In today's Finance bill provision for all imported cars to undergo NCT before registration. Seems to be from Jan 2010. Also all cars used in state for more than 42 days must be registered here. What about EU free trade and movement of people? Here's the relevant paragraph: "The Commissioners may appoint one or more than one individual or body (in this paragraph referred to as a ‘competent person’) to carry out a pre-registration examination of a vehicle to which subparagraph (i) relates— (I) to determine whether or not each vehicle duly examined under this paragraph is a mechanically propelled vehicle for the purposes of section 130, and (II) to ascertain whether or not such other prescribed matters (being matters required to be ascertained) have been complied with as are necessary"
How can an NCT check/prove that a car has been clocked for example ? or how does an NCT help with "the aim of reducing the number of vehicles that may be fitted with extras that are not currently declared"??
Just another way of raising money for the coffers.
The minister is also possibly succumbing to pressure from SIMI et al to come up with various deterrents to savvy type consumers who are travelling across to the UK to purchase second hand cars at much better prices that we are expected to pay on the forecourt in Ireland.
The recent weakness in sterling against the euro has made such a journey very worthwhile. Typical savings on a 3 year old family saloon are 5000 euro if you do your research and make the trip.
I assume they can't NCT cars under 4 yo, just like the current situation here. Older cars, fair enough, the MOT in the UK is not near the standard of the NCT.
Otherwise a 6-month old car will need an NCT which is unfeasable.
As far as I know any new car that is to be used as a hackney taxi or limousine first of all has to do whats called a suitability test. This was only done once but now the regulator has changed this and any taxi, hackney etc (any vehicle used as a small public service vehicle) has to have a suitability test done every year plus unlike ordinary vehicles on our roads, taxis, hackney and limos have an nct every year. They really are trying to milk every drop out of that industry.