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

Greenlights16

User1998 wrote: »

To follow up on my previous post..

So lets say pre brexit you were importing a car worth £10,000 (€11,570) to Ireland.

It would cost you €11,570 + shipping + vrt

So using todays Google exchange rate and a shipping cost of €250, and assume VRT of €2,000

It would cost €13,820

Now post brexit, you buy a car in the UK worth £10,000 (€11,570). You can buy the car minus 20% VAT, so it only costs you £8,333 (€9,641) + shipping (€250). A total of €9,890

You then pay 10% customs of that amount (€989)

So far its cost €10,870

You then pay 23% VAT of the amount (€2,500)

So now it’s costing €13,372

Add in the customs broker fee and port charges and your looking at €13,620

You then pay VRT. I assumed VRT to be €2,000. But now there is the increased WLTP based VRT so I’m going to assume €2,400. Not the most technical way to calculate it but some cars are more and some cars are less.

So that gives a grand total of €16,000

Pre brexit/VRT increase it was €13,820

So even importing a VAT qualifying car it seems there is not much value to be had. I’d hazard a guess that importing a UK origin car would still make good financial sense. As there is no 10% customs, it then significantly lowers your VAT payment too.

Thoughts?

Just to seek clarity on this further User1998-

Would you agree that - if the car is bought in uk & registered in NI. A northern reg cuts that all out?

It just means the ni dealer registering it in his name first, then selling it. Its one more owner on log book sure,
. But saves a fortune!

Isambard

Greenlights16 wrote: »

Just to seek clarity on this further User1998-

Would you agree that - if the car is bought in uk & registered in NI. A northern reg cuts that all out?

It just means the ni dealer registering it in his name first, then selling it. Its one more owner on log book sure,
. But saves a fortune!

you'll have to pay VAT entering the EU area (NI) on a private purchase or if it's a Dealer selling a car, on the profit on sale .
If there's a money advantage, it's the Dealer who'll be getting it not Joe Public

User1998

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Are you implying the majority of cars on done deal are damaged cars sold by dodgy dealers. Do you seriously think we have that many damaged cars that the majority of cars sold on donedeal would be bad ones. Very very unlikely.

I am currently selling my car on donedeal. It's a great car looked after well, I have a workmate selling her car on it. Good car and well looked after too. My brother in law just sold his car on it last month. Another well looked after car.

Who are all these dodgy dealers that make up the majority?

I wouldn’t say the majority of cars being sold are dodgy dealers, but sellers on Donedeal are far from ‘enthusiastic, car loving pampering owners selling gems’ as they put it.

Honestly the amount of cars out there with bad history in the uk, weather the seller knows it or not.

Loads of cars that are rough as f*ck. Loads with no service historys, barely any nct, disgusting interiors etc etc

Sometimes its near impossible to find a genuine private seller who isn’t a trader with a fake name

And lets be honest most people will probably stay quiet about any faults the car has if they know they’ll get away with it, no shame in it as they are private sellers after all

At least when you buy a modern car from a dealer you can expect full service history from the uk, one owner, good condition etc etc

Me personally tho I would take the risk and choose private seller if the car is good and the price is right

leeroy446

importing a uk car now you pay vrt, nox and also now with brexit 20 per cent vat as well, is that true

Buddy Bubs

leeroy446 wrote: »

importing a uk car now you pay vrt, nox and also now with brexit 20 per cent vat as well, is that true

21% VAT, 23% from next week

leeroy446

Buddy Bubs wrote: »

21% VAT, 23% from next week

so vrt on a 7 seater i had in mind is vrt is 4760, nox is 3980 and now i have to pay VAT on top of that, is VAT the market value of the car on their books?

Isambard

User1998 wrote: »

I wouldn’t say the majority of cars being sold are dodgy dealers, but sellers on Donedeal are far from ‘enthusiastic, car loving pampering owners selling gems’ as they put it.

Honestly the amount of cars out there with bad history in the uk, weather the seller knows it or not.

