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

ella_10

I have been reading and finding out lots of stuff I need to import car from UK to Ireland. This is so helpful

A quick question I wonder if anyone could help.

I have lived in UK for over 3 years now, but foolishly only bought my car at the end of March this year. Therefore will need to wait til the end of Sept before it's in my name etc etc for 6 months until then.

Things I will have to prove residence til the reqd date in Sept are:
1.Insurance details covered til then
2.Tax covered til then
3. Phone bills til then
4. Council Tax/Elect/Gas all will be at my current UK address til then
5. V5 and car details all in my name for 6 months

HOWEVER, something I am concerned about is:
1. As a teacher, I will aim to start work in Ireland on Sept 1st..perhaps a month too early(???) to qualify for this VRT exemption.. What do you think??? any help appreciated?? Seems a shame as i seem so close to be able to qualify for this!!

2. I am also concerned that as I will be in Ireland looking for employment in Aug and potentially working there in sept(?-fingers crossed) that there may not be sufficient 'activity' on my account for two months. How much detail do they look into for this??


As my case is borderline I am unsure whether or not this will work out for me...

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU TO ANYONE WHO HAS SOME ADVICE!!

Mc-BigE

hav a look at this website for info:

http://www.cidb.ie/live.nsf/0/4a67591606e5263280256c44003a1f96?OpenDocument

you will also need proof of ferry trip in sept to qualify for 6 months rule
BTW if your car has less than 6000km on it you will have to pay irish VAT 21% on top of what you've already paid incl. uk vat (mad irish sytem)

ella_10

Proof of the ferry trip will be no problem as I intend leaving the car here til Sept...

But still wondering if i start work in Ireland before the 6 months here will I get myself in knot trying to explain that one, or is that something i just won't need to mention??

My employment in UK ceases 31st August..........

ella_10

Proof of the ferry trip will be no problem as I intend leaving the car here until the 6 months is up.. ie end of Sept...

But still wondering if i start work in Ireland before the 6 months here will I get myself in knot trying to explain that one, or is that something i just won't need to mention??

My employment in UK ceases 31st August..........

fasty

I'm looking into importing from the UK but I find the price of the car here versus the UK is almost identical.

I read on http://www.importyourcar.net that UK cars tend to be in better nick with a more complete service history. Do those who've gone through the process agree?

blastman

Based solely on my own experience of one car recently, and another car years ago, I'd say yes.

Mc-BigE

the main problem is trying to sell your existing irish car privately, before/after you import your new(er) UK car. It can take ages to sell, and can eat into your profit from your new car if you sell too cheaply.

If i was thinking of buying a car in 3 to 6 months time from now, it would be a good idea to put your existing car on Carzone.ie to sell it for the money you want.

On the other hand if a buyer comes along in ireland, you could find yourself rushing to buy the UK car and buy a lemon because of it.

The_Conductor

fasty wrote:

I'm looking into importing from the UK but I find the price of the car here versus the UK is almost identical.

I read on http://www.importyourcar.net that UK cars tend to be in better nick with a more complete service history. Do those who've gone through the process agree?

The specifications of UK cars tends to be far higher than Irish cars too. I.e. you tend to get sports packs, lux packs, leather upholstery, better stereo systems, better kitouts- than you do in comparable Irish models.

The differential of buying in the UK over Ireland changes the whole time though. The Revenue Commissioners here have recently updated all the values for second hand cars in their systems, to reflect the increased interest in second hand cars here (and the better prices they have been achieving). This new calculation adds more VRT onto UK cars coming over here- its a defacto brake on UK imports replacing the Irish secondhand car market.

worded

Hi,

Im thinking of importing a Honda Civic 2004 - 2005 from a UK Major Dealership

Whats the approx saving at best - worst (approx) I can expect for my troubles.

Im going for a low power / economic version probably.

