VRT of Vintage cars

Great info to have as I have been struggling to figure out the process around the 23% VAT on vintage.

I have a scenario where I am looking a car that has the following timeline of movements between countries:

Car is 1991

Imported into UK from Japan in 1999

Not entirely sure but I think this car was registered in Northern Ireland for 2 years and then moved back to UK and UK plates.

Next owner then had it from 2005 to 2008 which has MOT history for but none prior to 2005.

Car was moved to Germany then but not registered there only stored there and bought this year in February by a buyer in Ireland.

Car is currently still on UK plates but is now in the country over 6 months so will likely incur the late penalty.

OMSP for this car would be in the region of €15k

Actual price that will be paid for the car is €6000 as there are some issues with the car, not running currently

Are my calculations below correct?

Vintage VRT = €200

Late VRT penalty on vintage = €200

23% VAT on €6000 = €1380

Total = €1780

The fact that this was a Jap import could this possibly have duty due also?

Also if this car was registered in NI prior to Brexit then maybe this could qualify for no VAT rule? If so then would the V5 show this history as I wouldn't have any other way of proving?

Sorry I probably confused the situation by mentioning it was stored in Germany. The car was never officially exported to Germany so there is no record of it being in Germany.

Car is UK plates and not classed as exported from the UK on the system.

I do know the car was registered in NI for approx 2 years and this was pre-Brexit so I think I am covered with this and should only be owing VRT =€200.

Hoping the current owner has some documentation to prove this as I have been unable to find anything with car checks online.

Anyone know of a way of getting MOT history of a custom UK/ NI plate? This car used a NI reg plate between 2001 and 2005 not sure of exact dates but when I look that reg up now it shows as a completely different vehicle and has no MOT history pre 2005.

If I can get MOT history showing this car was in the NI pre brexit I would be in a good place.

Currently I can show that the car did use this reg plate pre brexit but without MOT history showing NI location it is no good to me

Thanks for that.

Been to VRT centre today and the girl was 50/50 about letting me defroster it by only paying the €200 vrt and no VAT but I think she just played it safe and said pay the VAT and customs.

Ive also been in contact with a customs broker and I’ve 2 options.

1) Pay additional VAT (23%) and and customs duty (10%)

2) Pay additional VAT and claim vintage status to customs to avoid the customs duty (10%)

Option 2 can be a long process as customs will look for photos inside and outside, proof of payment like bank transfer etc, query price paid for the car versus open market value.

To keep things straight forward I’m going to go with option 1

Hi all,

New to boards as I'm at my wits end trying to find info on getting some vintage cars VRT'd, and this thread is the only place I've found some sensible info.

@kdevitt your comment above is music to my ears as this is the exact situation in front of me - car is 1981, been in the country 10+ years but never registered (still on UK plates). Can you give me some more info on how you went about it? eg. how to prove the car entered the country pre-brexit, but was also classed as vintage when it entered? The VRT phone line won't confirm that the penalty will be capped at €200. They just say to make the appointment at the NCT centre and bring as much supporting documentation as possible. Thanks in advance!

Is there any portal where you can do the custom element of bringing in a car from uk or is it solely done through importers?

thinking of bring in a 4x4 around 30-35 years old between £5-10k, just trying to work out the costs and if I can drive it home the day I buy.

Thanks I think I will chat them. Had you duty to pay or just VAT of purchase price?

Perfect, will do. Thanks for the replies.