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

bazz26

toby2111 wrote: »

Is it possible to drive to a post office and tax a car for 1 month?

They will only accept a direct debit setup for 1 month. To pay by card you need to tax it for a minimum of 6 months.

flanzer wrote: »

No. I collected a 330e back in October, and didn't have to be taxed for my drive to Holyhead. It doesn't have a tax disc anyway

The UK got rid of tax discs a few years back. Also most hybrids and EVs qualify for a zero rate of tax in the UK, not diesels however.

bazz26

ovalu wrote: »

I don't know if anyone can help me here, I brought in a 2011 Mercedes vito passanger from uk in December, I had a VRT booking for 20 Dec, I thought it was straightforward and I had all the paperwork but when my wife brought it in to the appointment the guy said there was no stat code for that model so he wouldnt do the VRT. I presume now that there mustn't be an exact similar vehicle registered in the state, There seems to have been some confusion in how to proceed from there.
Now I accept I've missed the 1 Jan deadline and I will be caught for higher VRT, but i need to get it sorted, how do I get a stat code does anyone know?

You will need to wait for Revenue to come back to you with a VRT figure and stat code. I'd imagine like most of the Public Service they are on holidays till next Monday so it's probably sitting on someone's desk waiting to be processed.

wassie

toby2111 wrote: »

I'm due to pick up a car in UK shortly. Chatting to the dealer earlier, car is not taxed so he said best thing to do might be to set up a monthly direct debit, pay 1 month then cancel it when I get home. He wasn't sure if this was the best method and is going to suss it out further. Should I just risk it and drive it to Holyhead? Would police be understanding if I was stopped? Might be safer to tax the feckin thing....

Its really up to yourself as its a risk you have to weigh up. Most people seem to report no problem.

I was checked once whilst I was actually in line waiting at the Merseyside ferryport - and I only had it taxed as dealer would'nt let the car leave the forecourt unless it was in place.

As others have said, you have to tax for a minimum of 6 months. But upon arrival in Ireland, you can claim back the remaining 5 months and they send you a cheque - takes around 3-4 weeks. Info here. https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-refund

For me its a few quid for peace of mind..

That being said, it would be of interest to hear if anyone has actually been stopped and what the outcome was.

mgn

wassie wrote: »

Its really up to yourself as its a risk you have to weigh up. Most people seem to report no problem.

I was checked once whilst I was actually in line waiting at the Merseyside ferryport - and I only had it taxed as dealer would'nt let the car leave the forecourt unless it was in place.

As others have said, you have to tax for a minimum of 6 months. But upon arrival in Ireland, you can claim back the remaining 5 months and they send you a cheque - takes around 3-4 weeks. Info here. https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax-refund

For me its a few quid for peace of mind..

That being said, it would be of interest to hear if anyone has actually been stopped and what the outcome was.

I got stopped last year going through north Wales, I explained that i was only after buying the car and heading for the ferry, the asked to see ferry booking and sales receipt, let me off, maybe i was lucky, the dident seem to be to bothered once the seen the documents.

toby2111

What would 6 months tax on a 2019 octavia be?

mgn

toby2111 wrote: »

What would 6 months tax on a 2019 octavia be?

https://www.theaa.com/driving-advice/driving-costs/car-tax

Truckermal

Had a Car impounded well a mates Car but I was driving, he caught me well above the speed limit as we were pushing hard to make the Boat. That's a long time ago but needless to say we nearly missed the following Boat over the whole thing...

deezell

ovalu wrote: »

I don't know if anyone can help me here, I brought in a 2011 Mercedes vito passanger from uk in December, I had a VRT booking for 20 Dec, I thought it was straightforward and I had all the paperwork but when my wife brought it in to the appointment the guy said there was no stat code for that model so he wouldnt do the VRT. I presume now that there mustn't be an exact similar vehicle registered in the state, There seems to have been some confusion in how to proceed from there.
Now I accept I've missed the 1 Jan deadline and I will be caught for higher VRT, but i need to get it sorted, how do I get a stat code does anyone know?