MGrah

Asked this elsewhere, but didn't get an answer, so maybe here is a better place to ask. I've come accross a UK based dealer who will deliver cars to Ireland for 'free' (i.e. included in price) and also state that they will sell cars for export to Ireland excluding UK VAT (note: this is on used cars rather than new ones, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me) and therefore give 15% reduction on their listed price.

Question is, does this make sense for used cars? and would the buyer be liable for Irish VAT once the car enters the country?

loyatemu

MGrah wrote:

Asked this elsewhere, but didn't get an answer, so maybe here is a better place to ask. I've come accross a UK based dealer who will deliver cars to Ireland for 'free' (i.e. included in price) and also state that they will sell cars for export to Ireland excluding UK VAT (note: this is on used cars rather than new ones, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me) and therefore give 15% reduction on their listed price.

Question is, does this make sense for used cars? and would the buyer be liable for Irish VAT once the car enters the country?

either the car is new and has VAT charged on it (either here or in the UK) or its second-hand and VAT doesn't apply. If its a new car and he's not charging you VAT then you will have to pay VAT here. There's more detailed info on this earlier in this thread. Pretty sure UK VAT is 17.5%, not 15%.

yellabelly

I went through all the information on this site and read that you could have the UK VAT element removed if the car was less than 3 months old.

If you are bringing in a UK registered car the VRO will only charge VAT if the car is less than 6 months since first registration or has less than 6000 Kms on the clock.

MGrah

loyatemu wrote:

either the car is new and has VAT charged on it (either here or in the UK) or its second-hand and VAT doesn't apply. If its a new car and he's not charging you VAT then you will have to pay VAT here. There's more detailed info on this earlier in this thread. Pretty sure UK VAT is 17.5%, not 15%.

Thanks loyatemu, you promted me to go back read the detail - and seems it's only if you are VAT registered in Ireland (does appear to apply to used cars though as I can't see any new ones on the site, perhaps they can re-claim a portion of the VAT paid when new from the UK gov when the car is expoerted?).

The 15% would be the reduction rather than the add on, e.g. a €10k car with 17.5% added would be €11,750, but reducing that back to €10k would only be a 15% reduction on the list price.

Still interested to know whether anyone has had dealings with The Internet Car Showroom, as seems like a pretty straightforward and relatively low risk way of importing (assuming they are above board). Site is http://www.theinternetcarshowroom.com/Ireland

MGrah

yellabelly wrote:

I went through all the information on this site and read that you could have the UK VAT element removed if the car was less than 3 months old.

If you are bringing in a UK registered car the VRO will only charge VAT if the car is less than 6 months since first registration or has less than 6000 Kms on the clock.

Thanks Yella, seems I had a rush of blood to the head when I saw the opportunity for the discount as it's pretty clear they're talking about VAT registered (i.e. business) buyers only.

tristancarroll

Hi guys, I wonder if you can help me,

A chap from Ireland has contacted me and wants to buy my car but I'm not sure how to go about transfering ownership?

Do I still complete the V5 as though I was transfering the car to a UK buyer and give him the green new owner slip?

Any help gratefully received.

cheers

Tristan

Chaz

tristancarroll wrote:

Hi guys, I wonder if you can help me,

A chap from Ireland has contacted me and wants to buy my car but I'm not sure how to go about transfering ownership?

Do I still complete the V5 as though I was transfering the car to a UK buyer and give him the green new owner slip?

Any help gratefully received.

cheers

Tristan

Nope, give him the V5 as is with the exception that you fill in the 'permanent export' piece and send this to your DVLA.

tristancarroll

Ahh superb !!

Thank you very much.

Tris

murphaph

It is possible both ways. I've had sellers in the UK who wouldn't part with the V5. They wanted to complete the sale as if I was a GB buyer (note NI buyers need to get a new V5 for NI-the GB one is no good up there either!) and gave me the green slip. The V5 goes to DVLA as normal and they just post it on to the buyer in the RoI without touching it attaching a letter to say they can't issue a new V5 for the owner as they reside outside GB and they just note the seller is no longer responsible for the vehicle. AFAIK this is also achieved by filling in the permanent export section too, but I can't be 100% sure that if your irish buyer got 20 speeding tickets on the way to the ferry that you wouldn't be liable. Contact DVLA for a definitive answer on that and do whatever you feel comfortable with when you meet your buyer.

