Import duty from Southern Ireland

[e21Mark]

Am I right in thinking that there's no duty to pay on cars imported to England from S Ireland, so long as over 6 mths / 6k miles old?

Are there any other potential problems, with imports from Southern Ireland?

Thanks in advance.

[sleep envy]

e21Mark said:

Am I right in thinking that there's no duty to pay on cars imported to England from S Ireland, so long as over 6 mths / 6k miles old?

Are there any other potential problems, with imports from Southern Ireland?

Thanks in advance.

I believe you may be correct with respect to VAT however the only problem you may encounter is from an Irishman calling the Republic 'Southern Ireland'

[e21Mark]

It's actually the middle east I'm going to!

I've never actually been before, so is a pity I'll only have about 10 hours.

[Leins]

You might find if it's something a bit rarer over here in the RoI then it was probably originally a GB car anyway, so there will be a previous reg number associated with it at the DVLA. My three originated in Aberdeen, Warrington and York respectively and I have a record of the old GB registrations

If it's something BMW-related drop me a PM if you like as I might know of it

Edited by Leins on Monday 18th November 23:12

[e21Mark]

It was actually in Germany prior to Ireland. It's been there for the past 6 years.

[GolfBayAU]

There may also be a charge for change of plates. There are huge costs involved with importing cars from UK to AUS

[Leins]

GolfBayAU said:

There may also be a charge for change of plates. There are huge costs involved with importing cars from UK to AUS

There are huge costs importing cars less than 30 years old from UK to RoI (vehicle registration tax), not the other way around

[e21Mark]

So, once back home, do I just book an MOT and then head to my local DVLA office to apply for a V5?

[Leins]

^^^ I know of someone who did this recently with an original Irish car, and that was the procedure. I suspect your target car is LHD, so not sure if that makes a difference though

The seller will probably want to avail of the VRT-refund here too, but that should just be a case of having the car pre-inspected here at an official centre and then showing a copy of the ferry ticket within 30 days. I only mention this as there are a lot of myths going around about this new scheme, and I suspect they originate from officialdom where some don't know the process themselves!

Edited by Leins on Monday 18th November 23:34

[e21Mark]

Leins said:

I suspect your target car is LHD

[e21Mark]

Well the date has finally rolled around and am heading over to collect the car on Friday 23rd. I've insured it using the chassis number, so I can drive home, but can I legally use it on UK roads while waiting for a UK registration? Due to the bank holiday I won't be able to attend the nearest DVLA office till the following Tuesday.

Any help / advice would be much appreciated.

[dry664]

Yes you can use it. In fact I'm not even sure that there's a limit for how long you can use it running on Irish plates unless one is set by your insurance company.

[e21Mark]

dry664 said:

Yes you can use it. In fact I'm not even sure that there's a limit for how long you can use it running on Irish plates unless one is set by your insurance company.

Really? That's bloody good news as am booked in for the weekends sprint at Crystal Palace and would be gutted to miss out. I had visions of having to spend 3 days just looking at it.

[s p a c e m a n]

e21Mark said:

It's actually the middle east I'm going to!

I've never actually been before, so is a pity I'll only have about 10 hours.

That's a long way to go to get a car, even if you're only there for 10 hours I would use loads of sunscreen

[Denis O]

I believe you can run it on Irish plates up to 6 months. That assumes the car is road legal in the country it is currently registered in. It then has to be registered in the UK. That's all subject to your insurance cover as mentioned above.

[TooMany2cvs]

Denis O said:

I believe you can run it on Irish plates up to 6 months.

Only if you're not UK resident. If you're UK resident, then you have to get it on UK plates asap. Doesn't matter which country, EU or non-EU, it's registered in.

[e21Mark]

TooMany2cvs said:

Denis O said:

I believe you can run it on Irish plates up to 6 months.

Only if you're not UK resident. If you're UK resident, then you have to get it on UK plates asap. Doesn't matter which country, EU or non-EU, it's registered in.

So I should be OK for the bank holiday weekend?

[dry664]

When I did it=e21Mark]

TooMany2cvs said:

Denis O said:

I believe you can run it on Irish plates up to 6 months.

Only if you're not UK resident. If you're UK resident, then you have to get it on UK plates asap. Doesn't matter which country, EU or non-EU, it's registered in.

So I should be OK for the bank holiday weekend?

When I did it in Dec 2012 neither my insurance Co or the dvla advised me of an actual deadline. I agree you should do it asap but if you've got plans....

[Denis O]

TooMany2cvs said:

Denis O said:

I believe you can run it on Irish plates up to 6 months.

Only if you're not UK resident. If you're UK resident, then you have to get it on UK plates asap. Doesn't matter which country, EU or non-EU, it's registered in.

Another learning day

[e21Mark]

It seems the car did spend some time in the UK a few years ago, but am guessing that will have little bearing on my returning it to the UK once again? I'm going to book an MOT for the Saturday morning anyway, so should be able to register it on the Tuesday.