Walking into college this morning and saw customs officers waiting at the main gate.. stopping every NI, English reg.

There were a lot of red faces:mad: around the college with lads being given fines and 1 working day to pay VRT for their cars or else they would be seized...

Of course those who were living in the north and had a NI licence were not affected, but i felt sorry for lads who spent a lot of money on their cars having an additional payment of on average €3000 to pay , and then they will have to pay road tax... and if the car is like mine 2.0 tdi it'll be an additional €560... OUCH!!!

Any irish lads had this experince??

Edited 12 November, 200817 yr by tom1362

sounds like tax evasion to me??

If it was UK Customs there would no doubt be a fine and back dated insurance to pay too. And they'd come to your house rather than "lurk"

... i felt sorry for lads who spent a lot of money on their cars having an additional payment of on average €3000 to pay , and then they will have to pay road tax...

I have no sympathy for the tax-dodgers; there is a statistic somewhere that shows non tax compliant drivers are more likely to have no insurance cover either.

I paid 4,500 euro in VRT for my vRS which was nearly new and low mileage....****es me off that other people seem to dodge this..u can calculate the VRT online prior to buying the car so if u cant afford UK price and VRT then dont buy the car!!! I do agree that VRT is illegal and so does the EU, roll on the day its gone, it will kill Irish dealers though.

I paid 4,500 euro in VRT for my vRS which was nearly new and low mileage....****es me off that other people seem to dodge this..u can calculate the VRT online prior to buying the car so if u cant afford UK price and VRT then dont buy the car!!! I do agree that VRT is illegal and so does the EU, roll on the day its gone, it will kill Irish dealers though.

Do you really believe that the day will ever roll on:confused:, I dont, they will find a way to screw us for our cars one way or another

Which college was that? PM me if ya don't wanna post it

The Customs have copped on alright, I seen them inside Company security barriers before, try explain your way out of that one

Do you really believe that the day will ever roll on:confused:, I dont, they will find a way to screw us for our cars one way or another

Your damn right

Your dead right Bryan..it prob never will go(or will be replaced by something else), although the EU has set a date for it to go...guess we will just have to wait and see...still including VRT there are huge savings to be made on certain cars in the UK and a wider choice...take a look on cbg.ie etc. not many used vRS TDi for sale and then take a look at skoda.co.uk!

It does seem extortionate.

How does the import system work for importing cars in the UK for comparison??

Yeah, I had that last week. The Garda was as thick as champ too.

The fact I'd just come out of a garda station in an unmarked Police car didn't seem to mean much to him either...

with any luck i'll own the octavia more than 6 months before I try importing it so won't have to pay VRT... which btw is almost as much as I paid for the car in the first place!

It does seem extortionate.

How does the import system work for importing cars in the UK for comparison??

For importing to the UK, you need to pay an import duty (IIRC it's 10% of the value of the car, usually included in the cost of the car). If the car is under 10 years old it needs to pass an SVA certificate to confirm it's suitable for use on our roads, this can involve changing the speedos, fitting a foglight etc., then it needs to be MOT'd, then registered with the DVLA. For cars over 10 years old you just have to get the MOT done before registering. The whole lot usually costs less than £1500 (for a 10 grand car) so assuming current conversion rates the Irish guys are really getting ripped off by the sounds of it.

For importing to the UK, you need to pay an import duty (IIRC it's 10% of the value of the car, usually included in the cost of the car). If the car is under 10 years old it needs to pass an SVA certificate to confirm it's suitable for use on our roads, this can involve changing the speedos, fitting a foglight etc., then it needs to be MOT'd, then registered with the DVLA. For cars over 10 years old you just have to get the MOT done before registering. The whole lot usually costs less than £1500 (for a 10 grand car) so assuming current conversion rates the Irish guys are really getting ripped off by the sounds of it.

No import duty between EU members: only VAT... and local "excise" taxes such as the ones we have been discussing!!!

with any luck i'll own the octavia more than 6 months before I try importing it so won't have to pay VRT... which btw is almost as much as I paid for the car in the first place!

Just make sure you:

1. can prove the date of purchase of the vehicle in the UK, and that it was owned by you in the UK for at least 6 months.
   
2. can prove that you have been "normally resident" in the UK for the 6 months before the date of bringing the car into Ireland. They may ask you for proof of day to day living in the UK for this period, an "active Bank Account"/ utility bills in your name/ etc.
   
3. don't come to the attention of the cops/ revenue commissioners in Ireland before the date of official importing.
   

You will also have a restriction printed on the Vehicle Reg document, stating that you cannot sell the vehicle for a 12 month period from the date of registration being granted - this is not necessarily the same date of you importing. It can be a long drawn out process, but if your are legitimately importing based on a genuine TOR (Transfer of Residence) application, then persevere. The Revenue try to weed out "chancers", but if you can convince them you are on the level, then you won't have to pay VRT.

i beleive road tax, mot and insurance should all be combined as one, therefore if your road tax is out so will your insurance.

Road tax has nothing to do with insurance in relation to time. Same with MOT.

Just make sure you:

1. can prove the date of purchase of the vehicle in the UK, and that it was owned by you in the UK for at least 6 months.
   
2. can prove that you have been "normally resident" in the UK for the 6 months before the date of bringing the car into Ireland. They may ask you for proof of day to day living in the UK for this period, an "active Bank Account"/ utility bills in your name/ etc.
   
3. don't come to the attention of the cops/ revenue commissioners in Ireland before the date of official importing.
   

You will also have a restriction printed on the Vehicle Reg document, stating that you cannot sell the vehicle for a 12 month period from the date of registration being granted - this is not necessarily the same date of you importing. It can be a long drawn out process, but if your are legitimately importing based on a genuine TOR (Transfer of Residence) application, then persevere. The Revenue try to weed out "chancers", but if you can convince them you are on the level, then you won't have to pay VRT.

Thanks, but I am actually resident/working in the UK at the moment (since August), and hopefully will have owned the car more than 6 months when I have to move back to Ireland.

Edited 22 December, 200817 yr by suze