Mc-BigE

murphaph wrote:

It is possible both ways. I've had sellers in the UK who wouldn't part with the V5. They wanted to complete the sale as if I was a GB buyer (note NI buyers need to get a new V5 for NI-the GB one is no good up there either!) and gave me the green slip. The V5 goes to DVLA as normal and they just post it on to the buyer in the RoI without touching it attaching a letter to say they can't issue a new V5 for the owner as they reside outside GB and they just note the seller is no longer responsible for the vehicle. AFAIK this is also achieved by filling in the permanent export section too, but I can't be 100% sure that if your irish buyer got 20 speeding tickets on the way to the ferry that you wouldn't be liable. Contact DVLA for a definitive answer on that and do whatever you feel comfortable with when you meet your buyer.

To be honest, this is not ideal because your not officially the register owner of the car, according to the irish VRO, until you have the full V5 from the previous owner or get the new V5 with your name printed on the top. There is also the "Certificate of permanent export" which can take just as long as issuing a new V5.

The problem is you have to register the car in ireland 24 hours after importation, which is hard to do if the main part of the V5 is floating around in the Mail system to the DVLA.

rpg

murphaph wrote:

I've had sellers in the UK who wouldn't part with the V5. They wanted to complete the sale as if I was a GB buyer and give me the green slip.

Mc-BigE wrote:

The problem is you have to register the car in ireland 24 hours after importation.

I'm travelling to England in a couple of weeks time to purchase a car and import it to Ireland, however I am worried about the above situation arising (i.e. seller wanting to complete the V5C as stated to do so and returning it to the DVLA).

I don't fancy having to wait a minimum of 4 weeks to receive a cert from the DVLA saying "We can't register you as the owner of this car because you don't live here". They should have some sort of reference on the V5C to state not to post the V5C back to the DVLA if the buyer is resident in another country.

I guess I'll just have to convince the seller to part with the complete V5C or I'll just casually say "Fair enough, don't wanna buy it then" and hope for a "Hold on a second!" as I vacate his driveway...

rpg

macplaxton wrote:

It explains all in this leaflet:
DVLA INS160
see pages 17 and 18 of the pdf. Q5 and 5b

On doing some research further back in the thread, macplaxton has kindly linked the V5C leaflet that all V5C cert holders have in their possession. If there is any problems with the seller not willing to give me the full V5C minus the "Permanent Export Slip" I will ask them to reference this leaflet.

Thanks.

pa daly

if there is remaining uk tax on the car, can this be claimed back by an irish buyer when they get back to ireland using a v14

conorgriff

There seems to be lots of speculation and conjecture about VAT and what you do/don't have to pay. Can anyone post with actual personal experience regarding what you pay as regards VAT or what the procedure is to get the UK seller to discount VAT prior to purchase, ie - what documents does he need to knock UK VAT off so you're not paying 21% Irish VAT on top of the 17.5% UK VAT?. My query is to do with new vehicles in particular

Tails142

I should probably just ring the VRO office but I'm trying to stay off their radar =P

What is the name that I make the bank draft for the VRO out to??

Vehicle Registrations Office

Department of Transport?

Department of Highway Robbery?

Pirbright

Hi,

Wonder if anyone could give me an answer to this query:

I'm waiting on a medical dischage from the British Army and bought a jeep up in Belfast in march. Ive been driving down here since then as i've been waiting for the discharge as I was unsure whether I'd stay up in Belfast or move back down here. Now I've gotten a job in Dublin starting in in the next 2 weeks and recently bought a house down here too but not yet moved in. I have an address still in belfast and bank account etc. I've been wondering whether I should sell the jeep privately back up north, wait until october (6 months) and try not pay VRT or whether I can go to a dealer here and trade it in without registering it. I'd like to keep the jeep but it may not be the easiest or cheapest solution. Any advice? Thanks in advance.

