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Hi Pat,

VRT first as that's an easy one - no matter where it's coming from, as it's over 30 years old, VRT will be just €200.

No NOx levy applies.

I'm assuming the car is not coming from Northern Ireland, but if it is, and it has been in Northern Ireland a long time, then there will be no further charges other than the VRT outlined above.

Coming from England, Scotland or Wales, there will be VAT at 23 per cent due, unfortunately. This is calculated on the customs duty (bear with me) plus the 'customs value', which is generally accepted to be the purchase price, plus the transport costs, plus the insurance costs.

There may actually be no customs duty if the car was manufactured in the UK, though you'll have to prove that. If not, it'll be 10 per cent of the customs value above.

Hopefully that all makes sense

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Hi Frank,

There's nothing stopping you importing a car from the UK regardless of where it was made, though there are potential savings so long as you can prove the car and most of its components were made there.

That's potentially tricky to do, as the car would have to qualify as UK-origin goods under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).

All it saves is the import duty, however, typically 10 per cent of the customs value. You'd still have to pay VRT (including the NOx levy, potentially) and VAT if it's coming from England, Scotland or Wales.

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Hi Bart,

Revenue itself states that the information on its website is for guidance only, so you have no comeback with it. Saying all that, if it gives an OMSP (Open Market Selling Price) for the same car on there, then that is likely to be quite a good guide. 

For cars coming from Japan, however, they will ask for proof of the CO₂ and NOx emissions, so that's the tricky part. Make sure you get that documentation from the seller before proceeding.

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Hi Alf,

I'm afraid so, yes - it's effectively part of the VRT process and it has to be paid even if VAT and customs duty are not payable.

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Hi Damien,

That's quite the automotive journey! 

Revenue has since attempted to make things a little simpler, so don't worry about the year of the car being imported from the North. All that matters - to avoid paying VAT and import duty - is that the car was imported into the North and used there for, as Revenue puts it "a reasonable amount of time".

We believe three months is fine, though you'll need paperwork to prove all that.

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Hi Harry,

While Revenue does not offer any specific advice to cover your situation, our understanding is that VRT – i.e. Vehicle Registration Tax – applies only to vehicles being registered in the State for the first time. If you never intend to register or use the vehicle in Ireland, then VRT should not be payable.

If you are in any doubt, you could of course remove the parts you need from the vehicle before importation and then have the rest of it disposed of without it leaving the UK.

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Hi Monica,

It really does depend on the specific vehicle, and that's what you'll need to check with Revenue. Most tippers are likely to be Category C, meaning a flat rate of €200 for VRT, but some, such as crew cabs, could be slapped with a 13.3 per cent VRT rate (of their Open Market Selling Price), so make sure you look up the official categorisation of the vehicle you're considering before committing to the purchase.

And don't forget that you could be liable for VAT and import duty as well if certain conditions are not met.

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Hi Keith,

Neither I'm afraid. It will go by the engine size, as things for cars used to be before 2008. That's the case for privately taxing a commercial vehicle of any age, incidentally, aside from actual vintage commercials that is.

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Hi John,

I'm afraid not. Skoda Ireland confirmed as much to us. Demand is low and the VRT would make it prohibitively expensive. 

Expert answer

Hi James,

You're not alone in having this issue. We can find that T-Roc on the MLIT website and get its CO₂ emissions and fuel consumption data, but we cannot see a document showing its NOx rating. The best we could come up with is a spec sheet for the 2025 model on sale today in Japan. Given that this should be the same as the 2022 version, Revenue may accept that. It's 150mg/km.

We've not heard of anyone successfully obtaining this information from a European brand directly, and it's unlikely that Revenue would accept data for the T-Roc sold in a country other than Japan, as there can be regional differences.