I have recently successfully imported a car from Northern Ireland (VAT/customs free) benefitting from the very recent change of legislation.
From this Revenue page the specific paragraphs I was interested in ….
Vehicles purchased after 30 April 2024 can be registered in the State without being subject to these additional requirements. These vehicles will still require proof of Customs Declaration OR PROOF THAT THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN PRIVATE OWNERSHIP IN NI FOR A REASONABLE PERIOD OF TIME.
Proof of the vehicle’s status in NI prior to purchase will be required, for example:
- a copy of the V5C showing the last registered keeper in NI and a date of registration to that keeper
The statement above “reasonable period of time” is very vague, so I went into the VRT inspection office at Northpoint2 Ballymun (next to the NCT office) for clarification.
They use 3 months as (reasonable period of time)
So in summary…
Choose your perspective car up the North.
Ask the dealer or private owner to send you a photo of the logbook BEFORE you purchase the car.
Take the photo of the logbook (Even a copy on your mobile phone is fine) to the VRT office. (No appointment was needed at this stage…..Appointment will be required once you import the car)
The VRT office are looking for 3 things on the logbook
If these items are satisfied they will confirm you can import the car without paying customs and VAT.
- Car was registered to a private owner (cannot be in a company name).
- The car was registered in Northern Ireland at least 3 months ago.
- The address of the previous owner is a northern Irish address.
You will only pay the VRT and NOX (nitrous oxide tax). (Nitrous oxide tax for most cars is only a few hundred euros.
What about a car that has a GB mainland reg plate?Yes I guess so …
As long as he registers the car in NI in his name and not a company name for at least 3 months and has a NI address.
Do you mean UK mainland?What about a car that has a GB mainland reg plate?
I thought the registration platr didn't matter anymore you just need to be able to evidence its been registered to a private owner in Northern ireland for a reasonable period of time before importing in IrelandIf it has a UK mainland plate it doesn’t fulfill the 3 criteria (from my first post) for importing it into Ireland VAT free.
Successfully re registered the NI car at the VRT office today. The fact that it was owned by/in the name of a dealer was not even mentioned. I avoided customs fees, tariffs, VAT and VRT. Quite happy about all that.
I’m looking to do this.If the car has been registered in NI for more than 3 months (to an Individuals name with a NI address) regardless of where it came from this is acceptable.
Did you just show the V5C cert? How long had it been in NI for? Did they look for anything else?Successfully re registered the NI car at the VRT office today. The fact that it was owned by/in the name of a dealer was not even mentioned. I avoided customs fees, tariffs, VAT and VRT. Quite happy about all that.
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