Driving around in a NI reg vehicle. VRT Customs called to my home

2

25111981elai

Guest
I wonder can anyone help me, I'm driving around in a northern reg vehicle the customs have landed to my house and asked us to change the vehicle over the VRT on our vehicle is €2,000.
my husband is on JSA and i'm a dependent adult on his claim, we have 2 children.

We can't afford this at present, we asked could we set up a DD for a year to pay in for it and they didn't want to know. we Have a mortgage, car loan and credit union loans out, we can't get a loan because we are both not working.

can anyone help on what i can do in relation to the customs and VRT.

Thanks
 
Re: VRT Customs Called to my Home

You are required by law to pay VRT charges on an imported car within 24 hours of bringing it into the country.

You are not permitted to drive around on a Northern Irish registered car under any circumstances.

You must pay the VRT.
 
Re: VRT Customs Called to my Home

Do you still have the car? are you able to take it back north and sell it?
 
Re: VRT Customs Called to my Home

To be honest you're lucky they didn't impound the car there and then! As others have posted, it is a legal requirement to pay the VRT, no way round it.
 
Re: VRT Customs Called to my Home

25111981elai said:
We can't afford this at present,
Click to expand...
Does that mean that you bought the car knowing that you could not afford the VRT and expect to avoid paying it?

As RonanC said

"You are required by law to pay VRT charges on an imported car within 24 hours of bringing it into the country.

You are not permitted to drive around on a Northern Irish registered car under any circumstances.

You must pay the VRT"

I'm sorry to sound harsh, but many of us could use the same situation to get a cheap car!
 
Re: VRT Customs Called to my Home

Sorry but you are in the wrong and must pay it.

As mentioned, others have had cars impounded with no warning, so you are relatively lucky.

I know of a person who had to pay a €1k fine AND the €4k VRT they were dodging.
 
Re: VRT Customs Called to my Home

And I now someone (Irish) that had two cars impounded even though they had the foreign registered cars legally. And they only got them back after weeks of them proving their case
 
Re: VRT Customs Called to my Home

Hi,
How long have you owned the car for? and did you buy the car as an Irish resident?
I thought that if you had owned the car for at least 6 months(double check) before residing in the Republic that there was no duty to be paid..However, if you were already living here and purchased the car then of course you would be liable for the relevent duty.
 
Re: VRT Customs Called to my Home

Ok so the woman has not paid the VRT. But is it necessary to be so harsh. She is obviously in a state, she has a few kids and is in dire financial difficulty. You say pay up? With what exactly? The only solution is to take the car back to the North and try and get a few quid for it and then buy an old banger down south
 
Re: VRT Customs Called to my Home

MaryBM said:
Does that mean that you bought the car knowing that you could not afford the VRT and expect to avoid paying it?

As RonanC said

"You are required by law to pay VRT charges on an imported car within 24 hours of bringing it into the country.

You are not permitted to drive around on a Northern Irish registered car under any circumstances.

You must pay the VRT"

I'm sorry to sound harsh, but many of us could use the same situation to get a cheap car!
Click to expand...

You do sound harsh, and unnecessary, the woman wants advice not a drawn out lecture about the morality of her situation.
 
Re: VRT Customs Called to my Home

There is no simple solution to your problem - you are legally obliged to pay the VRT within 24 hours of importing the vehicle and if you don't you're breaking the law. There's no nice way to get around this. Customs & Excise are perfectly entitled to seize the vehicle or insist you pay what's due.

I'm sorry you are in dire straits financially - we're not too far off it ourselves, but my car was a ROI purchase with the VAT paid for - if I went to the UK or to NI, I know that I'd have to cough up the VRT as part of the deal for any car. And to be honest, I'd say you knew that you when you took the chance...
 
Re: VRT Customs Called to my Home

Selling the car to pay the VRT looks like the only option.
 
Re: VRT Customs Called to my Home

OK so some of the replies, my own included, have been a little harsh, but all point to the reality of the situation: not having a job etc. is not an excuse to drive a northern reg car down here without paying the VRT.
 
Re: VRT Customs Called to my Home

where is the op? Posts yesterday in a panic and not got back yet

lucky the car wasn't impounded aswell...
 
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