NI reg car stopped by Customs.

mrmac

T'was driving down from the Mt. Top this morning, and noticed a nice big NI reg. BMW, pulled over at the side of the road, just past hegartys.
Two people, in yellow coats, where speaking to the driver. I thought is was the Gardai, but when I got closer I noticed the word Customs on the back of the coats.

No Gardai with them. The Customs car was in front of the BMW, and I wonder did they follow it and "flash the lights" to pull it over?

Can the Customs, randomly, stop foreign reg'ed cars?

Just curious, as there is a case of a woman, with an NI reg. car, being stopped by the Gardai, (on the front of the Letterkenny Post), where she refused to surrender her car to them.

Any insights?

(P.S. doesn't affect me - just interested )

donegalman1

Yes the Customs can pull over a vehicle and have quite an array of powers. They can also visit your home. They have been pulling vehicles for years.

I have heard of them driving around estates checking for regularly parked foreign vehicles.

Durnish

It's because the northern registered car has not paid the tax or whatever it is, that southern owners have to pay. If you live in the south then you have to pay that tax, otherwise you are committing an offence and Customs and Excise can seize your car.

VanhireBoys

A few years ago I lived and worked in the North. I had an NI reg car and NI licence etc. My mum was sick so I was out visiting her. The customs blocked our gateway with thier car and waited for me to come out.

Only for I had a few bills and my payslip in the car along with all my driving documents the car would have been confiscated even I had proof that I no longer lived at the homeplace

They are a law onto themselves and Brian Lenihan is mad for cash .. Thats a bad combination so lets be careful out there.

Senna

A few years back i bought a car in the UK and there was a problem with the V5 doc (needed to VRT the car). It ment i had to wait 2 weeks before i could get the car onto irish plates. I was driving the car for this time and it was the worst 2 weeks ever, i was plagued by the customs and Garda, i couldn't drive home from work without being stopped and threatened with fines, car confiscated etc.

eddie73

yes the customs can stop and even take the car from you. They have powers to enter your home believe it or not.

Vrt has to be paid if you buy a car outside the republic and import it here. You have 24 hours to pay it, and if you dont, you face a fine of 200 euro per day.

You need the requisite documentation in order to pay it so if you are buying a car either privately or from an auction, make sure to get the V5 cert. The change of ownership documentation is handeled by the seller, who sends on your signature to the road authority.

Once you have paid the vrt in the revenue office, you are issued with a southern reg number, which has to be attatched within 3 days. The car can be taxed immediately after the vrt has been paid, not before it, so its important to have the V5 form to present to the revenue to pay the vrt.

Vrt costs in and around 2000 euro, and depending on engine size and emmissions, it could be slightly lower, or considerably higher (based on a 1.9 Litre engine).

And finally, the Customs and Gardai are really cracking down on vrt evasion, which can be done by using an address outside the country while living and working here.

Vrt is justified by the cheaper fuel costs here relative to UK and continental prices on fuel.

Mr. Incognito

Vrt is justified by the cheaper fuel costs here relative to UK and continental prices on fue

I nearly choked on my lunch.

VRT is justified by greed!

northwestguy27

If the vehicle is a company car, ie owned by your employer in the North, and you live in the south, then they can't touch it AFAIK, but this could be wrong anyone any info on this?

partyguinness

Senna wrote: »

A few years back i bought a car in the UK and there was a problem with the V5 doc (needed to VRT the car). It ment i had to wait 2 weeks before i could get the car onto irish plates. I was driving the car for this time and it was the worst 2 weeks ever, i was plagued by the customs and Garda, i couldn't drive home from work without being stopped and threatened with fines, car confiscated etc.

I had a prob also with document when I went to the Revenue to pay duty but they gave me a letter to say I had it delcared and gave me 4 weeks to sort it out. I was to show the letter to Customs or cops if asked.

Luckily I was pulled over by a cop and he was dying to impound the car but thankfully I showed him the letter and he had to let me go as I had the car declared. Man he was pissed off...:D

I paid the duty etc about a week later.

partyguinness

eddie73 wrote: »

yes the customs can stop and even take the car from you. They have powers to enter your home believe it or not.

Vrt has to be paid if you buy a car outside the republic and import it here. You have 24 hours to pay it, and if you dont, you face a fine of 200 euro per day.

You need the requisite documentation in order to pay it so if you are buying a car either privately or from an auction, make sure to get the V5 cert. The change of ownership documentation is handeled by the seller, who sends on your signature to the road authority.

