Buying an unregistered reimported car

[rikdogguk]

Im looking at buying a car which the seller exported to Italy, then reimported but for some reason didn’t notify the dvla or hmrc. Apparently he never had confirmation of the export and assumed the export declaration never went through, so when he brought it back he just drove it around as normal with tax and mot for three years!

When he decided to sell he applied for a new v5 only to be told by dvla the car had been exported!

And now he has left the country and trying to shift this car through a friend.

I know this sounds like a complete scam but it is cheap enough to be of interest if it’s just a case of keeping it on my drive while I go through the bureaucracy…

But there is no paperwork other than the old v5 and he is will give me a signed receipt on purchase.

Done some digging on hmrc which says you need to notify within 14 days when reimporting!!!!

Any ideas if this is resolvable or am I on a hiding to nothing??

Cheers

RD

[andrewcliffe]

If its been re-imported since Brexit, there could be import duty and VAT to pay. How old is the car?

[rikdogguk]

It’s 22 years old and was exported before brexit, I think.

[andrewcliffe]

its when it was re-imported is the question. If you can show it was imported pre-brexit, then there is the argument that there is no duties to pay.

You'll have to probably go through the NOVA system.

At 22yrs old, it would be full rates of import duty and VAT.

[rikdogguk]

andrewcliffe said:

its when it was re-imported is the question. If you can show it was imported pre-brexit, then there is the argument that there is no duties to pay.

You'll have to probably go through the NOVA system.

At 22yrs old, it would be full rates of import duty and VAT.

So vat would be payable even though vat was paid on its original sale?

Would vat and import duty be calculated at the price I paid for it?

[bennno]

Did similar. Takes 3-4 months, needs nova process to be followed, needs certificate of conformity from manufacturer, will be circa 30% tax on top, plus it needs to pass an mot before it can be used.

[andrewcliffe]

rikdogguk said:

andrewcliffe said:

its when it was re-imported is the question. If you can show it was imported pre-brexit, then there is the argument that there is no duties to pay.

You'll have to probably go through the NOVA system.

At 22yrs old, it would be full rates of import duty and VAT.

So vat would be payable even though vat was paid on its original sale?

Would vat and import duty be calculated at the price I paid for it?

It's complicated. There are time limits in place - how long was the car exported? If the original owner re-imports it there is tax relief.

DVLA said:

the person importing the vehicle must be the same person who took it out of the UK

https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/making-import-declaration

Suggest calling a specialist or the HRMC / NOVA helplines.

Note, NOVA can issue penalties as well...