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

dickdasr1234

Can someone please confirm that revenue have issued amended Reg Certs? Could you maybe also state the reasons for amendment?

I ask because revenue have knocked back my VRT appeal - I was assessed (11/2020) on the WLTP figure on my V5C.

They stole €500 of mine and I have to go begging to get it back!

reubenreuben

Isambard wrote: »

an honest dealer then!

Shelbourne motors if it's okay to mention it.

0lordy

dickdasr1234 wrote: »

Can someone please confirm that revenue have issued amended Reg Certs? Could you maybe also state the reasons for amendment?

I ask because revenue have knocked back my VRT appeal - I was assessed (11/2020) on the WLTP figure on my V5C.

They stole €500 of mine and I have to go begging to get it back!

I got a revised reg cert, but no explanation as to why. The only difference was a change to teh CO2 number from 149 to 125.

I have an appeal with them for months now. No updates on Revenue MyAccount, and can't seem to get through to them on the phone, it just drops. Anyone else having problems contacting them?

elbyrneo

Sorry if already explained but couldn't see in thread.

I understand Vat qualifying imports using a dealer or specialist company is still an option, so we don't double pay on Irish and UK vat.

Is that correct?

If that's the case question is then, what used car qualifies? Is it that these lease/commercial cars that have never been privately owned.

I was looking at a 2007/8 maserati granturismo (pipe dream) or if I wimp out, a slightly more sensible 2015 Audi S4. Budget of 30k to 35k including VRT.

Not many options in Ireland and indeed Northern Ireland too. Assuming these types of cars are unlikely to ever be vat qualifying.....

User1998

You won’t find many cars over 3 years old that are VAT qualifying. Other points to note:

UK VAT rate is 20% ours is 23%, so already paying 3% more.

You pay Irish VAT on the purchase price + shipping + 10% customs. So thats even more VAT thats payable

As above 10% customs duty applicable to most cars

Customs broker fees

Increased WLTP VRT

Private imports from the mainland are dead for now imo

elbyrneo

User1998 wrote: »

You won’t find many cars over 3 years old that are VAT qualifying. Other points to note:

UK VAT rate is 20% ours is 23%, so already paying 3% more.

You pay Irish VAT on the purchase price + shipping + 10% customs. So thats even more VAT thats payable

As above 10% customs duty applicable to most cars

Customs broker fees

Increased WLTP VRT

Private imports from the mainland are dead for now imo

Cheers. Best bet might be NI (registered there before start of this year) and then just the VRT I guess.
Pain in the hole, after years of dreaming and ogling cars on pistonheads or autotrader UK, finally I get to the point of being able to afford something nice and Brexit scuppers it all.

TomOnBoard

elbyrneo wrote: »

Cheers. Best bet might be NI (registered there before start of this year) and then just the VRT I guess.
Pain in the hole, after years of dreaming and ogling cars on pistonheads or autotrader UK, finally I get to the point of being able to afford something nice and Brexit scuppers it all.

It's not just Brexit, although that is a new factor beyond our control... Its the grabbing pirates in Revenue (at the ongoing behest of the SIMI), basically arrogant civil servants in Dublin, who CHOSE to maintain the penury of VRT on used imports, KNOWING full well that VAT & Customs duty would have to be levied on GB imports after Brexit!

Pirates with NO mandate, who rape the private lad who is trying to get a slice of pleasure from his motoring, but simply CANNOT afford the stuff the well-heeled lads can afford with little/no bother!

When the rubber hits the road on all this current talk about a 'United Ireland' and lads in the North (regardless of politics) are asked to vote for same, let some one explain that such a vote will force them out of their Bimmer and into a Dacia, IF THEY'RE LUCKY!

Rant not over, actually! Just getting started on that one!!

dickdasr1234

0lordy wrote: »

I got a revised reg cert, but no explanation as to why. The only difference was a change to teh CO2 number from 149 to 125.

I have an appeal with them for months now. No updates on Revenue MyAccount, and can't seem to get through to them on the phone, it just drops. Anyone else having problems contacting them?

Thanks for your reply.

myAccount had an update of 'initiated' which I took, as one might, to mean that the appeal process had begun. But no. Clicking on 'initiated' opened their dismissal of my appeal (which was mostly a load of garbage regarding the OMSP which I hadn't appealed)!

They are some shower of clowns!

My F20 118d is classified as 99g NEDC.

The car had 115g WLTP on the V5C.

Revenue's attitude is that you pay according to what is on the V5C, end of.

But the fun doesn't stop there, the incorrect rating is on my Reg Cert and thus leads to overcharging of car tax and devaluing of my car.

They misappropriate my money and give me thirty days to appeal their idiocy.

Idi Amin would be in the ha'penny place beside these guys.

nialler1978

Is the VAT you need to pay here based on their ridiculous OMSP or a conversion of the VAT that you would pay in Sterling when purchasing?