Once you have paid the vrt in the revenue office, you are issued with a southern reg number, which has to be attatched within 3 days. The car can be taxed immediately after the vrt has been paid, not before it, so its important to have the V5 form to present to the revenue to pay the vrt.

Vrt costs in and around 2000 euro, and depending on engine size and emmissions, it could be slightly lower, or considerably higher (based on a 1.9 Litre engine).

And finally, the Customs and Gardai are really cracking down on vrt evasion, which can be done by using an address outside the country while living and working here.

Vrt is justified by the cheaper fuel costs here relative to UK and continental prices on fuel.

They would need a warrant to enter someones home...I would imagine.

Senna

Senna wrote: »

A few years back i bought a car in the UK and there was a problem with the V5 doc (needed to VRT the car). It ment i had to wait 2 weeks before i could get the car onto irish plates. I was driving the car for this time and it was the worst 2 weeks ever, i was plagued by the customs and Garda, i couldn't drive home from work without being stopped and threatened with fines, car confiscated etc.

I managed 8 months without any trouble, my neighbour has been on a UK reg for over 1.5 years and is on the road everyday doing a lot of driving and has only seen the Guards once, showed UK license and waved on.

muffler

partyguinness wrote: »

They would need a warrant to enter someones home...I would imagine.

Apparently not. I was told this years ago by a serving customs officer at the time. There is always the chance that the law could have changed since but I dont think so.

They also have the authority to demand and see your driving licence.

eddie73

eddie73 wrote: »

Vrt costs in and around 2000 euro, and depending on engine size and emmissions, it could be slightly lower, or considerably higher (based on a 1.9 Litre engine).

Vrt could cost 50 euro or 30k euro depending on the car. The vrt on my car would be nearly 3k and it 8 years old.

Senna

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

VRT is justified by greed!

If they did get rid of it, they would just impose the tax on motorist in another way. It does inflate the cost of second-hand cars, but it affects new car buyers much more than a person who buy 5-6 year old cars.

Fabian Gorgeous Cord wrote: »

I managed 8 months without any trouble, my neighbour has been on a UK reg for over 1.5 years and is on the road everyday doing a lot of driving and has only seen the Guards once, showed UK license and waved on.

A few year back i went down to Fanad to view a car for sale, it was on UK plates but i assumed they had just imported it and were selling it. It turned out the wife of the fella selling it had been driving around in it for the last 5 years without ever being stopped by the garda :eek: and it used to be on the roads everyday.
Bandit country up there:D

Essexboy

eddie73 wrote: »

yes the customs can stop and even take the car from you. They have powers to enter your home believe it or not.

Vrt has to be paid if you buy a car outside the republic and import it here. You have 24 hours to pay it, and if you dont, you face a fine of 200 euro per day.

You need the requisite documentation in order to pay it so if you are buying a car either privately or from an auction, make sure to get the V5 cert. The change of ownership documentation is handeled by the seller, who sends on your signature to the road authority.

Once you have paid the vrt in the revenue office, you are issued with a southern reg number, which has to be attatched within 3 days. The car can be taxed immediately after the vrt has been paid, not before it, so its important to have the V5 form to present to the revenue to pay the vrt.

Vrt costs in and around 2000 euro, and depending on engine size and emmissions, it could be slightly lower, or considerably higher (based on a 1.9 Litre engine).

And finally, the Customs and Gardai are really cracking down on vrt evasion, which can be done by using an address outside the country while living and working here.

Vrt is justified by the cheaper fuel costs here relative to UK and continental prices on fuel.

Vrt is justified by the cheaper fuel costs here relative to UK and continental prices on fuel
Nothing to do with fuel prices. Originally there were import duties on cars brought in from abroad; when EU membership made these illegal, VRT was introduced as a substitute. We were promised a "Europe of the Peoples" but it never came.

parsi

VanhireBoys wrote: »

A few years ago I lived and worked in the North. I had an NI reg car and NI licence etc. My mum was sick so I was out visiting her. The customs blocked our gateway with thier car and waited for me to come out.

Only for I had a few bills and my payslip in the car along with all my driving documents the car would have been confiscated even I had proof that I no longer lived at the homeplace

They are a law onto themselves

Your example shows Customs (a part of Revenue) acting in accordance with their mandate. Enforcing teh law hardly makes them a "law unto themselves".

Number Nine

eddie73 wrote: »

Vrt is justified by the cheaper fuel costs here relative to UK and continental prices on fuel.