The_Conductor

Pirbright wrote:

Hi,

Wonder if anyone could give me an answer to this query:

I'm waiting on a medical dischage from the British Army and bought a jeep up in Belfast in march. Ive been driving down here since then as i've been waiting for the discharge as I was unsure whether I'd stay up in Belfast or move back down here. Now I've gotten a job in Dublin starting in in the next 2 weeks and recently bought a house down here too but not yet moved in. I have an address still in belfast and bank account etc. I've been wondering whether I should sell the jeep privately back up north, wait until october (6 months) and try not pay VRT or whether I can go to a dealer here and trade it in without registering it. I'd like to keep the jeep but it may not be the easiest or cheapest solution. Any advice? Thanks in advance.

You've been driving your jeep down here for 5 months. You should have registered it immediately when you brought it into the country. In addition to it being a non-registered vehicle, you do not have valid Irish tax on it, and possibly, depending on how your Insurance is stated, it could also be invalid (I am only allowed have my vehicle out of the country for 3 months of the year (Axa)).

Legally you are obliged to pay Irish VRT from the date of entry of the vehicle into the country- i.e. last March. Anyone who advises you other than this is advising you break the law.

You cannot trade it in down here without Irish VRT- which would immediately be due. If you are selling it- the easiest thing to do is to bring it back up North again and get rid of it there.

Irrespective of your Belfast address/bank account- the Revenue Commissioners are entirely within their rights to seek to see copies of utility bills in your name to prove residence- if you did not have these bills, and sought to try to use the 6 month rule 1) the jeep could be impounded (as indeed it could be at any time), 2) VRT with penalties would be backdated to date of original purchase (March), 3) You could be charged under the 2003 Road Traffic Acts which would incur a fine of not greater than 10k and/or 6 months imprisonment.

I do understand that you did not know whether you were going to be moving back down here again- and for ease and convenience you bought the jeep locally to you in Belfast. Unfortunately by not registering it once you moved down here- you have broken numerous Irish laws.

S.

The_Conductor

Tails142 wrote:

I should probably just ring the VRO office but I'm trying to stay off their radar =P

What is the name that I make the bank draft for the VRO out to??

Vehicle Registrations Office

Department of Transport?

Department of Highway Robbery?

Vehicle Registrations Office is the norm. Minister for the Environment is acceptable.

S.

The_Conductor

conorgriff wrote:

There seems to be lots of speculation and conjecture about VAT and what you do/don't have to pay. Can anyone post with actual personal experience regarding what you pay as regards VAT or what the procedure is to get the UK seller to discount VAT prior to purchase, ie - what documents does he need to knock UK VAT off so you're not paying 21% Irish VAT on top of the 17.5% UK VAT?. My query is to do with new vehicles in particular

A UK Tax clearance cert (the equivalent of an Irish C2) and an Irish VAT registration number. They are bringing in new rules in the UK at the moment- as carousel fraud has climbed through the roof. Its possible that you may have to pay the UK VAT upfront and reclaim it later (as is currently proposed).

Chaz

Tails142 wrote:

I should probably just ring the VRO office but I'm trying to stay off their radar =P

What is the name that I make the bank draft for the VRO out to??

Vehicle Registrations Office

Department of Transport?

Department of Highway Robbery?

Mine was made out to Revenue Commissioners .... this was only a few weeks ago.

conorgriff

smccarrick wrote:

A UK Tax clearance cert (the equivalent of an Irish C2) and an Irish VAT registration number. They are bringing in new rules in the UK at the moment- as carousel fraud has climbed through the roof. Its possible that you may have to pay the UK VAT upfront and reclaim it later (as is currently proposed).

Ok I spoke to the dealer and he says that I'll have to pay the VAT upfront and reclaim it once I return to Ireland. Anyone know exactly how this is done?