Drivers who plan on importing a vehicle from the UK, including Northern Ireland, have been issued a stark warning about new regulations that stops them from transferring vehicles into Donegal legally.
Under new British law, the seller of an exported vehicle must dispose of the logbook before it is exported to another country and instead issue buyers with a new owner certificate.
However, for drivers in Donegal and across the country, revenue will not accept the vehicle registration tax (VRT) without the logbook unless you have a certificate of permanent export, which the DVLA have stopped issuing since January 2019.
Speaking to Donegal Daily, Councillor Paul Canning said: “The situation at the minute is if you went across to England and bought a vehicle, the seller can get away with just giving you a new owner certificate, scrapping the logbook.
“There is now a law in the UK that any vehicle going for export, sellers must dispose of the logbook,” he added.
“But if you go to the DVLA in the UK with no logbook or a V5C form, they will not issue a certificate of permanent export, so I urge potential buyers to make sure they have that documentation in their hand when they leave or you are not getting VRT.”
The Inishowen Councillor said that people have already been in touch with him about the issue, which is leaving them having to pay more high costs on the vehicle.
“There have been a few people in my area that have contacted me on this issue, not a whole lot, but it is a lot of money for a few people.”
“For instance, there was a woman who has contacted me recently who employed a company to lift a vehicle in the UK and they brought it back here with a new owner certificate.
“The VRT on it was €3000, but because the vehicle is now in this country, she can’t get it back again.
“And this is a big concern around border areas and areas close to the border, including Carrigans, Killea, Newton, Bridgend and Muff.
“The problem is people buy the car and the sellers say they will send you on the logbook but they instead send you a new owner certificate when people have bought and paid for the car.
“So people need to be aware of this and take caution when importing cars across the border.”
Tags: