# unregistered EU car, no tax and no insurance



## ferry (20 Aug 2011)

Hi,

I was wondering whether anybody knows the legislation on the following particular matter:

I have a car, which is registered in a foreign EU country, and I am living in Ireland. I go back and forth a couple of times a year so I haven't registered my car in Ireland and dont pay (car) taxes here. Moreover, I have my insurance in that particular country.

Earlier this week, the Garda took my car because I have a non-Irish registration, not paying VRT and a foreign insurance. My question is; am I driving illegally in Ireland? If so, what would be the consequences?


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## Olympian (20 Aug 2011)

If you're living here it has to be register here. Some exemptions apply to paying VRT.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/moving_to_ireland/coming_to_live_in_ireland/importing_car_into_ireland.html


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## jhegarty (20 Aug 2011)

If you are resident in Ireland you should have the car on Irish plates.

The insurance should be ok, once you can prove you were covered to drive here.


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## ferry (20 Aug 2011)

thanks for the feedback! So the Garda has taken my car since I did not register the car in Ireland. Any idea whether I will get a fine or not?


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## bullworth (21 Aug 2011)

I'm wondering now. If a close relative who lives abroad comes to visit me . Can I not borrow their car (which since they would be staying at my house would be parked in my driveway) even to pick them up from somewhere without worrying about the car being confiscated ?


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## niceoneted (21 Aug 2011)

bullworth said:


> I'm wondering now. If a close relative who lives abroad comes to visit me . Can I not borrow their car (which since they would be staying at my house would be parked in my driveway) even to pick them up from somewhere without worrying about the car being confiscated ?



Would you be insured to drive their car??


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## jhegarty (21 Aug 2011)

bullworth said:


> I'm wondering now. If a close relative who lives abroad comes to visit me . Can I not borrow their car (which since they would be staying at my house would be parked in my driveway) even to pick them up from somewhere without worrying about the car being confiscated ?




Not unless it's on Irish number plates.


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## bullworth (21 Aug 2011)

niceoneted said:


> Would you be insured to drive their car??



Yes my insurance would cover it .




jhegarty said:


> Not unless it's on Irish number plates.



The car confiscated from the OP didnt appear to have Irish number plates.


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## hastalavista (21 Aug 2011)

u will need to register the car, pay what ever VRT is due plus interest from the date the car first came in and then road-tax plus the arrears surcharges from that date to now, this is why some people just walk away from this


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## Leo (22 Aug 2011)

bullworth said:


> I'm wondering now. If a close relative who lives abroad comes to visit me . Can I not borrow their car (which since they would be staying at my house would be parked in my driveway) even to pick them up from somewhere without worrying about the car being confiscated ?


 
Foreign-registered cars can be brough into Ireland without registering in a number of situations under the published expemptions (non-resident on temporary stay, student, etc.) It is illegal for a state resident to drive any such car.


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## dereko1969 (22 Aug 2011)

Leo is right, the OP *if they are not Irish* would be entitled to keep their car on foreign plates/insurance if the car is registered in their home country, if they keep ties to their home country such as visiting it once or twice a year.


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## sse (22 Aug 2011)

dereko1969 said:


> Leo is right, the OP *if they are not Irish* would be entitled to keep their car on foreign plates/insurance if the car is registered in their home country, if they keep ties to their home country such as visiting it once or twice a year.



I don't think being Irish has anything to do with it, rather it depends on whether the person is resident in the State or not. If the person is non-resident then they can bring the vehicle in temporarily subject to certain restrictions. If they are resident they have to register it and pay all taxes. Simple as that.

SSE


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## dereko1969 (23 Aug 2011)

sse said:


> I don't think being Irish has anything to do with it, rather it depends on whether the person is resident in the State or not. If the person is non-resident then they can bring the vehicle in temporarily subject to certain restrictions. If they are resident they have to register it and pay all taxes. Simple as that.
> 
> SSE


 
There's a presumption on the part of the customs that if a person is Irish then their likely residence is the State, it's harder to prove you're non-resident if you're Irish.


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## sse (23 Aug 2011)

dereko1969 said:


> There's a presumption on the part of the customs that if a person is Irish then their likely residence is the State, it's harder to prove you're non-resident if you're Irish.



That wasn't what your post said though, sorry if I'm missing your point. The published exemptions are pretty straightforward and it is not sufficient to be a) non-Irish and b) pop back to the motherland once or twice a year, as I suspect many people have found out since enforcement activity was stepped up.

It depends on normal country of residency, not nationality.