Here's the stat code for the 1.6 manual,
46486793, the 2.2 manual is 48086793, auto is
49386793.
The VRT is coming down by 1% in January, and the OMSP should be less for another year older, but with vrt as high as 34%, on the 2.2 auto, a reduction of 1% of this on an OMSP of say €12,000 will drop VRT by only €120. Your real problem is the new NOx charge. Look it up on your V5C cert, if its anything over 100, you are going to be hit hard. Nox charge for 100mg emissions is €1100, with a €25 increase for each mg after.

ovalu

deezell wrote: »

Here's the stat code for the 1.6 manual,
46486793, the 2.2 manual is 48086793, auto is
49386793.
The VRT is coming down by 1% in January, and the OMSP should be less for another year older, but with vrt as high as 34%, on the 2.2 auto, a reduction of 1% of this on an OMSP of say €12,000 will drop VRT by only €120. Your real problem is the new NOx charge. Look it up on your V5C cert, if its anything over 100, you are going to be hit hard. Nox charge for 100mg emissions is €1100, with a €25 increase for each mg after.

That's great thanks v much for the reply, how do u have the stat code do u mind me asking if the guy in the VRT office didn't have it,
I'm going to get hung badly on the nox charge, weirdly there isn't a nox value on my V5 for some reason but it will be high

deezell

ovalu wrote: »

That's great thanks v much for the reply, how do u have the stat code do u mind me asking if the guy in the VRT office didn't have it,
I'm going to get hung badly on the nox charge, weirdly there isn't a nox value on my V5 for some reason but it will be high

The Vito is showing on the VRT calculator, Vito and Vito cdi, two engines, 1.6 and 2.2, auto option on the 2.2. I cant find a reference to Nox for the Vito on the DVLA site, but if the 2143 cc engine on the 2009 Viano is anything to go by, Nox greater than 300, your car will more likely incur the top Nox penalty of just under €5000. If this happens you should appeal, as you presented in December and the Vito was listed on the VRT computer, no reason you could not have got a VRT price.

deezell

I'm getting a Nox value for 2011 Vito here,
http://www.emissionsfinder.com/mercedes-benz-vito-model-year-2011-113cdi-traveliner-x-long-eu5-blueefficiency-22cc,
Nox is 192mg, thats a nox charge of €3400, which is close to what the VRT will be. You could be looking at €7500 all in. You definitely should not have to pay Nox, but I don't know how it works if you appeal, as its a brand new charge.

LillySV

lads how do ye work out for loans when going to buy in uk? Is there much hassle? I was just looking at my local credit union rules for car loan and seen the following:

"No motor loan shall exceed the remaining life of the car, the maximum life being 8 years.
Member produces invoice from Garage or Vendor"
"Cheque must be made payable to the vendor, i.e. garage or third party"

If i was to go with them rules, that means ive already commited to buyin one car before seeing it. Not a chance of discount. Second prob is that if i seen the car i planned on buying and it didnt turn out to be as good as i thought, i cant go and look/buy car from different dealer elsewhere as cheque is made out to the first dealer!.

does that mean tyhat credit union loan is not possible? would there be any banks with good car loans then?or same situation?

ovalu

deezell wrote: »

I'm getting a Nox value for 2011 Vito here,
http://www.emissionsfinder.com/mercedes-benz-vito-model-year-2011-113cdi-traveliner-x-long-eu5-blueefficiency-22cc,
Nox is 192mg, thats a nox charge of €3400, which is close to what the VRT will be. You could be looking at €7500 all in. You definitely should not have to pay Nox, but I don't know how it works if you appeal, as its a brand new charge.

Thanks for all that info, much appreciated, I'll need to look into the appeals process

pablo128

LillySV wrote: »

lads how do ye work out for loans when going to buy in uk? Is there much hassle? I was just looking at my local credit union rules for car loan and seen the following:

"No motor loan shall exceed the remaining life of the car, the maximum life being 8 years.
Member produces invoice from Garage or Vendor"
"Cheque must be made payable to the vendor, i.e. garage or third party"

If i was to go with them rules, that means ive already commited to buyin one car before seeing it. Not a chance of discount. Second prob is that if i seen the car i planned on buying and it didnt turn out to be as good as i thought, i cant go and look/buy car from different dealer elsewhere as cheque is made out to the first dealer!.

does that mean tyhat credit union loan is not possible? would there be any banks with good car loans then?or same situation?

Tell them it's for something else. Home improvements or something.

LillySV

pablo128 wrote: »

Tell them it's for something else. Home improvements or something.

They looking for evidence for all loan types

michellie

Ovalu, you will be able to appeal the NOx since you presented the car in December but unfortunately it will have to be paid first. It's automatically charged from the 1st Jan, there's no way around that.

