, ask to speak to someone else....

tipptom · 24-04-2010 6:19pm

was thinking of buying a car out of uk auction house and bringing it home and trying to turn a few quid on it(2008 on),know its a bit riskier,was wondering is it best to hold on to it the way it is until someone is interested or would i have to register in my name first,anyone any advice on this?.

The_Conductor · 24-04-2010 7:19pm

tipptom wrote: »

was thinking of buying a car out of uk auction house and bringing it home and trying to turn a few quid on it(2008 on),know its a bit riskier,was wondering is it best to hold on to it the way it is until someone is interested or would i have to register in my name first,anyone any advice on this?.

Second hand prices here have fallen significantly in the past 18 months- I really think you'd be hard pressed to make this worth your while. Also- you have a limit on the number of vehicles you can bring over like this- before you're classified as a dealer- with a whole new set of rules and obligations......

DUBLINHITMAN · 24-04-2010 11:08pm

im actually looking at a e92 320d msport coupe and cant figure out which c02 it is
on the vrt calculator
its advertised as the dynamics engine so im choosing 128 c02 option and the vrt is
4217 euro

am i choosing the right option here it seems ok, but Its still a stinger to pay for plates

any help would be great

dergside · 25-04-2010 10:37pm

tipptom wrote: »

was thinking of buying a car out of uk auction house and bringing it home and trying to turn a few quid on it(2008 on),know its a bit riskier,was wondering is it best to hold on to it the way it is until someone is interested or would i have to register in my name first,anyone any advice on this?.

Technically, you have to declare the car before the end of the next working day. You could keep it on UK plates but there is a risk if its spotted by the Revenue or a neighbour drops a dime. The only (legal) way to keep it on UK plates is to be registered with the VRO and there are a bunch of requirements for that. You'll also have issues with insurance, in theory your personal policy won't cover you on this car. If you sell the car on the basis of a private seller then you'll be mis-representing yourself. If you represent yourself as a trader then there will be a more onerous requirement to stand over the car and any faults, etc.

On the other hand, if you ignore the theory, you stand a greater risk of getting burned if you pony up the VRT money and have trouble moving the car on or getting the price you anticipate.

Having bought cars for myself at auction in the UK and helped some friends do the same over the years I can say for sure that you really need to know what you are doing, its not for the faint hearted. You have the risk of buying with little time or information to evaluate the car. You need to have a really good idea about typical prices at auction in the UK and the REAL value of the car on this side. Between auction fees, travel costs, getting the car home, etc. there will be a good few hundred notes of expense that you need to factor in to the maths of whether its worth your while. I've walked away from far more cars than I've bought at auction for good reason and there are loads of cars that will not turn you a profit. You need to be sure you know which ones will.

tipptom · 26-04-2010 10:53am

thanks for the info,agree with you 1oo% on the auctions there and not much time and the expenses,bought an avensis over there at blackbushe,when i looked at the service record it had a repair from toyota for 5 grand along with it not being not as valuble as i thought in ireland,anyway left it in england to be sold,(still will make a profit).i might go down the small trader route,was wondering can i not sell as sold as seen this way, or where i would get info in to what the requirments are and the costs to set up as i would only want to vrt after selling and have deposit.

dergside · 26-04-2010 2:18pm

If you are acting in the course of a trade then there are consumer rights that a buyer will have that are difficult to walk away from, whether you sell as seen or not. Simply by being a trader (and this can be inferred from your actions even if you haven't registered for VAT, etc.) you have a higher duty of care to a consumer. It is assumed that you are acting from a position of power in the transaction because you have specialist knowledge associated with the trade. Your duty of care to the consumer is higher than in a transaction between 2 consumers or 2 traders.

A bit of googling on consumer rights in Ireland and things like Sale of Goods Acts should clarify. Taking actions to hide or misrepresent your status in a transation to limit your exposure (e.g. to represent yourself as a consumer rather than a trader in a transaction with another consumer) would be frowned upon in a big way if it came up in the context of another issue in the transaction, e.g. a complaint.

tipptom · 26-04-2010 7:59pm

see what you mean,probably have go down the trader route as a few small traders near me,dont think they would be to impressed to hear i was flogging stuff around them no matter how friendly we are,but i know they aint so hot after a sale goes through standing over stuff. Thinking of trying to specialise in 7 seaters(quashqais+2s and fords maybe)up the years might lessen my exposure to comebacks and might still have some warranty.

cormie · 12-05-2010 6:21am

Hi there,
I've imported a van before and have just imported another one from the UK but my memory has faded. Can I get a DOE test done with the document/receipt from the VRO office as soon as I pay the VRT, or do I have to wait for them to issue the cert? Would like to get it all sorted as soon as possible. I also forget whether I need a weight cert? I can get one easy enough at the waste facility where I've an account from their weigh bridge. I think this is needed for the DOE as opposed to the VRO office though?

