Problem Paying VRT

mbyrnes

Ok,

Bought a 2003 C220 CDI SE auto last Jan. Car broke down 400 yds after leaving dealership with serious fuel injection problem. Car remained in UK until June when I got the car home after unsucessfull legal action to try and get seller to fix car. Cost me 1100 Euro to have fuel pump and injectors reconditioned here in Ireland. Car now running fine. Drove car on English plates until Sept 2nd when I was stopped by Customs and Excise. Was given a 7 day notice to clear car. Brought car to NCT Tullamore and was quoted over 4000 Euro to clear when the VRT system was quoting 2300 Euro. Refused to pay as I felt I was being ripped off. Have tried numerous phone calls to Revenue and NCT with no joy. Revenue can't talk to NCT and NCT can't talk to Revenue. Have been advised to pay the excessive over 4k and claim back the difference. Two things, I don't have 4k and out of principle won't pay the amount NCT want. Any advice?

Thanks. :mad:

mickdw

Someone on here had a similar problem with the NCT guys and was sure they had punched the wrong model into their system but they wouldnt hear of it. They wanted him to pay & then appeal.
Anyway, he refused and eventually booked it into a different NCT and they quoted the correct figure which matched the online system.
Your case could be different however as due to being caught, you are possibly being made to pay VRT based on the actual time of import as opposed to the current VRT cost displayed on revenue site.
Were you doing a normal VRT or were they penalising you?

If just a normal case, try another centre.

Owen

Yup, man up and pay the VRT. You should have paid it in June when you brought the car in, you'd have been able to VRT it for the amount on the site then as back in June the NCT had nothing to do with it.

It's December now, and you're moaning about tax evasion. The rest of us have paid our VRT and had to lump it. If you want to contest the price, you have to pay it first, then contest it.

Bottom line, if you can't afford the VRT, you can't afford the car. Sorry to sound like a pompous ass, but it's how the system works, and you've been getting away with it for 6 months.

mgbgt1978

Easy there Paintdoctor (are you a even real doctor ?).
This guy has already been screwed by the dealer in the UK and has had to pay a lot of money to transport the car to ireland and then get it fixed.

There is a big difference between €4,000 and €2,300. This can not be accounted for by looking at the quote for VRT now compared to 6 months ago (and the interest penalty on the difference).

There have been numerous posts here (and on other forums) concerning major differences between the VRT calculator (owned and run by the Revenue) and the VRT amount demanded by the NCT.
Some people have tried to explain this by pointing out that a lot of Bmw's, Mercs, etc. can often be fitted with factory extras which push up the value.
However this rarely seemed to be a problem when the Revenue looked after the VRT system. Also a lot of the recent complaints concern run of the mill cars (Focus, Mondeo, etc) which are quite easy to identify on the VRT calculator.
The OP is not moaning about tax evasion. He is moaning about the disparity between the VRT calculator and the NCT's figure.

cormac_byrne

I recently had an issue and was repeatedly fobbed off between NCT, Revenue Helpline & CVO Rosslare. (there still appears to be plenty of confusion with the changeover)

However the correct support path was the Revenue Helpline 1890 430130
(that's specifically there to deal with issues arising from changeover to NCT dealing with VRT)

If you can get someone on the Revenue Helpline to lookup your car on the system, they can see what details the NCT entered for it.

Check every entry to see if they've made a mistake somewhere.
wrong model etc...

FYI you will need your VIN (chassis) number for them to do that lookup, the Reg No won't do.

Double check the mileage and country of previous registration entries.

A non eu country or too low mileage (car been round the clock and they entered it exactly as seen), will cause the NCT computer to automatically add VAT to the VRT figure.

If you find any errors, Revenue won't correct them, you have to go back to the desk at the NCT centre and have them fix it.

Ali Babba

It seems to me that the Revenue have now made an unjust tax so complicated that it's hardly worth the trouble now. So much for the EU and fairness across Europe. What started out as extortion has now become a serious pain in the @rse.:(

Henry Ford III

Unfortunately the mechanical problem you had in the UK is of no relevance to the Revenue. You may have also compounded the problem by not paying whatever VRT was due on time.

Does the €4k demanded include a fine? If it does and it increases you're liability you're probably goosed.

galwaytt

Ali Babba wrote: »

It seems to me that the Revenue have now made an unjust tax so complicated that it's hardly worth the trouble now.

...standard operating procedure for Revenue/Finance, tbh.......how else could they justify their existence ??

Ali Babba wrote: »

So much for the EU and fairness across Europe. (

Now, now, what planet are you on ? Since when has the EU ever been 'fair' ? Not since we joined, at any rate........

Zubeneschamali

galwaytt wrote: »

...standard operating procedure for Revenue/Finance, tbh.......how else could they justify their existence ??

I think this is a bit harsh - Revenue in general are way easier to deal with these days than they used to be 10 years ago. Phone up with your PPS no. and you're away, compared to the bad old days of endless slow paper correspondance.

However, I agree that on this particular tax, things don't seem to be improving.

Owen

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Easy there Paintdoctor (are you a even real doctor ?).

Yes of course I'm a real doctor. I have a medical degree in water based paint. Sheesh.

The OP is not moaning about tax evasion. He is moaning about the disparity between the VRT calculator and the NCT's figure.

The guy brought the car into Ireland in June. June! 6 months ago practically, and if he'd paid his VRT within 24 hours like he should have done, he'd have been able to deal directly with the Revenue, and get the price he'd been quoted online.

He might be moaning about the disparity between the Revenue and the NCT, but if he'd paid his taxes on time like the rest of us it wouldn't be an issue. I've paid 8k on one car, 3k on another, and 800 Euro on a third, I know it's painful, but it's part of the buying process of the car, you shouldn't be importing something if you can't a) afford to pay registration tax b) pay registration tax within the alloted time frame.

And yes the system's screwed up now, and will be forever more. That much I agree on.

-Corkie-

I cannot believe the amount of threads lately with VRT. Do people think when the buy a car in the U.K that they can evade paying tax. I see it on several other forums.

People should start budgeting for breakdowns and the like before they go out of the country looking for cars.

Mr. Presentable

So, the OP was given 7 days to sort it out, back in September. Has not yet done so.

Next time you are stopped they'll take the car - how much will you be "out" then?

cormac_byrne

Cmon guys there are two issues here.

1. that the OP is trying to resolve the disparity between the Revenue online calculator amount and the amount the NCT are asking for.

2. The fact he should have sorted this a long time ago.

He came here asking for help on issue 1.

issue 2 is only relevant as there may be a fine attached to the price he's being asked and that may be distorting things

(We can bitch at him about how he should have already paid the tax and is likely to loose the car if stopped again, but I suspect he already knows that)

@ OP
have you determined if the €4000 includes a fine?
did revenue helpline tell you what exactly NCT entered into the system for your car?

Finding what's different between what NCT are entering into system to get €4000 figure and you are entering to get €2300 figure is probably the only way to resolve this without going the pay now appeal later route.

PaintDoctor

PaintDoctor wrote: »

Yup, man up and pay the VRT. You should have paid it in June when you brought the car in, you'd have been able to VRT it for the amount on the site then as back in June the NCT had nothing to do with it.

It's December now, and you're moaning about tax evasion. The rest of us have paid our VRT and had to lump it. If you want to contest the price, you have to pay it first, then contest it.

Bottom line, if you can't afford the VRT, you can't afford the car. Sorry to sound like a pompous ass, but it's how the system works, and you've been getting away with it for 6 months.

+1

Just read your new signature, bummer the old one was deleted.