Do i need to pay VAT again, surely not??!!

[lotusgeek]

Hey All

I live in Jersey and have a 2006 Lotus Exige S, UK registered and vat paid by the original owner. It was then sold to someone in Jersey. I then bought it as the 3rd owner. In Jersey we pay no VAT, does anyone know if I can sell it into the UK without the new owner having to pay vat again?

Thanks

Mark

[Nickyboy]

I think it'd have to be paid again, VAT exemption normally applies to temporary exports only and it was permanently exported with the first owner

I could be wrong however

[Defcon5]

In a private sale to an individual who is going to notify the taxman?

[village idiot]

as the channel islands are outside of the eu's fiscal zone, my understanding is that any VAT-paid (or VAT-exempt) status that an asset may previously have benefited from would be reset with VAT being due on the valuation at the time of re-importation.

it's a bit of a pain the butt, but on rare occasions it can actually be quite useful as a means to 'wash' the vat-status of an asset where vat was not levied in the correct manner in the first instance (such as cross-boarder leasing) and might therefore be open to the charging of penalties as well as any vat liability.

but as said above, as the V5 document does not ask where the vehicle was at the time of the transaction, who is ever going to find out... although if you do not declare it, you will have to live with the conscience that it is fraud (which i suspect most people wouldn't have an issue with, especially on the basis that vat was paid once before)

Edited by village idiot on Saturday 31st January 21:29

[JimmyTheHand]

Importing vehicles into the UK - suggests not if importing a previously exported vehicle

[PositronicRay]

I'm sure VAT can be reclaimed once exported, if this has happened VAT may be due when the car gets re-registered in the UK.

[darreni]

Defcon5 said:

In a private sale to an individual who is going to notify the taxman?

Reading the op's post, I assume the car is currently Jersey registered, so would need to be reregistered in the UK.

[Claudia Skies]

Whatever happens you're gonna need to produce some relevant paperwork for customs and HMRC if you think that an apparent tax liability can be avoided. So the question becomes, do you have full paperwork for the original purchase and subsequent export of the car?

If, as some have suggested, VAT was reclaimable when the car was exported then surely you will also need to demonstrate that VAT was not actually reclaimed at that time?

[Graham]

Surely as the vat was paid in the uk by the first owner, and then a private sale to the 2nd owner who wouldnt have paid a vat element to the first owner so nothing to reclaim when he exported

[clarkey]

VAT is only paid once. You need to give DVLA evidence that it has been pais when you register it.

[zed4]

I can't speak for cars, but with boats, you just need to prove that VAT has been paid in the first instance. You don't pay VAT twice. Assuming it's not been reclaimed.

[zed4]

Graham said:

Surely as the vat was paid in the uk by the first owner, and then a private sale to the 2nd owner who wouldnt have paid a vat element to the first owner so nothing to reclaim when he exported

Yes, that should be correct.

[rswift]

You may wish to check the tax (road tax) implications.

I once bought an Irish registered Honda CRV, all straightforward but on this instance it hadn't been previous registers in the UK and I was charged a first registration fee based upon CO2 ratings, which was about £400 for first year (as opposed to the £200 or so I was expecting)

[ging84]

By the looks of it, who ever imports it, either you or the new owner, will have to pay vat again
you didn't export it, so you can't claim the exemption for reimporting, and it's possibly not within 3 years anyway so wouldn't qualify even if you did

[PositronicRay]

I supplied a new car to a UK registered business, which then exported the car, registered in Jersey and reclaimed the VAT. In this instance if re-imported even by a different owner would VAT be due?

[Searider]

JimmyTheHand said:

Importing vehicles into the UK - suggests not if importing a previously exported vehicle

Only if you were the one who exported it and that this export was less than 3 years ago. That's what the link says.

[Searider]

zed4 said:

Graham said:

Surely as the vat was paid in the uk by the first owner, and then a private sale to the 2nd owner who wouldnt have paid a vat element to the first owner so nothing to reclaim when he exported

Yes, that should be correct.

I think on what has happened to the item whilst it's been out of the eu.

Iirc, and village idiot will know this better than me, if the boat is sold whilst out of the eu and is out of the eu for a period of time (6 years comes to mind) it loses its vat paid status.

[lotusgeek]

Thanks for all the feedback.

When the car was exported no VAT was claimed back, unfortunately you cannot do that. (well not when I have looked into it)

It is on Jersey registered plates.

[JimmyTheHand]

Searider said:

Only if you were the one who exported it and that this export was less than 3 years ago. That's what the link says.

Oops missed that bit