# Road tax on a car from UK registered before July 1



## con1974 (28 Mar 2008)

Hi,

I've just moved from the UK and brought my car with me.
I've owned it for over a year so should get the VRT exemption.

I'm trying to figure out if I can pay my road tax under the new scheme or not.  

Has anyone brought in a car from the UK in the last few months?  if so, which scheme are you being taxed under?

According to a document on the www.environ.ie

[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']"New cars registered between 1 January 2008 and 30 June 2008 will initially have their motor tax charged on the basis of the existing engine size (c.c.) system.  However, a low CO2 emitting new car registered between 1 January 2008 and 30 June 2008 will have its motor tax switched to the lower CO2 based motor tax rate on first renewal of motor tax post 1 July 2008, when the new CO2 based system commences. "[/FONT]

[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']Is a newly registered car a new car or is my car from the UK a new car?[/FONT]

[FONT='Arial','sans-serif'] 

Thanks[/FONT]


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## clonboy (28 Mar 2008)

its a 'q' we would all like the answer to..

been many threads and posts on this issue,,

no difinitive answer to date


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## NOAH (29 Mar 2008)

here is your answer " because your car is pre 2008 it will continue to be taxed based on engine size and not on emissions"   this is a bummer if your car is low emissions.  There are going to be a lot of people in the same boat, its a shame really when the greens want us to go green but dont make much of an efforet to enable us.  The simple logic that should be applied is that when you come to tax your car next it should be based on emissions but that would be 2 simple.  Go back change your car to an 08 and come back after 1 july 08, you will need to stay in uk for 6 months to be VRT exempt.

good luck

noah


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## joanod (1 Apr 2008)

Con 1974,

I just read from the ministers website that defo all imports in 2008 to Ireland registered abroad pre 2008 will be taxed under the old system. to be eligable for the new system you have to have a new 2008 car regardless of import or not it has to have a 2008 reg.

Obviously this is rediculous and makes no sense so I emailed the minister minister@environ.ie and told him as much. He is doing an great job and all with this new system but it should be implemented across the board not just for the lucky people that ccan afford 2008 cars.

Hopefully they will see sense and implement this for all.

Regards

J


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## doogo (2 Apr 2008)

If this has been answered already elsewhere, my apologies ...

OK  - am in agreement (or should that be aggrievement) with the motor tax rates for cars imported post 1 July (i.e. to be taxed under old engine-size regime unless new cars) - under the Motor Vehicles (Duties and Licences) Bill 2008

Question - for second hand cars registered outside Ireland prior to 1 Jan 2008 and imported into Ireland after 1 July 2008, do these still benefit from the new VRT taxing regime based on CO2 emissions? - under Finance Act 1992 and amendments (including Finance Bill 2008)

...am i right in hoping that there will be a VRT benefit (+ lower cost) if one was thinking of importing a higher spec diesel car post 1 July (e.g. VRT rate on 320 goes down from 30% to 20%??)


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## soy (3 Apr 2008)

doogo said:


> Question - for second hand cars registered outside Ireland prior to 1 Jan 2008 and imported into Ireland after 1 July 2008, do these still benefit from the new VRT taxing regime based on CO2 emissions? - under Finance Act 1992 and amendments (including Finance Bill 2008)
> 
> VRT rate on 320 goes down from 30% to 20%??)



YES


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## doogo (3 Apr 2008)

Just looking at the wording of the proposed amendment to the Motor Vehicles (Duties and License) Act 2008 - it says that for all cars registered abroad (sic) after 1 January 2008 and subsequently registered in Ireland after 1 July 2008, these cars shall be taxed under the CO2 regime ..... so if you took a UK registered car (say 2 years old), brought it to France to be registered there (effectively giving it a 2008 french registration) and then brought it to Ireland after July, you should be able to benefit from the Co2 tax rates, rather than the engine bound rates - worth about 500 quid for a 2+ litre diesel engine per year - if you plan to hold onto the car for a couple of years, it nearly makes sense (and also would be good for resale value)

.. i'm not being really serious with this - just having a bit of fun with the wording of the proposed change which to me diminishes what the green minister of the environment and local government was trying to achieve - to encourage lower CO2 emission cars onto the road!