Loads of cars that are rough as f*ck. Loads with no service historys, barely any nct, disgusting interiors etc etc

Sometimes its near impossible to find a genuine private seller who isn’t a trader with a fake name

And lets be honest most people will probably stay quiet about any faults the car has if they know they’ll get away with it, no shame in it as they are private sellers after all

At least when you buy a modern car from a dealer you can expect full service history from the uk, one owner, good condition etc etc

Me personally tho I would take the risk and choose private seller if the car is good and the price is right

In my opinion, you'd have to be very careful with a car from an auction. My old employer over there used to allow Staff to buy up our cars after three years which meant the decent ones were snapped up. The rest, that no one wanted, even at a give away price, went off to auction. I'd think that many decent cars at the end of a lease or hire period get snapped up similarly and don't go to auction

Atlantic Dawn

leeroy446 wrote: »

so vrt on a 7 seater i had in mind is vrt is 4760, nox is 3980 and now i have to pay VAT on top of that, is VAT the market value of the car on their books?

Forget about that car, box is crazy.

Have you looked at cars based on Euro 6 emissions, this was law from September 2015? Their max nox emissions for diesel is €600.

artheb

Isambard wrote: »

you'll have to pay VAT entering the EU area (NI) on a private purchase or if it's a Dealer selling a car, on the profit on sale .
If there's a money advantage, it's the Dealer who'll be getting it not Joe Public

Did they not stop the custom charges between GB and NI on the cars? It looks to me that NI dealer can pull the car from GB without any customs. So if they register the car to NI plates, we can buy that car and pay VRT only upon import.

Right or wrong?

Greenlights16

I was of the same opinion @artheb

Isambard

artheb wrote: »

Did they not stop the custom charges between GB and NI on the cars? It looks to me that NI dealer can pull the car from GB without any customs. So if they register the car to NI plates, we can buy that car and pay VRT only upon import.

Right or wrong?

no they didn't. They re-instated the Margin Scheme for Dealer's whereby he doesn't have to pay the VAT on import to NI, but has to pay VAT on sale of the vehicle, including the profit margin. You can indeed buy that car for export to the Republic but the dealer will have to account for the VAT which will be reflected in the price. You won't have to pay more VAT on import to IRL.

artheb

Isambard wrote: »

no they didn't. They re-instated the Margin Scheme for Dealer's whereby he doesn't have to pay the VAT on import to NI, but has to pay VAT on sale of the vehicle, including the profit margin. You can indeed buy that car for export to the Republic but the dealer will have to account for the VAT which will be reflected in the price. .

Same thing really. They reapply the same VAT rate just on the top of the margin. It was the same pre-brexit. Any Vat registered company applies the margin to the nett price and calculates the VAT on the top of that. It's just how it works. The point is that they don't need to pay customs upon import to NI and if they register the car to NI plates then you only pay VRT upon import to ROI. At least that's what I have figured out.

Additionally, any Irish dealer can buy VAT qualifying vehicle from NI without VAT. They will then add margin, VAT and VRT and sell it to the public.

User1998

artheb wrote: »

Did they not stop the custom charges between GB and NI on the cars? It looks to me that NI dealer can pull the car from GB without any customs. So if they register the car to NI plates, we can buy that car and pay VRT only upon import.

Right or wrong?

Correct. Theres no import charges bringing cars from GB to NI. No difference from last year. There was VAT to be paid on arrival into NI for about a week until they changed it back to the Margin scheme

leeroy446

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Forget about that car, box is crazy.

Have you looked at cars based on Euro 6 emissions, this was law from September 2015? Their max nox emissions for diesel is €600.

ok how does the new VAT work on this

Atlantic Dawn

leeroy446 wrote: »

ok how does the new VAT work on this

My understanding is no VAT on NIRL purchases but full VAT on those sourced in UK.

