unregistered EU car, no tax and no insurance

[ferry]

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?

 

[Olympian]

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

 

[jhegarty]

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.

 

[ferry]

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?

 

[bullworth]

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 ?

 

[niceoneted]

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??

 

[jhegarty]

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.

 

[bullworth]

Would you be insured to drive their car??

Yes my insurance would cover it .

Not unless it's on Irish number plates.

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

 

[hastalavista]

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

 

[Leo]

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.

 

[dereko1969]

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.

 

[sse]

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

 

[dereko1969]

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.

 

[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.

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

 

[Leo]

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.

 

[dereko1969]

"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.

 

[sse]

"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

 

[sean.c]

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?

 

[Leo]

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.

 

[sean.c]

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.