asked the Minister for Finance if he is aware of the application of a person in County Dublin (name supplied) for (permission to sell free of duty a car which he imported in December, 1970; and that because of the serious delay in dealing with his application he was involved in great financial loss; and if he will now be granted permission to sell without payment of duty.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Dublin Car Sale.
23.
The person in question was allowed to impart a motor vehicle free of customs duty, turnover tax and wholesale tax in December, 1970, on the occasion of his coming to reside here. It is a normal condition under which such free importation is permitted that the importer will not sell or otherwise dispose of the car in the State within one year of the date of impartation unless the prior consent in writing of the Revenue Commissioners has been obtained and unless payment of the proper charges, if demanded, has been made. The importer in this case signed a formal declaration that he would abide by this condition.
On 4th March, 1971, he applied to the Revenue Commissioners for permission to sell the car free of duty by way of a trade-in against a van; he was informed by letter dated 20th April that sale would not be permitted except on payment of the appropriate customs charges. I am assured by the Revenue Commissioners that there was no undue delay in processing the application for duty-free sale.
As regards the last part of the question, the Revenue Commissioners inform me that they are not prepared to grant permission to sell the car before the expiry of the 12 months period unless the customs charges are paid. The amount involved would not be very considerable and I would suggest that the applicant might discuss this aspect of the matter with the Commissioners.