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## dublinli (3 Apr 2008)

doogo said:


> Just looking at the wording of the proposed amendment to the Motor Vehicles (Duties and License) Act 2008 - it says that for all cars registered abroad (sic) after 1 January 2008 and subsequently registered in Ireland after 1 July 2008, these cars shall be taxed under the CO2 regime ..... so if you took a UK registered car (say 2 years old), brought it to France to be registered there (effectively giving it a 2008 french registration) and then brought it to Ireland after July, you should be able to benefit from the Co2 tax rates, rather than the engine bound rates - worth about 500 quid for a 2+ litre diesel engine per year - if you plan to hold onto the car for a couple of years, it nearly makes sense (and also would be good for resale value)
> 
> .. i'm not being really serious with this - just having a bit of fun with the wording of the proposed change which to me diminishes what the green minister of the environment and local government was trying to achieve - to encourage lower CO2 emission cars onto the road!


 
how are you going to get a 2008 registration for a 2 year old car in France? When you bring in your documentation to the VRO it will still say 2 year old?


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## doogo (3 Apr 2008)

well i did remark that my comments were pretty light-hearted ... but if you look at the wording of the bill:

(_d_) any vehicle which is—
(i) a new vehicle which is registered on or after 1 July 2008 under section 131 of the Finance Act 1992 as a category A vehicle, or 
(ii) registered outside of the State on or after 1 January 2008 and which is subsequently registered in the State on or after 1 July 2008 under section 131 of the Finance Act 1992 as a category A vehicle and which has an identification mark assigned by the Revenue Commissioners under section 131(5) of the Finance Act 1992 which signifies that the vehicle was first brought into use during or after the year 2008,

it would seem to imply that 'any vehicle ... registered outside of the State on or after 1 January 2008'.... - therefore what matter if you have a 2 year old car coming into the state - it will have a 2008 registration from another state and it will subsequently be registered in this State on or after 1 July 2008 ....

hardly the spirit of the legislation i know but .....


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## dublinli (10 Apr 2008)

i see your point but the wording "registered" and "subsequently registered" would identify the first registration as registered, in my view.


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## doogo (10 Apr 2008)

i wouldn't want to go to the hassle of trying it for the sake of the difference in annual road tax for a couple of years - now if the rules re VRT changed similarly, i'd be far more tempted to try it out ....


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## barrowd (10 Apr 2008)

My understanding is that imports registered after July will have to have a cert from the manufacturer to say what emissions that model has. No Cert = VRT and Road Tax at full rate.
 This effectively rules out older cars, as the manufacturers didnt start bringing out certs until the last few years.


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## doogo (11 Apr 2008)

agreed BarrowD - but vehicle certs in the UK have got the CO2 emission rate on them back as far as 2003 (oldest year i'm looking at)


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## construct_06 (11 Apr 2008)

this is a change from the way i understood things to be from a few months ago.

i thought that a used car imported from the Uk of any age would be taxed under the new CO2 scheme.. Based on this i had been looking at bringing over an 02/03 Skodia Fabia 1.9 Tdi Estate, 60mpg and approx. €150 tax based on the new system.

Now though it seems that i cannot benefit from the new regime so i will continue to drive my 'gas guzzling' 2 litre petrol Subaru Foreseter!

As already said, not many people have the money for a new '08 car.

Im very dissapointed with this shift.

Has all this come about due to pressure from irish car dealers? As they would have lost out if a lot of people imported cars from the Uk. Even though a lot of cars are already imported from the Uk.

Typical Ireland...!

So as it stands very few cars will be operating under the new scheme and the old fleet of existing cars will remain on our roads for much longer....


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