Isambard

nialler1978 wrote: »

Is the VAT you need to pay here based on their ridiculous OMSP or a conversion of the VAT that you would pay in Sterling when purchasing?

based on 23% of the invoice price and the transport costs.

michellie

dickdasr1234 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply.

myAccount had an update of 'initiated' which I took, as one might, to mean that the appeal process had begun. But no. Clicking on 'initiated' opened their dismissal of my appeal (which was mostly a load of garbage regarding the OMSP which I hadn't appealed)!

They are some shower of clowns!

My F20 118d is classified as 99g NEDC.

The car had 115g WLTP on the V5C.

Revenue's attitude is that you pay according to what is on the V5C, end of.

But the fun doesn't stop there.

Because 115g/km is on my Reg Cert, they have applied the NEDC to WLTP conversion formula to that 115g in order to arrive at a WLTP figure for my annual car tax.

They misappropriate my money and give me thirty days to appeal their idiocy.

Idi Amin would be in the ha'penny place beside these guys.

What year is the car and did you have a COC for the figures?

Atlantic Dawn

Isambard wrote: »

based on 10% of the invoice price and the transport costs.

Would transport costs be ferry charge if you drove it back yourself or just in the case of if you hired a transport company to deliver it to you?

User1998

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Would transport costs be ferry charge if you drove it back yourself or just in the case of if you hired a transport company to deliver it to you?

Ferry costs and fuel

Atlantic Dawn

User1998 wrote: »

Ferry costs and fuel

Bad times for importing, could be €200 for ferry plus €50 or more for fuel and tolls possible too.

They should allow some offset of costs if you bring the car back yourself, minimum wage for every hour plus flights over to deduct.

TomOnBoard

Isambard wrote: »

based on 10% of the invoice price and the transport costs.

I thought VAT is @23%?? Customs Duty is the one @10%.. Yes/No??

dickdasr1234

michellie wrote: »

What year is the car and did you have a COC for the figures?

It is a 2018 F20. The figures are freely available, including on the VRT calculator.

Luckylow10

Thought I’d update the thread on my issue I posted here few months back:-

In feb 21 i purchased U.K. imported 2019 xc90.

Vrt was paid using the revenue Uplifted WLTP co2 figure.

Yet It was motor taxed under nedc tax basis.

Since 1 March I have been trying to get revenue to change the emissions to the official WLTP Volvo figure and not the v5 nedc (the car was only ever tested under WLTP, the nedc figure is an estimate used in U.K.)

They are giving me the run around saying to contact motor tax office, saying only newly manufactured cars 2021 can be registered with WLTP etc etc.

2 months later and I’m still getting nowhere.

Paul Kiernan

dickdasr1234 wrote: »

It is a 2018 F20. The figures are freely available, including on the VRT calculator.

I'm sure this issue has been covered before. AFAIK it applies to all UK imports made before 31/12/20 where the V5C specifies the WLTP CO2 rather than the NEDC CO2.

As Revenue use a calculator to convert NEDC to WLTP for 2021 imports I'd have thought they'd use the reverse of that to convert WLTP back to NEDC. That would convert your V5C figure of 115 WLTP back to 89 NEDC and thus a 15% rate.

Isambard

TomOnBoard wrote: »

I thought VAT is @23%;?? Customs Duty is the one @10%.. Yes/No??

yes...senior moment edited

longvacation

Is this a summary of the position with buying a car from NI?

1. If car was imported and registered in NI prior to 01/01/2021, then no customs or VAT.
   
2. If car was imported (but not registered) into NI prior to 01/01/2021, then no customs or VAT if you can show an invoice from the person/dealer in NI that purchased the car together with a delivery invoice showing date of delivery to NI.
   
3. Cars imported and first registered in Northern Ireland after January 1st 2021 and considered new for VAT purposes are not subject to customs duty but are subject to VAT
   
4. Cars first registered in the UK and then imported and subsequently registered in Northern after January 1st 2021 are not subject to customs duty or VAT, provided there is proof the vehicle was properly imported to Northern Ireland. The proof required is a copy of the customs declaration showing the importation of the vehicle into Northern Ireland or a T2L document issued by HMRC.

TomOnBoard

longvacation wrote: »

Is this a summary of the position with buying a car from NI?

1. If car was imported and registered in NI prior to 01/01/2021, then no customs or VAT.
   
2. If car was imported (but not registered) into NI prior to 01/01/2021, then no customs or VAT if you can show an invoice from the person/dealer in NI that purchased the car together with a delivery invoice showing date of delivery to NI.
   
