1970's red number plate surround on UK imported car

[YOMP]

I have recently bought an old car that was imported new in 1977 into the UK because at the time you couldn't buy the model in the UK.. The number plates have a red border. Is it true this was to signify that the VAT/import duty had not been paid on the car? The car was set to leave the UK within 12 months of purchase so the owner wasn't required to pay the tax due.

The number plates are the old style with the plastic digits clipped onto the reflective backing.

[eldar]

Old style Belgian plates. Quite common when importing a car from Belgium was a lot cheaper than Uk sourcing. Come over n Belgian plated until U.K. registration completed.

[YOMP]

It was a brand new car imported from Germany through the brands import office. It hadn't been registered before. So they are UK plates with a red border.

[eldar]

YOMP said:

It was a brand new car imported from Germany through the brands import office. It hadn't been registered before. So they are UK plates with a red border.

Fair enough, no idea. Not something I’ve heard of.

[Mike-tf3n0]

There was a scheme for forces personnel and diplomats which allowed them to buy a car tax free provided it was exported from the country of sale within six months, I think that was how it worked, they had a different plate.

[eldar]

Mike-tf3n0 said:

There was a scheme for forces personnel and diplomats which allowed them to buy a car tax free provided it was exported from the country of sale within six months, I think that was how it worked, they had a different plate.

Scrapped fairly quickly, once the IRA discovered it was an easy way to spot british service people in Germany and other places.


https://www.arrse.co.uk/community/threads/bfg-numb...

[Riley Blue]

eldar said:

Scrapped fairly quickly, once the IRA discovered it was an easy way to spot british service people in Germany and other places.


https://www.arrse.co.uk/community/threads/bfg-numb...

I still have a pair of BFG plates kicking about somewhere. They were in use for decades and weren't scrapped quickly enough, only after an army sergeant was shot while he was stopped at traffic lights in Ostend on his way to a ferry by IRA killers sitting on a bench nearby waiting for a BFG plated car.

Random UK plates were issued instead but they didn't appear on the DVLA database which could be a problem (or an advantage) if you came to the UK on leave.

[eccles]

YOMP said:

I have recently bought an old car that was imported new in 1977 into the UK because at the time you couldn't buy the model in the UK.. The number plates have a red border. Is it true this was to signify that the VAT/import duty had not been paid on the car? The car was set to leave the UK within 12 months of purchase so the owner wasn't required to pay the tax due.

The number plates are the old style with the plastic digits clipped onto the reflective backing.

That's how I remember it being. It was just the chamfered edge of the plate that was red, and signified imported and tax not paid.