Re-registering a car from the Channel Islands in the UK

[26jcd]

Hi all, not too sure if anyone has done this or had experience of this but I currently live in the Channel Islands and I am moving back to the UK in the next couple of months. I have a Porsche that was previously a UK car (not in my ownership) that was then registered in Jersey; now that I am moving back I wish to register it in the UK.

Does anyone know of the costs involved and the relevant people I need to contact? Does the car need an MoT first even before I go to try and re-register it?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers

[jimmy p]

If you get in touch with dvla they will send you an import pack which contains all the information you need. You basically need to get a customs form stamped to say there is no duty required to be paid on it, as its your car and you are moving back to the UK you are ok, this only becomes a problem if you want to buy a car from the channel islands as you then have to pay vat on the purchase at twenty percent. Stopped me buying a car 18months ago! Once you have the customs form its just about getting it mot and registered so only about 100for both!

[thegoose]

The only cost will be the MOT - £54.35 maximum. The £55 DVLA fee applies to first registration only - you can export it as many times as you like, there's no charge to re-register here again.

[rubystone]

jimmy p said:

this only becomes a problem if you want to buy a car from the channel islands as you then have to pay vat on the purchase at twenty percent. Stopped me buying a car 18months ago! Once you have the customs form its just about getting it mot and registered so only about 100for both!

Isn't the vat payable only on the market value of the car at the time of purchase?

[jimmy p]

If you are buying a car even if its used outside the EU it is a new purchase for you. You therefore have to pay VAT on the purchase price upon returning to the UK. So if you pay the seller 30k for car, you will then have to pay 6k to customs to legally register it in this country. I almost found out the hard way as I was in Guernsey about to buy a car when I discovered this. I thought I would be ok initially as the car was originally bought in the UK and VAT had been paid on it. Its free for the owner to return it back to the uk if they are moving here but obviously they will probably have to prove it to get the customs form stamped. Its crap!!

[Henry-F]

jimmy p said:

If you are buying a car even if its used outside the EU it is a new purchase for you. You therefore have to pay VAT on the purchase price upon returning to the UK. So if you pay the seller 30k for car, you will then have to pay 6k to customs to legally register it in this country. I almost found out the hard way as I was in Guernsey about to buy a car when I discovered this. I thought I would be ok initially as the car was originally bought in the UK and VAT had been paid on it. Its free for the owner to return it back to the uk if they are moving here but obviously they will probably have to prove it to get the customs form stamped. Its crap!!

That doesn't sound right to me. Providing VAT has been paid (and not reclaimed when the car left the UK) then it shouldn't be due again. Obviously no VAT in the C-Islands.

Things can change if the car has been out of Europe for more than 3 years but each case is taken on its own merits.

Worth investing a few pounds in the services of a good import agent.

Henry

[jimmy p]

I can only go on what I was told by customs and excise and it took a while before I got through to speak to someone in relation to it. It was basically down to the fact it was a new purchase by me from outside of the EU. If what I was told was not right it was too much of a risk for me at the time to take as if that was the case I had a additional £7k VAT bill to pay on registering the vehicle back home.

[Manks]

I looked at buying a 930 from the channel islands, but it didn't work out.

Not only was the dealer relying upon me defrauding the VAT man to make his purchase price viable, the car was also very tired despite its 36k recorded miles.

I queried why the seats were collapsing and the seat belts were more feathery than a medium-sized ostrich. He said it was because Jersey is a small island and people get in and out their cars a lot.

[26jcd]

Thanks for the advice.

Yeah channel island cars generally have very low mileage unless they go to France a fair bit. I am fortunate enough to be friends with a Porsche specialist here on the Channel Islands and he helped advise me on the right car to go for (it's benefited from a rebuild using the autofarm silsleeve). Mines is a 98 996 with 51k on the clock but I'm very tempted to trade it in once I re-register in the UK as I'm thinking a C4 may be more appropriate going by the weather up North!