Are you having a laugh , what stuff are you on ?:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Charging the Irish public VRT , is another way of the Government robbery with out a gun .

So you work for customs ?

If so go a watch television , The History Channel has Goebbels given a propaganda speech . You could take notes for your next post

muffler

Number Nine. You can make a point without attacking another poster. First and only warning. Infraction given.

GSF

parsi wrote: »

Your example shows Customs (a part of Revenue) acting in accordance with their mandate. Enforcing teh law hardly makes them a "law unto themselves".

There is enforcement & then there is harassment. How about every time you cross the border from Cork to Kerry you get stopped?

sorella

When I moved to Ireland from the Uk some seven years ago, someone told me I did not need to "import" my car for a year; it was still insured .

never any problems.

A year later when I needed to reinsure I learned differently.

They needed to take details etc; I lived up a mountain and was scared to drive uninsured because they said it was illegal

A week went by; then I emailed them, telling them that i am disabled and a long long way from shops and from a water supply; that I was like to die from starvation or dehydration waiting for them to clear the car.

They were there within two hours and got it all cleared fast. There was nothing to pay on one car either.

I realise now I was lucky compared to others here.

md23040

parsi wrote: »

Your example shows Customs (a part of Revenue) acting in accordance with their mandate. Enforcing teh law hardly makes them a "law unto themselves".

Oh really! Nobody from government services was scaring the crap out of a helpless woman and her young children during a three hour stand off in Letterkenny recently.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/foyle_and_west/8052021.stm

Apparently the vehicle had been registered as a company car from a Northern resident now residing in Donegal, who owed a business in the North, but because she had the kids in the car it was claimed the car wasn't being used for business purposes. From what I gather the lady was leaving her kids to the crèche and then going onto her business in Sion Mills. It is disgraceful behavior and like the Blanchardstown case with €19,000 compensation for illegally impounding a Porsche, the lady is entitled to the same tax payer’s compensation.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0522/1224247111190.html

These government agents are not acting in the best interest of the state or its citizens. Is this what all the fighting to acheive a Republic was for all those years ago - to have one oppression replaced by another.

weiss

According to Irishdrivers.org

Article 25 of the Treaty of Rome abolished customs and excise duties and charges having the equivalent effect. As you are aware, EU Law is superior law to any Member States Constitutional law or domestic law as all member states acceded to a new legal order on joining the European Community.

partyguinness wrote:

Vrt could cost 50 euro or 30k euro depending on the car. The vrt on my car would be nearly 3k and it 8 years old.

The €50 applies to 'certain commercial vehicles'

VRT Category C
Examples of Category C vehicles include certain commercial vehicles, agricultural tractors and buses with at least 13 permanently fitted seats (12 passenger seats plus the driver's seat).
The VRT rate applicable to Category C vehicles is a flat rate of €50.

By commercial vehicles, i'm assuming they mean some vans.

Recovery of VAT and/or VRT by Purchasers not Registered for VAT

A person who is not registered for VAT and who buys a motor vehicle is generally not entitled to recover any VAT charged. However, in certain circumstances VAT may be repaid...

read more.

Recovery of the VAT is possible for:

• Motor Dealers
• VAT-Registered Traders
• Driving schools
• Touring coaches or vehicles used for disabled persons

Is it then possible to setup a small private limited company, and because our business involves travelling around the country, get the VAT back on any vehicle purchased, not to mention alot of other goods

weiss

md23040 wrote:

Oh really! Nobody from government services was scaring the crap out of a helpless woman and her young children during a three hour stand off in Letterkenny recently.

They were just doing what they do best :P
Certainly, you won't see the same services tackling real problems.

EDIT: Very interesting result on the story :

Man sues State over seizure of €200,000 Porsche car

Couple awarded €19,000 over seizure of Porsche car

donegaldude

right, I'm employed in the north as past 2 years and have been living up there. I'm driving a northern reg car, but my company have me working in the south. I be at home every few weekends, and have a southern licence, but my car is addressed to where I was living in the North. Do I have to clear the car? All my banking is carried out in the north and I pay my tax there.

When I'm finished down here i'll be moving back up north or over to a job in scotland.

Technically for insurance to be valid the car has to be in the north 4 days a week. Now on the same basis if I clear the car and take it up north the car for insurance reasons will technically need to be in the south 4 days a week.

