Expert answer

Hi Dave,

I’m afraid not. If you were VAT-registered and buying a commercial vehicle strictly for business use, then yes you could, but on a private car? No way, I’m afraid. Worse, you’ll have to pay VAT in two territories thanks to Brexit, unless you're buying from Northern Ireland.

Read our Guide to Importing Cars from the UK feature for more.

Expert answer

Hi Fran,

You have it in a nutshell there, except the UK is defined as including Northern Ireland. Just be careful of the details. Such as NOx levy regardless of where you import it from. And there's also custom duty if you buy from England, Scotland or Wales, but not the North. Oh, and this is all assuming we're talking about a car that's older than six months old and has more than 6,000km on the clock, as otherwise that's classed as new and there is a VAT complication coming from the North.

Read our Guide to Importing Cars from the UK for more

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Hi John,

Without knowing your budget, your seating needs and your range requirements, we can't give you a definitive answer on that. Some reading for you to consider:

Every electric car currently on sale in Ireland

Five of the best electric cars in Ireland (this needs updating as more cars have arrived on the scene since)

Come back to us with your detailed needs and we will try to help you decide on the best option.

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Hi Vishwanath,

It really shouldn't be, especially not if you're using non-official parts, which most people would do for cars of that age.

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Hi James,

You SHOULD be able to bring your car in with you without paying VRT or VAT, as, according to Revenue: “You may be able to claim relief from Customs Duty and Value-Added Tax (VAT). This relief applies to imports of the following: bicycles and motor cycles, private cars, trailers, caravans, pleasure craft and private aeroplanes." VRT would be waived, normally, for a transfer of residence. You’ll need to have all your paperwork in order, and you can bet that Revenue will be checking carefully to make sure no-one is trying to pull a fast one, but you should be OK.

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Hi Matt,

Assuming you mean VAT on importing from the North, then the answer is no for the most part. The exception is on cars that are less than six months old or with fewer than 6,000km on the clock, as they are treated as new.

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Hi Sean,

You should be fine, but I’d check with Revenue beforehand just to be certain. Revenue has previously told us that they will be carefully watching the papertrail of cars being imported from Northern Ireland to make sure that they’re not just being temporarily housed there to avoid the new taxes. If you’re buying from a dealer, though, it shouldn’t be an issue — after all, if you’ve bought from a dealer, then you’re just buying from their stock, and have no control over how long the car has been in the North. Just make sure that the papertrail for the purchase is clear and complete and you shouldn’t be liable for either the ten per cent import charge, nor the 21 per cent VAT (assuming the car is older than six months). 

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Hi Eoin,

If you are, yourself, VAT registered, or if your company is and you’re buying the car through the company, then that may well be possible, but I would check with your accountant just to be certain before taking any leaps. Also, don't forget about the NOx levy and customs duty that will be due regardless. Read our Guide to Importing Cars from the UK feature for full details.

Expert answer

Hi Gerard,

Yes, the final Brexit-exit has indeed caused some changes. According to Revenue, if you’re importing a car from the UK, you will now have to complete an electronic customs declaration form BEFORE going to collect the vehicle (you can find them here) and you’ll then be liable for three potential costs — customs duty, VRT (as before, including the NOx charge) and VAT, currently at 21 per cent. That VAT charge, previously only applied to vehicles that are either new or less than six months old (or with fewer than 6,000km on the clock) now applies to all imports.

Except it doesn’t — if you import a car from Northern Ireland, thanks to NI’s new special status as per the Brexit withdrawal agreement, then the VAT will only be charged on new vehicles, and you won’t have to pay any customs duty (sometimes referred to as import duty).

Incidentally, that customs duty (which is charged at 10 per cent of the total value of the car, plus carriage costs) will NOT be applied if the car was built in the UK, or in an EU country. That’s a potential minefield as you’d be surprised how many cars that you assume to be British or European are actually made in, say, South Africa or the US. It obviously affects Japanese and Korean-built cars, but again, you’d be surprised how many of those that we buy are actually built in the UK, France, Slovakia or elsewhere in Europe.

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Hi Chloe,

Well, you don’t apply for it as such — car importers and dealers offer some discounts and trade-in boosters that are called ‘scrappage’ but which are only occasionally about properly taking old cars off the road. Really, they’re more about giving those drivers with older cars, who would be more likely to buy second hand, a small leg-up on their trade-in so as to bring them to the new car side of the showroom.  Incidentally, not all brands offer ‘scrappage’ deals and not all offer them at the same time. The last time there was an official Government-backed scrappage scheme was in 2010.