[ean21]

I've looked into this in the past as I have moved vehicles in both directions between the UK and CI (privately). There was a time when if you could demonstrate the VAT had been paid on the vehicle then it was not due to be paid again when re-importing to the UK.

Then it changed, and VAT became liable on re-import, even if it had previously been paid. This means you live in Gsy, buy a UK car (which includes a VAT element) then pay VAT again when if you send it back to the UK.

I had quite a few conversations with HMRC at Dover at the time because it seemed so unreasonable. Of course it may have changed back since then...

[steve singh]

Manks said:

I queried why the seats were collapsing and the seat belts were more feathery than a medium-sized ostrich.

[rubystone]

jimmy p said:

I can only go on what I was told by customs and excise and it took a while before I got through to speak to someone in relation to it. It was basically down to the fact it was a new purchase by me from outside of the EU. If what I was told was not right it was too much of a risk for me at the time to take as if that was the case I had a additional £7k VAT bill to pay on registering the vehicle back home.

If it is a brand new car, then yes, you'll have to pay VAT on it if you buy it in outside the EU. But if it is a car that has previously been bought in any EU country and if VAT at that country's rate was paid at the time, it can be brought back into ANY EU country without any duty needing to be paid again.

BTW the seat story - is true...you also have to think about the fact that any performance car will not have been used in any of the upper rev ranges if only used on the Channel Isles. I do wonder what that means in terms of glazed bores and valve guide wear- my father's G-Wagens often used to exhibit blue smoke when he brought them over from Guernsey to the UK. Oh and ther's no MOT requirement in Guernsey either!

[ean21]

rubystone said:

If it is a brand new car, then yes, you'll have to pay VAT on it if you buy it in outside the EU. But if it is a car that has previously been bought in any EU country and if VAT at that country's rate was paid at the time, it can be brought back into ANY EU country without any duty needing to be paid again.

BTW the seat story - is true...you also have to think about the fact that any performance car will not have been used in any of the upper rev ranges if only used on the Channel Isles. I do wonder what that means in terms of glazed bores and valve guide wear- my father's G-Wagens often used to exhibit blue smoke when he brought them over from Guernsey to the UK. Oh and ther's no MOT requirement in Guernsey either!

Hi Rubystone, do you mind if I ask when your Father last moved a car from the CI to the UK or EU?

I did that a few times, but stopped in 2004 when I was looking down the barrel of a VAT invoice to move an Ex-UK car back to the UK after 2 years of my ownership, having personally imported it (VAT paid) from the UK in the first place. I made similar enquiries in 2007 and found the position was the same.

[jimmy p]

rubystone said:

If it is a brand new car, then yes, you'll have to pay VAT on it if you buy it in outside the EU. But if it is a car that has previously been bought in any EU country and if VAT at that country's rate was paid at the time, it can be brought back into ANY EU country without any duty needing to be paid again.

BTW the seat story - is true...you also have to think about the fact that any performance car will not have been used in any of the upper rev ranges if only used on the Channel Isles. I do wonder what that means in terms of glazed bores and valve guide wear- my father's G-Wagens often used to exhibit blue smoke when he brought them over from Guernsey to the UK. Oh and ther's no MOT requirement in Guernsey either!

I was quite clear, as was the the seller, in telling customs that this was a used car, a UK car, where it had been bought used in the UK as an approved used car from Porsche just 6 months earlier with VAT clearly already paid on it. It made no difference, it was a new purchase by me, therefore VAT had to be paid on it when bringing it back to the UK was the reply.

[wmo418]

When I investigated this I found that anything that had been originally sold and VAT paid in the EU was eligible for 'returning goods relief'. I did not go through with the purchase so I am not sure whether this is claimed back after the event or used to waive the VAT at point of entry.
One note of caution: if the car has been substantially improved or restored while in the CI it is deemed to have had value added and VAT may still be chargeable on what HMRC decide that added value to be.