Expert answer

Hi Fergal,

VRT is unavoidable regardless of where the car is coming from, though on an electric car such as the MGS6 EV, it's likely to be zero thanks to the rebate.

The VAT situation is trickier. The key issue is that it's effectively treated as a new vehicle. In EU/Irish tax terms, a car is considered new if it is either less than six months old or has covered less than 6,000km. While this one has done enough mileage, its November 2025 registration means it's still within that six-month window. On top of that, it's a dealer demonstrator, not a privately owned car in normal use in Northern Ireland, so it doesn't qualify for the NI exemption route either.

The result is that 23 per cent Irish VAT will be payable when you register it here.

Saying that, you may be able to get the dealer to sell it at zero per cent UK VAT, so the hit won't be as tough to swallow as it might have been.

Talk to them about the situation and see what they say.

Expert answer

Hi Patrick,

No matter what, you'll have to pay VRT on it, usually 13.3 per cent of the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) for category B vans.

The bigger question is whether VAT and customs duty apply, and that depends entirely on the van's history.

If the van has been registered and in use in Northern Ireland, then you should not have to pay either VAT or customs duty when importing it into the Republic.

However, many vans in Northern Ireland were originally supplied from Great Britain (i.e. England, Scotland or Wales). If that's the case - or if you can't prove the van's use in the North - Revenue may treat it as a GB import via NI, which can trigger 23 per cent VAT and 10 per cent customs duty.

There's also a separate rule for newer vehicles: if the van is less than six months old or has under 6,000km on its clock, Irish VAT will apply regardless of where it comes from.

In summary, VRT is a given, but avoiding VAT and import duty comes down to having clear evidence that the van has been properly in use in Northern Ireland.

Expert answer

Hi Christopher,

That is mostly correct, though the car must be registered to someone at the Northern Irish address and I don't believe that petrol receipts will suffice as proof. An MOT in the North should though. Revenue isn't very precise in its information around this, unfortunately.

Expert answer

Hi Pat,

MDL, the Irish distributors of BYD, tells us it will be "Q2 2026".

Expert answer

Hi Ger,

No prices as yet, but the Irish media launch of the e Vitara will be towards the end of March, just a few weeks away, which means the car will be available to order imminently.

Once we have Irish prices, we will update our review of the car.

Expert answer

Hi John,

Not all cars are on the Revenue VRT website, unfortunately, so you may have to estimate the car's value in Ireland (i.e. what it might sell for here after importation). Revenue calls that the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) and it bases its VRT calculations on that and the VRT band the car sits in due to its official CO₂ emissions rating.

On top of that, you will have to pay import duty and VAT and the NOx levy.

I suggest you have a read of these guides, as the same applies to cars coming from Japan:

How Much VRT is Paid in Ireland?
Motor Road Tax Prices in Ireland Explained
Guide To Importing Cars From The UK

And this: Guide to buying Japanese imports

Expert answer

Hi Raymond,

Full details of the Irish lineup for the new Fiat Grande Panda have yet to be confirmed, but so far all versions revealed - fully electric and hybrid - are automatic.

Expert answer

Hi Chris,

First up, if the NI car has already been imported into Ireland and has an Irish registration on it then it is no different to buying any other used car.

However, if the car has a Northern Irish registration still, and has not gone through the importation process, then you need to be careful when buying it from someone in Ireland. By the letter of the law, they should complete the importation process before selling the car on here.

Aside from that, whether VAT is then payable (and import/customs duty) depends on the car's history. If it can be proven to have been in use in Northern Ireland for, as Revenue puts it, “a reasonable amount of time”, then VAT and import duty are unlikely to be payable. Essentially, so long as the car was not just brought to NI from the rest of the UK to be sold on immediately, then VAT and import duty shouldn't be charged. You would be responsible for proving this.

Of course, VRT and the NOx levy will be due no matter what.

Expert answer

Hi William,

Kia Ireland confirmed to us that it can't order a car to the specification another country offers it in – Irish buyers can have the Kia Sportage HEV as a K3 or GT-Line.

You could of course import one from Northern Ireland, though there's a lot of hassle involved, and hence cost. And it will limit how you pay for the car in terms of finance and a trade-in.

The new Sportage in GT-Line S Hybrid spec (front-wheel drive) in the UK is currently listed at £42,175 and the CO₂ emissions rating is 130g/km.

Based on the €53,000 price of the regular GT-Line model in Ireland, let's assume Revenue places an Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) of €58,000 on the GT-Line S.

At 130g/km, the Sportage would be in Band 12 for VRT, at 17.5 per cent of the OMSP – i.e. €10,150. The actual figure paid could go up or down dependant on Revenue's determination of the OMSP – which would only happen after the car is presented for inspection with the NCTS within 30 days of arrival in Ireland.

The NOx levy will be on top of that, but likely only a few hundred Euro.

It's trickier to calculate the VAT and import/customs duty. We believe that import duty at 10 per cent will be required, but what that's calculated against depends on how the car is treated for VAT.

If the seller does not zero-rate the car for VAT for export, then you'd pay UK VAT within that £42,175 price and also Irish VAT on top when you import it. That would make it prohibitively expensive.

Assuming you could get the dealer to zero-rate the car, and UK VAT is 20 per cent, that means the value of it with the VAT knocked off is £35,146. At today's exchange rates, that's about €40,500.

Import/customs duty of 10 per cent is therefore €4,050.

Now, you will have to pay Irish VAT, and this will be charged as 23 per cent of the cost of the car plus the import duty, i.e. €44,550, so the VAT works out as about €10,246.

Totting it all up in Euro:

Pay the dealer (if they zero-rate for VAT): €40,500
VRT based on OMSP assumption: €10,150
Import duty: €4,050
Irish VAT: €10,246

Add those up and it comes out at €64,946, and that's before you travel to the North to bring the car back and pay for registration plates, etc.

Sure, there are a few assumptions built into this calculation, and it's only a rough guide, but it probably indicates that it's really not worth the money or hassle to go down this route.

Expert answer

Hi there,

As the car you're looking at has been in use all its life in the North - and I presume you can prove that - then there should not be any import duty or VAT payable on its importation south of the border. You will have to pay VRT of course. 

Always check your facts directly with Revenue before committing to a purchase.