Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 October 2007
201 Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will explain the mechanism involved in re-registering cars bought in Northern Ireland, outlining the cost and time frame involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22732/07]
View answerThe Revenue Commissioners are the vehicle registration authority in the State.
Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) may be payable on the importation of a vehicle from Northern Ireland into the State. As a general rule all vehicles imported permanently into the State from Northern Ireland or elsewhere must register for VRT purposes at any vehicle registration office within one week of their arrival in the State.
VRT is charged on the open market selling price (OMSP) of a vehicle in the State on registration and is defined in Section 133 of the Finance Act 1992 as the price inclusive of all taxes and duties which a vehicle may reasonably be expected to fetch on a first arm's length sale in the open market in the State by retail. The OMSP of new vehicles is declared to the Revenue Commissioners by a wholesale distributor, while the OMSP of imported second hand vehicles is determined by the Revenue Commissioners based on factors such as age, mileage and vehicle condition.
Cars such as saloons, estates, hatchbacks, minibuses, etc. with less than 12 permanently fitted passenger seats are classified as Category A vehicles for VRT purposes and as such are charged VRT based on the engine size of the car using the following calculation: less than 1400cc @ 22.5% of OMSP; from 1401 to 1900cc @ 25% of OMSP; 1901cc and over @ 30% of OMSP; subject to a minimum payment of €315.00. Car-derived vans and crew cabs of less than 3,500 kg gross vehicle weight are charged at 13.3% of OMSP, while commercial and agricultural vehicles pay a flat rate of €50.00 regardless of OMSP.
The Deputy may wish to note that VAT is chargeable at the rate of 21% of the invoice price and is payable by a private individual at the time of registration for VRT purposes on all new cars brought into the State. For VAT purposes, a new car is one which is less than six months old or which has travelled less than 6,000 kilometres.
Regarding the cost of administration, the Revenue Commissioners take an integrated cross-taxhead approach to the collection of taxes. Consequently the cost of collecting VRT on the registration of vehicles sourced solely in Northern Ireland is not readily available. However, the total cost of administration of all taxes as a percentage of gross tax receipts for 2006 was 0.77%.
The total VRT yield was almost €1.3 billion in 2006. During 2006, the last full year for which figures are available, 11,236 second hand vehicles were imported from Northern Ireland, providing a VRT yield of €25.7 million.