SSE


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## Leo (24 Aug 2011)

sse said:


> It depends on normal country of residency, not nationality.


 
Exactly, and as per the Revenue guide, they consider a non-resident to be someone who spends 185+ days outside of the coutry.


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## dereko1969 (24 Aug 2011)

"the country of personal ties is taken as the normal residence *provided the person returns there regularly"*

This is not defined in either EU or Irish Legislation, regularly can mean once a year every year provided the person has an address/family in their home country they should not have to re-register or pay VRT.


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## sse (24 Aug 2011)

dereko1969 said:


> "the country of personal ties is taken as the normal residence *provided the person returns there regularly"*
> 
> This is not defined in either EU or Irish Legislation, regularly can mean once a year every year provided the person has an address/family in their home country they should not have to re-register or pay VRT.



Sorry, wrong again. I don't know where you're getting this from. The published guidelines are very clear, the sentence you partially quote refers to a particular scenario for a non-resident, not a general principle.

OP - whether you have to re-register and pay VRT depends on whether you are normally resident in Ireland or not, nothing else. Perhaps you could advise us.

SSE


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## sean.c (26 Aug 2011)

I'm sick to death of seeing people driving around in foreign-reg cars (particularly from NI) and I only wish that the Guards and Customs would have more checkpoints for this kind of thing.  The car-parks around my work place are dotted with yellow plates - how many of those are commuting from NI to Dublin every day?  Not a lot, I think!

I doubt if a Garda would go to the bother of confiscating a car (calling a tow truck, all the paperwork, etc. etc) unless it was fairly clear-cut that the driver was resident in this country.  

OP, did the Garda not tell you how to get your car back?


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## Leo (26 Aug 2011)

sean.c said:


> I'm sick to death of seeing people driving around in foreign-reg cars (particularly from NI) and I only wish that the Guards and Customs would have more checkpoints for this kind of thing.


 
You have the option of reporting these to customs. No personal experience, but I've heard that they do follow up.


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## sean.c (26 Aug 2011)

I asked a good friend in the Dept. of Finance about that, and the answer was - no, they won't.  Checkpoints targeting dozens of drivers is  one thing, responding to a tip-off is another.

Too much hassle and not enough return (a few hundred € in taxes - IF the owner doesn't decide the car's not worth the bother).  

I'm looking to buy a car and except for my excessive sense of patriotism, I'd only be too glad to pick up a cheap number in NI or GB.  So I'll just suck it up and scowl at people less patriotic (or stupid) than I.


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## RonanC (26 Aug 2011)

sean.c said:


> I asked a good friend in the Dept. of Finance about that, and the answer was - no, they won't. Checkpoints targeting dozens of drivers is one thing, responding to a tip-off is another.
> 
> Too much hassle and not enough return (a few hundred € in taxes - IF the owner doesn't decide the car's not worth the bother).
> 
> I'm looking to buy a car and except for my excessive sense of patriotism, I'd only be too glad to pick up a cheap number in NI or GB. So I'll just suck it up and scowl at people less patriotic (or stupid) than I.


 
How can someone in the Dept. of Finance tell you what the Revenue Commissioners and the Customs & Excise section do?


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## Time (26 Aug 2011)

Maybe both offices answer to the DOF?


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## bullworth (27 Aug 2011)

jhegarty said:


> Not unless it's on Irish number plates.



so if you are legally resident in Ireland but your spouse is legally resident abroad but visits regularly  (it's getting more common with families split up because they have to search for work abroad); and if that spouse visits via car say on the ferry from England, you cant borrow your spouses car to pick the  spouse up from somewhere like his or her parents ? They have to take a taxi or bus instead ? And they always have to be the one who drives when both of you are in the car ?


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## Time (27 Aug 2011)

That is pretty much it. It really sucks. 

Now, I wonder what they would do if I took my foreign reg back to Ireland (it was originally Irish to begin with so no VRT to collect) speaking with a broad Dublin accent they would never believe that I am a foreign resident.


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## bullworth (27 Aug 2011)

Thats completely nuts. I thought we were in a single market. How can we legally apply an extra tariff onto German cars etc ? Do German manufacturers not have a problem with this ? What would happen if Germany decides it can reciprocate and applies tariffs onto our goods ?


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## Time (27 Aug 2011)

VRT in Denmark is 60%.


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## Leo (29 Aug 2011)

RonanC said:


> How can someone in the Dept. of Finance tell you what the Revenue Commissioners and the Customs & Excise section do?


 
In short, they can't! Totally separate functions.


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