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Hi Declan,

Unfortunately, this is the way things have gone now. Revenue were being relatively generous (relatively is of course a relative term…) in the first couple of weeks of January for people who’d imported in December and been unable to get an inspection date until January, but that grace period seems now to have passed.

Given that the car didn’t come into your possession until after Jan 1st, I don’t think they’ll give you a break on it, I’m afraid, and of course it’s not that you’re paying extra in VRT (although you are, a little, of course thanks to the switch to WLTP emissions), you’re actually paying extra in VAT and import duty thanks to Brexit. I wish I could give you better news, but these are the perils of importing a car.

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Hi Desmond,

OK, while the DB9 is a tricky car to value (mostly because there aren’t that many for sale in Ireland), let’s take €50,000 as a ballpark. If you’re bringing one down from Northern Ireland, it’s pretty straightforward — you’ll pay 37 per cent VRT, which will come to around €18,500. Ish. That’s assuming Revenue agree with our finger-in-the-air valuation. 

If you’re bringing it in from the rest of the UK, then there’s going to be 21 per cent VAT on top of that (€10,500 again assuming our €50,000 guess is about right) plus the NOx levy of €600 and then, finally, the ten per cent customs duty, which will be calculated on the actual price paid for the car (not the notional Irish value as for the VRT and VAT) plus whatever shipping and delivery expenses you incurred. 

The good news is that DB9 prices have actually dipped below £30,000 in the UK (although you’ve got to be careful buying at that price level) so there are bargains to be had. The best thing to do would be to get in touch with the guys at Aston Martin Belfast who could give you a much more precise steer on the whole thing. 

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Hi Paul,

In theory, all crew-cab vans fall into Category B for VRT purposes, which Revenue defines as: "commercial vehicles, designed and constructed for the carriage of goods and not exceeding 3.5 tonnes. These vehicles are European category N1 and generally have three seats or less. VRT Category B also includes motor caravans.”

In Category B, you’ll be charged 13.3 per cent of the OMSP, the Irish market selling price as defined by Revenue. There are some vans that fall into a slightly different category, and are charged a flat rate of €200, but these are vans that (a) always had less than four seats and (b) have at any time a laden mass greater than 130% of the mass in service. You should be able to find out which category your Vito fits into by quoting the VIN number when booking your VRT inspection.

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Hi Len,

Short answer: yes. If you’re buying used from the North, then you’re avoiding the ten per cent customs duty and the 21 per cent VAT on used vehicles.

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Hi James,

Basically, the situation is as before — as long as the van is older than six months old or has more than 6,000km on the clock, then you’ll pay the usual VRT at 13.3 per cent of the OMSP (the Irish market price as defined by Revenue). As it’s from the North, you’ll also avoid the ten per cent customs duty. Once you do get the camper conversion done, the good news is that motor tax for a camper is only €102 a year.

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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 Damien,

OK, as you don’t have a VAT number, you’ll have to pay the VAT on the Hilux at the time of purchase. But the good news is that, as you’re bringing it in from Northern Ireland, there won’t be any extra charges (no import duty and no Irish VAT) on top of the usual VRT payment. VRT will charged at 13.3 per cent of the Irish market value. That value should (emphasis on the should) be around €29,000, so VRT will be in the region of €3,900.

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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.

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Hi John,

You've asked solely about VRT, so we're assuming you're importing the car from the North, not England, Wales or Scotland. If it's not from the North, you'll have to pay VAT and customs duty as well as VRT and the NOx levy.

So, the price it is listed at means effectively nothing. Revenue will come up with its own OMSP (Open Market Selling Price), which it reckons it would sell for in Ireland at the time of the registration changeover. It's not easy to estimate what that would be. We'd guess €26,000.

A quick search shows that car's WLTP CO₂ rating at 147g/km (depends on which specific version of that car you are looking at), which means a VRT rate of 21 per cent. At an OMSP of €26,000, that means VRT of €5,460. The NOx levy will be on top of that.

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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.