What's the quickest time the whole process can be completed in I wonder?

petem · 16-05-2010 2:53pm

We live in ROI but have a legitimate business in NI, which employs 20 people. We intend to buy a car in NI in the the company name, but for our use.

Will we get hit for anything doing this {other than BIK tax?}. Or should we import a car?

The_Conductor · 17-05-2010 10:10am

petem wrote: »

We live in ROI but have a legitimate business in NI, which employs 20 people. We intend to buy a car in NI in the the company name, but for our use.

Will we get hit for anything doing this {other than BIK tax?}. Or should we import a car?

Your PPR is in the Irish Republic.
The car is intended for personal use.
You are not entitled to purchase it in the business name up North and use it for personal use down South.

You could potentially be accused of tax evasion in two seperate jurisdictions........

Kotek Besar · 17-05-2010 11:30am

smccarrick wrote: »

Irish Republic

:eek:

petem · 17-05-2010 1:10pm

Sorry I should have been clearer. The car will be used for business purposes both in ROI and NI, and UK. We have to drive it quite a lot for business purposes. In a couple of weeks we are doing a 2 week business tour of UK, hence why we want a new car.

How would we get done for tax evasion? I can see no reason for this? We have a very legitimate business, we are buying a car for. Yes there will be a personal use element but there will be a business use element as well. We will be declaring the personal use element and paying tax on that? Am I missing something?

Just because we live in ROI, something I am increasingly reconsidering, can the ROI govt force NI businesses to buy ROI cars? Surely this is against some european ruling somewhere? Surely this puts me at an competitive disadvantage forcing me to pay nearly double for a car compared to my NI competitors?

If car prices were not so ridiculously high in ROI this would not be an issue.

The_Conductor · 17-05-2010 3:27pm

petem wrote: »

Sorry I should have been clearer. The car will be used for business purposes both in ROI and NI, and UK. We have to drive it quite a lot for business purposes. In a couple of weeks we are doing a 2 week business tour of UK, hence why we want a new car.

How would we get done for tax evasion? I can see no reason for this? We have a very legitimate business, we are buying a car for. Yes there will be a personal use element but there will be a business use element as well. We will be declaring the personal use element and paying tax on that? Am I missing something?

Just because we live in ROI, something I am increasingly reconsidering, can the ROI govt force NI businesses to buy ROI cars? Surely this is against some european ruling somewhere? Surely this puts me at an competitive disadvantage forcing me to pay nearly double for a car compared to my NI competitors?

If car prices were not so ridiculously high in ROI this would not be an issue.

If your Principle Private Residence is in the Irish Republic- and you wish to privately drive a car in the Irish Republic- you have 24 hours from date of first bringing it into the country to register it in the Irish Republic. If you are driving it for work related purposes, as far as I know- you have 6 months to IE register it (it used to be 12 months- this was reduced in 2007).

You cannot drive a foreign registered vehicle indefinitely in the Irish Republic- irrespective of whether its for work or personal use.

NI businesses with branches in the Republic (where applicable) supply their staff with Irish registered vehicles. E.g. Ulster Bank branch managers- who may be working in NI or England very frequently- and are entitled to a company car, as part of their contracts- have Irish registered vehicles- not UK registered vehicles.

Your best bet is to contact Revenue and ask them informally for an opinion- your PPR being in the Irish Republic will most probably be the decider on this one........

petem · 17-05-2010 4:03pm

I can see the reasoning behind the NI banks with ROI branches, but we have no branch or business in ROI. We only have a UK based business. We commute every single day to NI. Our landlord has put it in writing, for security reasons we cannot keep the car at the unit we rent.

Yes our PPR is in ROI but we will not own the car, a NI registered business will. The car will be driven more so in NI rather than ROI.

petem · 17-05-2010 4:18pm

Thinking about this further, it would mean that if we have any ROI based employees that were issued company cars - we would potentially have to buy cars which were x2 the price.

