Vol. 436 No. 1
77 Mr. Crowley asked the Minister for Finance if he will justify the imposition of motor vehicle tax on a vehicle when documented proof can be provided by Customs and Excise to verify that the vehicle is temporarily off the road.
Prior to 1 January 1993, the registration and licensing of vehicles was administered by the local authorities and it would have been normal practice, at that time, for car owners to apply for registration and licensing of new or imported cars simultaneously. However, registration is now carried out by the Revenue Commissioners upon payment of the relevant Vehicle Registration Tax, if any; licensing continues to be administered by the local authorities.
Given the established pattern whereby an application for registration was indicative of the availability of a vehicle for use, it was decided, in order to avoid the creation of any opportunities for abuse, that vehicle licence duty should normally be due from the date of registration. However, to ensure that motorists have sufficient time, following registration, in which to licence (tax) a vehicle, provision has been made in the new arrangements, by way of a "good defence" mechanism, so that a motorist will not be penalised for using (driving or parking) an unlicensed vehicle in a public place within 7 working days of registration by the Revenue Commissioners.
In devising these arrangements, the position of persons who claim imported vehicles were "off the road" between registration and first licensing was given careful consideration. However, it was decided that no special tax arrangements would be made as this would create a serious "loophole" in the road tax code. Furthermore, in the interest of road safety, it was considered desirable that the road tax regime should not encourage the importation of cars which have been "written off" in road accidents.