I have had no bother with the guards when stopped as its only happened twice and at a weekend, but with all the cars being lifted I'd nearly be afraid to go home during the week for a day!

So clear it or not to clear it, that is the question!

mac_iomhair

donegaldude wrote: »

right, I'm employed in the north as past 2 years and have been living up there. I'm driving a northern reg car, but my company have me working in the south. I be at home every few weekends, and have a southern licence, but my car is addressed to where I was living in the North. Do I have to clear the car? All my banking is carried out in the north and I pay my tax there.

When I'm finished down here i'll be moving back up north or over to a job in scotland.

Technically for insurance to be valid the car has to be in the north 4 days a week. Now on the same basis if I clear the car and take it up north the car for insurance reasons will technically need to be in the south 4 days a week.

I have had no bother with the guards when stopped as its only happened twice and at a weekend, but with all the cars being lifted I'd nearly be afraid to go home during the week for a day!

So clear it or not to clear it, that is the question!

if i was you i would just change my irish license for a uk license at your NI address and make sure you have all your paperwork through the North in your glove box to back yor statements up, then you wont get any trouble mate.

dave_brent

yea, keep all documents at hand.. I am the same as yourself.. at college in belfast and live their 9 months of the year..so there is no way i am paying to clear it..

crusader123

Number Nine wrote: »

Are you having a laugh , what stuff are you on ?:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Charging the Irish public VRT , is another way of the Government robbery with out a gun .

So you work for customs ?

If so go a watch television , The History Channel has Goebbels given a propaganda speech . You could take notes for your next post

**********

This blitz by Customs in donegal is no co-incidence coming at the same time as their Dublin political bosses have squandered all the fruits of the Celtic tiger ( spending little of it in Donegal, I might add). Now they are looking to screw every penny out of ordinary people who may have got a good deal on a car in the North. What good is being part of the EU if we cannot bring goods across borders. Is n't that what it was supposed to be all about. And yet, this government is telling us to vote YES to the Lisbon Treaty so as to be more part of Europe while they ignore the basic principles of the EU. I'll be voting NO again. What part of NO did they not understand at the last referendum.

Its well seeing that Customs don't harass all the northern cars that come over the border as tourists or to top up with diesel.

More people should take them to court. We need a case to the EU court of justice on this. Plenty of solicitors would love to give it a go. Tie them up in red tape, I say.

crusader123

md23040 wrote: »

Oh really! Nobody from government services was scaring the crap out of a helpless woman and her young children during a three hour stand off in Letterkenny recently.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/foyle_and_west/8052021.stm

Apparently the vehicle had been registered as a company car from a Northern resident now residing in Donegal, who owed a business in the North, but because she had the kids in the car it was claimed the car wasn't being used for business purposes. From what I gather the lady was leaving her kids to the crèche and then going onto her business in Sion Mills. It is disgraceful behavior and like the Blanchardstown case with €19,000 compensation for illegally impounding a Porsche, the lady is entitled to the same tax payer’s compensation.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0522/1224247111190.html

These government agents are not acting in the best interest of the state or its citizens. Is this what all the fighting to acheive a Republic was for all those years ago - to have one oppression replaced by another.

The law is an a**. This is just a money spinner for corrupt politicians.

muffler

Ah give it a rest crusader123. If you want to discuss something local you are more than welcome. If you want to post comments like your last (and only) 2 then there is a politics forum for those comments.

Failing that you could try the Ranting and Raving forum or even the Conspiracy Theories forum

crusader123

muffler wrote: »

Ah give it a rest crusader123. If you want to discuss something local you are more than welcome. If you want to post comments like your last (and only) 2 then there is a politics forum for those comments.

Failing that you could try the Ranting and Raving forum or even the Conspiracy Theories forum

Whats more local than being harassed on the Donegal border.

And I do take exception to my comments being dismissed as ranting and raving. Now whats wrong with that?

As for conspiracies, I don't think the Yanks ever went to the moon. I think they went into the Rock bar in 1969 and have never emerged.
Perhaps muffler is in there too. Still.

crusader123

crusader123 wrote: »

Whats more local than being harassed on the Donegal border.

And I do take exception to my comments being dismissed as ranting and raving. Now whats wrong with that?

As for conspiracies, I don't think the Yanks ever went to the moon. I think they went into the Rock bar in 1969 and have never emerged.
Perhaps muffler is in there too. Still.

Have just come out of the rock bar. there are two yanks in there but they don't look like astronauts. But..... they were driving a northern registered car !!!