Expert answer

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). 

Expert answer

Hi Kieran,

To tax a commercial vehicle privately, it goes by the engine size. Assuming this is the 2.4 (with a 2,393cc engine), then that works out as €1,034 per annum.

Read our Buying a commercial vehicle for private use  feature for more.

Expert answer

Hi Alan,

Yes, you’ll have to pay import duty, which will be ten per cent of the price of the car, plus transportation costs. You’ll also have to pay VAT twice — once to the UK authorities and again when you complete the import process here. If you’re VAT-registered you should be able to claim back the VAT at this end, but claiming it back  from the UK will be much trickier.

In theory, the Brexit trade agreement allows for such things, but the paperwork’s a mess at the moment, and no-one really seems to know what’s going on. You could make things a little easier for yourself by buying from a dealer in Northern Ireland — you’ll not have to pay the ten per cent import duty and, although you’ll be stung for the VAT, the NI authorities are a little more switched on as there are reciprocal cross-border tax arrangements. 

Expert answer

Hi Danielle,

Yes, you can fill out a TR1 or TR2 form with Revenue to apply for VAT (depending on whether you’re applying as an individual, a sole trader, or a limited company) and you can find full details on that here. If you’re using the van privately (ie for anything other than journeys solely connected to business), then you’ll have to tax it as a private car, which puts you onto the old by-engine-capacity tax system. You’ll need to notify your local motor tax office that you’re doing this, and your insurer too.

We’ve heard tales from some readers that getting private insurance for a van can be tricky, so shop around, and maybe get in touch with a good broker, first.

In the meantime, have a read of our Buying a commercial vehicle for private use feature.

Expert answer

Hi Maurice,

A car has to be over 30 years old to qualify. See Motor Road Tax Prices in Ireland Explained for full details.

Expert answer

Hi Jason,

It’s not a bad thing, at any rate. As far as campers are concerned, you get charged the same 13.3 per cent VRT rate as regular panel vans at the point of import (based on the Irish market price, of course), but the good news is that once you have it converted it’ll only cost you €102 to tax it for a year. 

Expert answer

Hi Martin,

The van still needs to go through the CVRT, not the NCT.

Expert answer

Hi Howard,

If I were you, I'd stick with diesel for now. Assuming that, with such high mileage, you won't have time to plug the car in to charge it up regularly, the 530e won't get near the 520d's average economy. Once the battery charge is used up, you're effectively driving a heavy petrol car. The fact you're VAT-registered and can claim back the VAT on the diesel is another reason to stick with it for now.

Yes, electrification is coming to all cars, but we don't believe it suits all motorists just yet. The beauty of you changing your car every 15 months is that you can react quite quickly to changes in taxation and new model launches.

Expert answer

Hi Mary,

If you do manage to get it registered before the end of this month (if you've not already got a VRT appointment, I'm afraid to tell you that you are unlikely to now) then your car will be taxed on its NEDC CO₂ rating, which I believe is 127g/km. That means €270 per annum now and no change for 2021. These guides might be of interest:

Motor Road Tax Prices in Ireland Explained

Guide to Importing Cars from the UK

Expert answer

Hi Eddie,

If you tax a commercial vehicle for private use then it goes by its engine size, regardless of how new it is. The X-Trail's engine is a 1,598cc unit so it costs €514 a year to tax privately. Read more in our Buying a commercial vehicle for private use feature.

As for the X-Trail's economy, it will depend more on how and where you drive it than anything else. The 1.6 diesel car, which is heavier than the van, officially returned about 56mpg. We'd expect you to match that at a 100km/h cruise and maybe average closer to 40mpg unladen for general use.