Expert answer

Hi Brian,

That is a slightly unusual situation we've not come across before and we'd urge you contact Revenue yourself for clarification.

With that in mind, my belief would be that you should not be liable for VRT so long as the van was converted properly to a crew cab vehicle and certified as such. It's important that it was not converted to what may be construed by Revenue to be a regular passenger vehicle - unless, of course, the owner that did the conversion already paid VRT to do that (which is highly unlikely).

In short, you're not changing the vehicle; you're just using a commercial vehicle for private use. If you yourself converted a van in this manner, then it may be a different situation.

But as I said at the top, this isn't a common situation and getting official clarification is advised.

Expert answer

Hi Ray,

We'd assume the asking price of the newer model will be in excess of €50,000 and that yours might sell for in the region of €24,000 on a dealer forecourt. Obviously, a dealer will never offer you that value, and this is where it's very difficult to predict a cost to change, as any dealer on any given day could make a different offer. It depends on how badly they want the sale, for example, and how much they're willing to have your car.

I'd estimate cost-to-change offers in the region of €29,000.

If you do go through with this, please send us a message in private so we can use that information to advise other readers in the future.

Expert answer

Hi Jane,

If the Open Market Selling Price of the car (the OMSP is the value Revenue in Ireland believes it is worth after importation) is less than €40,000 then you'll have no VRT (Vehicle Registration Tax) to pay. If the OMSP is between €40,000 and €50,000 then there's tapered VRT relief, and no relief at all for cars deemed to be worth more than €50,000.

The above applies no matter what the 'customs state' of the car.

What you need to look out for is whether you'll be liable for customs duty - at 10 per cent of the customs value (purchase price, plus transportation costs, plus insurance) - and VAT. The latter is 23 per cent of the customs value plus the customs duty.

Now, if the car has been in use in Northern Ireland for, as Revenue calls it, “a reasonable amount of time”, then VAT and customs duty are unlikely to be payable. You will need proof of that, however. If the car is being bought from a dealer that imported it from England for sale, then ask them for proof of importing according to the Windsor Framework.

Expert answer

Hi Patrick,

First up, if you're not going to be able to charge a car up at home, we'd recommend you do not buy the MX-30. Yes, it's much improved with the 'range-extender' engine on board, but it's still a car designed to be plugged in and charged up. Without that, it would be a very frustrating petrol car with a tiny fuel tank. Read our review of the MX-30 R-EV here if you're still interested.

We're big fans of the Qashqai e-Power. It feels very like an EV at times to drive, giving you a flavour for that, yet you don't plug it in to charge it up. Go take a test drive for yourself to see if you agree with us. And read our detailed reviews of the Qashqai e-Power here. https://www.completecar.ie/car/search/car-reviews/Nissan/Qashqai

There are 2021 examples of the plug-in hybrid Velar in the classifieds varying from about €49,000 to as high as €75,000, though none are as low-mileage as your car, so that will help get a strong price for sure. That €75,000 example is an anomaly though so bank on somewhere slightly north of €50,000.

Expert answer

Hi Michaela,

From that information, it sounds to me like you would have to pay customs duty on importing that car from Northern Ireland to the South.

Unless the dealer has proof that the car was imported from Scotland to the North according to the Windsor Framework, with customs duties paid, then it will be treated as coming from outside the 'customs union' and you will be liable for customs/import duty and VAT as well, on top of VRT and the NOx levy of course.

Expert answer

Hi Niall,

If you're looking to move to Ireland with the car, then you're likely eligible for a Transfer Of Residence (TOR) exemption for all taxes relating to importing it. Take a look at Revenue's Transfer of residence page for full information.

For what it's worth, customs duty is calculated as 10 per of the so-called Customs Value, which is made up of the purchase price, the cost of shipping and the insurance for the shipping.

VAT is then 23 per cent of the total when you add the calculated customs duty to the customs value.

Expert answer

Hi Tilly,

The fact the vehicle is French makes no difference to the situation.

I can confirm that no customs duty will be payable, though you should still make a customs declaration before bringing the vehicle south of the border.

Irish VAT, at 23 per cent of the total sale price, will be payable. However, the Northern Irish dealer should be able to zero-rate the sale – i.e. not charge you UK VAT.

The other large fee will be VRT (Vehicle Registration Tax), which is calculated as 13.3 per cent of the OMSP. That's the Open Market Selling Price according to Revenue in Ireland. It is not directly related to the purchase price, but the value Revenue believes the vehicle to be worth after importation.

I'd suggest you give the Northern Irish dealer a call and talk it through, as they're likely to have gone through this process many times already.

Do let us know how you get on.

Expert answer

Hi Mark,

If, as it seems from your description, the dealer registered that car new in Northern Ireland, then I can confirm that you will have no VAT or customs duty payable on importation.

Expert answer

Hi Ian,

I'd be very wary of this. By rights, the vehicle should have been re-registered with all taxes paid within 30 days of it entering the country. It is not supposed to be sold on UK plates in Ireland by the person that should have registered its initial import.

Regardless of that technicality, the information you've provided suggests that the importer of this vehicle would be liable for VAT at 23 per cent and import duty at 10 per cent, which would be considerably more expensive than the VRT due.

Without knowing the full details, we couldn't estimate the figures involved, but without proof that the vehicle has been imported correctly we would strongly advise against purchasing this van.

Expert answer

Hi Vakaris,

Actually, as the BMW i3 is an EV, and there's VRT relief for electric cars on first registration in Ireland (it doesn't matter if the car is new or used), you won't pay any VRT.

However, if the car has indeed come from England, Scotland or Wales, you will have to pay VAT and customs duty. Customs duty is 10 per cent of the 'customs value', which is defined as the price you paid for the car, plus transport and insurance costs. VAT is 23 per cent of the customs value plus the customs duty paid.

If the car is actually coming from Northern Ireland, and not GB, the situation is different.

I suggest you give our guides on all this a read:

Guide to Importing Cars from the UK

Guide to importing a car from Northern Ireland