Therefore the message would be never ever employ ROI based people as they will cost twice as much.

R.O.R · 17-05-2010 4:32pm

petem wrote: »

I can see the reasoning behind the NI banks with ROI branches, but we have no branch or business in ROI. We only have a UK based business. We commute every single day to NI. Our landlord has put it in writing, for security reasons we cannot keep the car at the unit we rent.

Yes our PPR is in ROI but we will not own the car, a NI registered business will. The car will be driven more so in NI rather than ROI.

I believe there is an expemtion for VRT if the vehicle is used primarily in NI, and is owned by a NI company, but the driver lives south of the border.

Very few expemptions are granted, and you'd have to satisfy the revenue comission's criteria - and carry the exemption around with you.

Best bet is to contact your local revenue office and explain the situation.

A customer of mine informed me of this a couple of weeks ago. They have a driver living in Monaghan who works full time in NI, and they have an NI Lease vehicle for him.

rebel.ranter · 17-05-2010 4:40pm

I know someone who lives in West Cork & legitimately drives a UK registered car for their job. He does get a bit of hassle about it but has all the necessary paperwork with him.

petem · 17-05-2010 4:58pm

It would appear we are OK to do this, we just have to apply for approval.

State Resident driving foreign registered vehicles for business use:
A state resident can drive a foreign registered vehicle for business use under the following circumstances:

A State resident who is employed by an employer established in another Member State may, on application to the Revenue Commissioners, be approved to use a Category A vehicle or a motor-cycle registered in another Member State (either owned or leased by the employer) for business/private use in the State. However, the vehicle must be used primarily in the other Member State. (Application forms for this temporary exemption are available from Vehicle Registration Offices )

EPM · 18-05-2010 9:27am

rebel.ranter wrote: »

I know someone who lives in West Cork & legitimately drives a UK registered car for their job. He does get a bit of hassle about it but has all the necessary paperwork with him.

I don't know if it is the same but I also know someone who does it with a work van. No signage on it or anything and gets no trouble.

Eoin · 18-05-2010 4:05pm

Off topic posts deleted, take the pedantry elsewhere please.

opinion guy · 28-05-2010 10:22am

OK I'm looking at importing form the UK - most likely a car either older thant 6 months or with > 6000km. But I a bit confused on the exact steps in the process and I'm hoping you fine experts can help me clear some things up.

So I buy my car in the Uk from dealer and bring it back. I know I have to get to VRT office within 24 hours. But some things I'm not sure of:

1) Do I have to get the car inspected at some point along the way. If so - who does this and when/where/what stage int he process? I've seen this mentioned in the first post in this thread but this is from 2004 so I'm not sure what current process is.

2) So given that car would be older than 6 months or greater than 6000km you don't have to pay Irish VAT is my understanding. Can you still claim back British VAT (I'm assuming buying from a garage you are still paying VAT - thou perhaps I'm wrong ??)

Apologies if these qeustions have been asked before but thread is 132 pages long!!!!

DrBB · 28-05-2010 1:29pm

In an effort to be 'expedient', when taxing the car in the UK the garage sent off the V5C form to the DVLA to re-register the car to my UK address(!) which they were asked not to ;(

All I have left are sections 10+11 of the V5C.

From googling it seems the DVLA are only promising a 2-4 week turnaround on the paperwork.

Are there any known ways to go ahead with paying VRT/registering the car without the full form?

Stevie Dakota · 28-05-2010 2:35pm

1) Do I have to get the car inspected at some point along the way. If so - who does this and when/where/what stage int he process? I've seen this mentioned in the first post in this thread but this is from 2004 so I'm not sure what current process is.
Not sure what you mean by this but quick answer is no, the VRT office will want to look at the car but other thanthere are no other inspections required. Needless to say you should get any car checked out by the AAor similar before buying, but this is entirely up to you.

2) So given that car would be older than 6 months or greater than 6000km you don't have to pay Irish VAT is my understanding. Can you still claim back British VAT (I'm assuming buying from a garage you are still paying VAT - thou perhaps I'm wrong ??)
Not sure about this but would be interested in the answer, if you are VAT registered here I can't see why you couldn't by the car ex UK VAT. Anyone done this?

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

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