The stat code system is quite complexed and the ones you see on ROS may not be an exact match, as the guys in the NCT centres have much more information attached to the stat codes that need to match what's on the V5.

Everyone was back to work today so hopefully you will get the call with your amount soon, and hopefully it's not too bad.

michellie

By the way if the NOx is not stated on the V5 it will default to the highest rate, unless you provide evidence of it, similar to co2 not being on the V5.

colm_mcm

michellie wrote: »

By the way if the NOx is not stated on the V5 it will default to the highest rate, unless you provide evidence of it, similar to co2 not being on the V5.

You’re saying they’ll charge €5000 or whatever?

michellie

colm_mcm wrote: »

You’re saying they’ll charge €5000 or whatever?

Yea, defaults to €4800 or €600 IF it's not on the V5 . Same as VRT defaults to 36% if the Co2 isn't on the V5. You must provide official documentation to show it.

bazz26

LillySV wrote: »

They looking for evidence for all loan types

You might have to go the personal loan route with them which shouldn't require you to tell them what it's for. It will command a higher interest rate than the other categorized loans such as a car loan however.

LillySV

deezell wrote: »

The Vito is showing on the VRT calculator, Vito and Vito cdi, two engines, 1.6 and 2.2, auto option on the 2.2. I cant find a reference to Nox for the Vito on the DVLA site, but if the 2143 cc engine on the 2009 Viano is anything to go by, Nox greater than 300, your car will more likely incur the top Nox penalty of just under €5000. If this happens you should appeal, as you presented in December and the Vito was listed on the VRT computer, no reason you could not have got a VRT price.

The nox is on the spreadsheet referred to on this link,no?

https://www.revenue.ie/en/importing-vehicles-duty-free-allowances/guide-to-vrt/calculating-vrt/calculating-the-nox-charge.aspx

toby2111

What's the best way to pay about £11k to a dealer? Think I'll use transferwise but is there a better /cheaper option?

ovalu

michellie wrote: »

Ovalu, you will be able to appeal the NOx since you presented the car in December but unfortunately it will have to be paid first. It's automatically charged from the 1st Jan, there's no way around that.

The stat code system is quite complexed and the ones you see on ROS may not be an exact match, as the guys in the NCT centres have much more information attached to the stat codes that need to match what's on the V5.

Everyone was back to work today so hopefully you will get the call with your amount soon, and hopefully it's not too bad.

Thanks for that info Michellie, looks like I'm heading for quite a bill

bazz26

toby2111 wrote: »

What's the best way to pay about £11k to a dealer? Think I'll use transferwise but is there a better /cheaper option?

There is already a detailed thread on this:

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2058011024

You might also want to ask the dealer what payment methods they accept.

colm_mcm

michellie wrote: »

Yea, defaults to €4800 or €600 IF it's not on the V5 . Same as VRT defaults to 36% if the Co2 isn't on the V5. You must provide official documentation to show it.

Should make importing cars from Japan interesting?

michellie

colm_mcm wrote: »

Should make importing cars from Japan interesting?

Haven't even thought about that but yes 100% will be a nightmare

deezell

michellie wrote: »

Haven't even thought about that but yes 100% will be a nightmare

Are your IT boffins working on including the Nox charges in the calculator, to help unfortunates from making disasterous imports. Just thinking of that Vito, VRT of €4800 on a 9 year old 2.2 auto, an then another €4800 in Nox, with ferry etc thats €10 grand, more than its worth, even if you got it free.

heffo500

When will the VRT website be updated to reflect the NOX figure? Will the NCT be able to calculate the correct figure?

michellie

deezell wrote: »

Are your IT boffins working on including the Nox charges in the calculator, to help unfortunates from making disasterous imports. Just thinking of that Vito, VRT of €4800 on a 9 year old 2.2 auto, an then another €4800 in Nox, with ferry etc thats €10 grand, more than its worth, even if you got it free.

Its Revenue's IT boffins, Should be sorted in a few weeks. And of course I expect the system to crash when that happens.

I totally agree with you. It should have been made more aware. It's going to be a nightmare for people

michellie

heffo500 wrote: »

When will the VRT website be updated to reflect the NOX figure? Will the NCT be able to calculate the correct figure?

It's built into NCT system. All they do is type it into a box and the price is generated. It'll be correct (unless someone typed it in wrong!!)