3. Cars imported and first registered in Northern Ireland after January 1st 2021 and considered new for VAT purposes are not subject to customs duty but are subject to VAT
   
4. Cars first registered in the UK and then imported and subsequently registered in Northern after January 1st 2021 are not subject to customs duty or VAT, provided there is proof the vehicle was properly imported to Northern Ireland. The proof required is a copy of the customs declaration showing the importation of the vehicle into Northern Ireland or a T2L document issued by HMRC.

Re. 3: Regardless of new or used, customs duty (subject to rules of origin eg. BMW made in Germany attracts 10%, but Quashqai made in GB does not) and VAT apply AFAIK.

Re. 4: Again, AFAIK, any Customs Duty and VAT must be paid, or accounted for somewhere. Originally, this was intended to be dealt with in NI, but BoJo unliaterally walked that back shortly after 1st Jan. So now, its gotta be dealt with through ROI Revenue.

dickdasr1234

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

I'm sure this issue has been covered before. AFAIK it applies to all UK imports made before 31/12/20 where the V5C specifies the WLTP CO2 rather than the NEDC CO2.

As Revenue use a calculator to convert NEDC to WLTP for 2021 imports I'd have thought they'd use the reverse of that to convert WLTP back to NEDC. That would convert your V5C figure of 115 WLTP back to 89 NEDC and thus a 15% rate.

Aye, or simply use the widely available NEDC figure for the specific car. But no, the VRT site clearly states that the tax will be charged on the figure stated on the V5C! My appeal dismissal states that I have no grounds for appeal!
The whole thing is beyond a joke.
I emailed the car tax crowd telling them that I was being overcharged - didn't get as much as the courtesy of a reply.

Paul Kiernan

dickdasr1234 wrote: »

Aye, or simply use the widely available NEDC figure for the specific car. But no, the VRT site clearly states that the tax will be charged on the figure stated on the V5C! My appeal dismissal states that I have no grounds for appeal!
The whole thing is beyond a joke.
I emailed the car tax crowd telling them that I was being overcharged - didn't get as much as the courtesy of a reply.

I'm a bit puzzled by all this!

Apparently V5C's only gave the WLTP figure from April 2020 so how come your 2018 car is showing WLTP not NEDC?

Revenue website says V5C figure will be used unless you supply a certificate of conformity for your specific vehicle. It looks like you can get one here.

dashoonage

lads. to be sure to be sure to be sure. A 2019 car sold and registered originally in NI and still there, and im looking to import it into ROI now. No vat or customs ?

TomOnBoard

dashoonage wrote: »

lads. to be sure to be sure to be sure. A 2019 car sold and registered originally in NI and still there, and im looking to import it into ROI now. No vat or customs ?

Assuming it has enough miles on it, that seems like a poster child for a VAT/Duty- free experience alright!

Good Luck with it!

dashoonage

TomOnBoard wrote: »

Assuming it has enough miles on it, that seems like a poster child for a VAT/Duty- free experience alright!

Good Luck with it!

9000km ??

dickdasr1234

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

I'm a bit puzzled by all this!

Apparently V5C's only gave the WLTP figure from April 2020 so how come your 2018 car is showing WLTP not NEDC?

Revenue website says V5C figure will be used unless you supply a certificate of conformity for your specific vehicle. It looks like you can get one here.

Thanks for that.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/bmw-raises-co2-figures-entire-range

BMW jumped the gun in early 2018 with their "model year co2 change".

Hopefully BMW come up with a free certificate - "A certificate for vehicles not registered in the UK can be provided by us at a cost of £100."

Don't know if that means vehicles not currently registered in the UK but I'll soon find out!

Given that the car is not a rare specimen and the CO2 figures are well-documented, I find the whole thing a bit high-handed.

TomOnBoard

dashoonage wrote: »

9000km ??

Yeah, should be OK- if it is less than 6,000 km it's classed as a 'new means of transport'..

techtalk101

Lads I'm looking at a car in the UK
(living here currently but not long and won't be long enough for free vrt or any of that old stuff)

Long story short;
Car is a 1999
Price is £3k
Vrt calculator gives a price of €1200 (that's with max Nox charge - petrol and I don't know what is on the logbook yet so assume the worst)

What other import duty/ tax is there on top?

I'll be driving it back, VIA ferry and northern Ireland.

TomOnBoard

techtalk101 wrote: »

Lads I'm looking at a car in the UK
(living here currently but not long and won't be long enough for free vrt or any of that old stuff)

Long story short;
Car is a 1999
Price is £3k
Vrt calculator gives a price of €1200 (that's with max Nox charge - petrol and I don't know what is on the logbook yet so assume the worst)

What other import duty/ tax is there on top?

I'll be driving it back, VIA ferry and northern Ireland.

Unless it was built in GB or predominantly of GB made parts, add 10% duty to the total cost inc. Ferry etc. Then add 23% VAT on purchase price + ferry + duty.