Importing a car from UK to Ireland is becoming a more complicated process. In addition to the NOx emissions charges that came into effect in 2020 and the various changes to how VRT is calculated, we of course have to deal with impact of the UK leaving the European Union, the end of the “transition” period and the change in status of the UK so that it effectively becomes a “third country”.
What does all of this mean for the Irish car buyer who us eyeing up a possible bargain in the UK market? Sufficed to say there will be headaches ahead. To begin with the prospective buyer will have to submit a Customers Declaration Form, then the transportation of the vehicle will have to be organise, a VRT inspection will need to be scheduled (at your local NCT centre). And after all of that you pay the VRT and NOx levy on the car so it may not be looking quite as much of a bargain as you had initially thought – but there’s more to come. A new charge incurred on UK imports is the import duty of 10% and if you are still interested in completing the purchase then you will have to face a new VAT charge which is a massive 21% (previously this would only have been levied on new or relatively new cars but not it is charged on all imported cars regardless of the year of registration or number of miles on the odometer).
The main exception to all these charges is that you would not be required to pay the import duty of 10% if you are importing from Northern Ireland and the VAT charges would be as before (only levied on newer vehicles).
Of course if you are importing from the UK you will want to ensure that on top of all the various taxes and charges that you get a full and detailed history check of the vehicle in question and that’s where Cartell comes in.
UK Car History Checks
All you have to do to get a history check of your UK imported vehicle is to enter the registration at Cartell.ie
Depending on if you purchase a two or three star car history check you will have access to historic data on the vehicle and will be able to discover if there are any alerts or issues related to write-off history, outstanding finance, mileage and much more.
Cartell research shows that UK imported vehicles do commonly generate alerts that any prospective buyer should be aware of in advance of purchase.
What is Included in A Cartell Check of UK Imported Vehicles?
- Full HPI Check
- Finance Check
- Damage / Write-Off Check
- Stolen Vehicle Check
- Plate Transfer Check
- NMR Mileage Check
- Vehicle Identity Verification
- MOT History
- VIN/Chassis Number
- Cartell Price Guide
- Car Intelligence Guide
-
- This is the number of similar cars for sale and how long it takes to sell them.
Useful Links If You Are Importing A Car from the UK to Ireland