Isambard

to summarise, they have all the bases covered and it's unlikely you'll get a bargain whether you import from GB or NI

User1998

leeroy446 wrote: »

ok how does the new VAT work on this

Read the importing from uk main thread

BnB

What figure is the VAT based on. Is it

a straight 23% added onto what you paid for the car

or

23% onto the OMSV of the car as determined by Revenue

or

23% onto (The OMSV of the car as determined by Revenue PLUS VRT)

jimmycrackcorm

Is there VAT on the likes of CrewCabs though?

leeroy446

Is NOX only on cars and not commercials?
I am hearing difficult stories
I used the VRT calculator and vehicles not even listed on there

Buddy Bubs

leeroy446 wrote: »

so vrt on a 7 seater i had in mind is vrt is 4760, nox is 3980 and now i have to pay VAT on top of that, is VAT the market value of the car on their books?

VAT is based on invoice value, as far as I know. There hasn't been a documented story on boards yet that i can see with someone that has brought something in yet. Just 1 or 2 that got caught out and are VRTing stuff brought in December 2020 and couldn't get an appointment until 2021

Haven't seen one told through to its conclusion yet either

mgn

Isambard wrote: »

In my opinion, you'd have to be very careful with a car from an auction. My old employer over there used to allow Staff to buy up our cars after three years which meant the decent ones were snapped up. The rest, that no one wanted, even at a give away price, went off to auction. I'd think that many decent cars at the end of a lease or hire period get snapped up similarly and don't go to auction

Nothing wrong with cars from auctions these days as long as you do your homework, most cars up to 4 or 5 years old have condition report and a AA inspection report so you can see what your buying, yes some cars are rough but that is reflected in the price.
As for people buying the company car after 3 years, most don't because the are getting another new company car and there are millions like that. and from personal experience when the lease company gives you the option to buy the car when the lease is up, your better of letting it go to auction and buy it a lot cheaper than buying of them.

Atlantic Dawn

leeroy446 wrote: »

Is NOX only on cars and not commercials?
I am hearing difficult stories
I used the VRT calculator and vehicles not even listed on there

Yes only cars.

colm_mcm

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Yes only cars.

And some crewcabs

funnyname

artheb wrote: »

Did they not stop the custom charges between GB and NI on the cars? It looks to me that NI dealer can pull the car from GB without any customs. So if they register the car to NI plates, we can buy that car and pay VRT only upon import.

Right or wrong?

Just wondering what you mean by registering the GB car on NI plates, isn't the UK system the same throughout all 4 states?

I'm looking to buy a campervan from a dealer in the North, they brought it in from GB. Price agreed includes vrt registration so I'm hoping there's no vat or customs duty applicable.

Isambard

you don't have to change the plates, just make sure the paperwork is in order. When did they bring it in?

LillySV

cranefly wrote: »

My advice would be for irish car buyers to buy direct from private irish sellers, stay away from the dealers, they are fleecing there customers, they were going up north or to the UK and buying up high mileage, low spec cars and selling them down here at a premium, nearly all the dealers sell these cars with barely any difference in price between them, god help a dealer that tries to lower the price on these cars, there must be some type of cartel operating in the irish market.

The problem with this is that very few people selling their cars now... they seem to be happy to trade them in and get f all for em

funnyname

Isambard wrote: »

you don't have to change the plates, just make sure the paperwork is in order. When did they bring it in?

End of January, beginning of February. What type of paperwork should they be completing?

artheb

funnyname wrote: »

Just wondering what you mean by registering the GB car on NI plates, isn't the UK system the same throughout all 4 states?

I'm looking to buy a campervan from a dealer in the North, they brought it in from GB. Price agreed includes vrt registration so I'm hoping there's no vat or customs duty applicable.

NI has different plate format than GB. Still managed by DVLA but doe snot look the same as GB. I thought that you should change the plates to NI plates if you import the car from GB. No?

Isambard

funnyname wrote: »

End of January, beginning of February. What type of paperwork should they be completing?

there's a customs declaration online principally.