Importing car from Northern Ireland

gaillimh

Hi guys.

Apologies if there is a thread here somewhere that covers all of this (mods by all means redirect if so).

Anyhow, I imported my current car from the North and my wife's from England pre-Brexit (mine in 2016 and hers in 2019).

Paid the VRT etc. and no VAT/customs duty was applicable at that time.

My understanding is that now post-Brexit, VAT is always payable on cars registered to owners in England, Scotland or Wales, but is not always payable on cars registered to owners in Northern Ireland.

I'm just not sure in what scenario(s) I can import a car from the North and NOT have to pay any additional Vat/customs on top of the VRT.

Anyone able to assist? Is it only where buying privately from an individual and not a dealer? Or are there other rules at play?

Thanks for any advice - I haven't really been paying attention to the post-Brexit situation but looks like i will need to change the car soon and wondering if I could get something cheaper up there (I saved a nice bit on my current car buying up North at the time).

User1998

Exempt from VAT & Customs:

Any car thats been privately registered in the North for 3 months

Or any car that was first registered in Northern Ireland

Theres also a case where you can buy dealer cars but its a bit more confusing. Something about NI VAT being paid on import

gaillimh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123284120#Comment_123284120

Thanks for that. Very helpful

Stallingrad

Keep in mind if it is an EV you can avoid VRT too if it fullfills the above criteria. OMSP needs to be under 40k ASFAIK.

millie12345

Thank you. I have run into difficulty with Transfermate, they no longer deal with transfers for individuals under 100K. Any other suggestions for transferring the money? Would this be something BOI or AIB could do? I can’t get through to a person on the phone to ask and see if they do how much it would cost.

millie12345

Sorry I replied on wrong thread!! Still looking for options re transfer though so interested to hear how others managed this.

oinkely

i usd tranferwise for a few cars a few years back. you could use revolut either depending on the value of the car. IIRC at the time on a €12k transfer i saved about €350 or so vs the total cost through my bank - PTSB.

User1998

Revolut is best IMO

millie12345

Thank you. I managed to check it with my own bank after and comparing with Revolut it looks like the later are about E700 cheaper so I will be going with them. I upgraded to the premium, had an offer for 2 months free, not sure if I can cancel after a week will try to find that out. Thank you for all the help, really appreciate it.

lukas8888

Hi User, I am hoping to import a used car from N ireland 6 months old and 8 k miles.The car is a Hybrid and I roughly know how much VRT is due.My query is the car is from new registered in N ireland but not to a private owner it is registered on the V5 Log book to the BMW garage in Belfast.Will I be able to avoid VAT and excise if not I will have to forget about it.Any advise from you or anyone else appreciated.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123336380#Comment_123336380

Private ownership rule is only for cars previously registered in the UK