Dáil Éireann Debate, Friday - 7 September 2018
91. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Finance the reason a tax is imposed on movement of goods, that is, cars (details supplied); when tariff-free trade will be allowed; and if refunds will issue to persons that have been overcharged. [36780/18]
View answerI am informed by Revenue that the Finance Act 1992, Part II, Chapter IV provides for the application of a duty of excise on motor vehicles called Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT). Section 132 of the 1992 Act provides that the tax is to be charged at the time the vehicle is declared for registration or conversion. The tax is therefore not imposed on, and nor is it related to, the movement of goods.
The tax base used to calculate the VRT applicable, called the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP), is provided for in section 133 of the 1992 Act and is defined as “the price, inclusive of all taxes and duties” that a vehicle “might reasonably be expected to fetch on a first arm’s length sale thereof in the open market in the State by retail”. The definition provides that the market price, the OMSP, includes all taxes, including VRT, and does not constitute double taxation nor give rise to overpayments.
No tariffs apply to goods in free circulation in another EU Member State that are brought into Ireland. Tariffs on goods imported from other countries depend on the details of any trade agreement between the EU and that country.
