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Hi Patrick,

This is quite a unique situation so I'd suggest the best thing to do is talk to Revenue. My feeling is that you should be fine so long as your permanent place of residence has been the UK, regardless of your business interests in Ireland. You'll just need paperwork to show that.

The complication with transferring the vehicles to your partner is that they must be owned for at least six months before the move, so if you're not moving back for a while it's a possible option. Make sure you read all the rules carefully though.

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Hi Mark,

All three are represented here still.

Lotus Dublin is run by the Joe Duffy Group and it's based in Airside Motor Park in Dublin.

GWM only has the Ora brand here at the minute, with plenty of dealers listed on the GWM Ora Ireland website.

Morgans are distributed by Edgewood Automotive in Cork.

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Hi James,

Yes in theory, within certain conditions, though the key thing here is that the vehicle is being bought by the business to be used by the business. You can't use your business's Irish VAT number to avoid VAT on a private car purchase in this manner.

If you are buying it for the business, then it's worth seeking out a VAT-qualifying car, though of course you still pay VRT etc no matter what.

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Hi Val,

You'll likely have to pay the Irish distributor for a Certificate of Conformity using the VIN of the Japanese car. This will only work if the car has EU type approval of course.

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Hi Rohit,

Browse one of the big car classifieds to find as new a version of the Tesla you have in mind as possible. Use that car's registration to obtain the insurance quote. It may not be exact, but it will give you a good feel for what to expect. It's likely your insurance will go up quite a bit as I'm sure you know.

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Hi Ryan,

As a commercial vehicle, the VRT on the L200 pickup should be 13.3 per cent of the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP), which is the price Revenue in Ireland believes the vehicle to be worth on the Irish market.

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Hi Joe,

Ask to see the V5C 'logbook' as that should show the details. If the current owner is in Northern Ireland and they've had the car there for “a reasonable amount of time” (Revenue's words) then it shouldn't matter if the car was originally registered in the North or in GB anyway.

The format of the car's registration will usually give away where it was first registered, too. Northern Irish number plates look like ABZ 1234 or JBZ 5678 (two letters followed by a Z and then four numbers), while modern GB plates are AB21 XYZ (two letters and two numbers together, then three letters).

Another useful trick is to check the UK government website for the MOT history of a car. That's the UK's equivalent of the NCT and the Check the MOT history of a vehicle website clearly shows details of where the MOT was carried out. It's useful extra information.

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Hi Bernard,

The UK and Ireland cars are more or less identical and, according to this official MG Europe document, the 55-litre tank is standard across the board in the new MG HS.

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Hi Noel,

Going on the information you've provided, the only importation costs should be the flat-rate VRT for classic cars (€200). You will need paperwork to prove that the BMW has been registered and used in Northern Ireland. Book the car in for a VRT inspection with the NCTS within seven days of bringing the car south and they will talk you through it all.

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Hi Brian,

There is no stipulation that the vehicle must have been privately owned, but it must have been owned and used by someone/a company registered in Northern Ireland for “a reasonable amount of time” (according to Revenue) – and you'll have to prove that if you wish to avoid paying customs duty or VAT.

No matter what, of course, you will still be liable for VRT.