From September 1st, the collection of Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) will be the responsibility of Applus+, the Spanish based company currently administering the National Car Test (NCT). Therefore it will no longer be possible to register a vehicle at a Revenue Vehicle Registration Office (VRO). They will carry out a range of tests to verify the specification of the vehicle being presented matches the original manufacturers specification and that on the V5, to ensure that the correct VRT is being applied. Cartell.ie welcomes this as a first step in the right direction towards safer cars on our roads.
This test will help prevent fraud by identifying the correct specifications and trim levels and thus ensuring the correct VRT being applied. It should also help prevent cloning by verifying all of the paperwork. However, it will not address the issue of write-offs being registered in the state as no mechanical inspection of the vehicle will be carried out. Given the inherent dangers of write-offs, Cartell.ie is calling for all imports to undergo a thorough mechanical inspection.
Once a vehicle has entered the state, the owner has 7 days to book it in for an appointment and there are 30 days in total to complete the registration process. The vehicle can be taken to any one of the 22 specialised NCT centres for the test. Once the check has been carried out, payment will be taken by Applus+ on behalf of the Revenue commissioners and a vehicle registration number will be issued.
In 2008, Cartell.ie.ie carried out a study of a sample of 4,479 random vehicles imported to Ireland from the UK between 2001 and 2005. From that sample, it was shown that almost one in ten vehicles imported into Ireland from the UK were previously written off.
UK Logbook V5
A Category A, B or C write off, will have the fact that it is a write off documented on the UK logbook or V5. However, this data is not making its way from the UK log book to the Irish log book or vehicle registration document (VRC) and the impact of this, is that Irish drivers are in the dark about the cars’ true history. Cartell.ie called for the government to put better systems in place to help prevent the Irish public from driving these cars. This new system should have given Applus+ the power not to register the Category A and B write offs, as these should never return to the road. Indeed these Category A and B vehicles cannot legally be allowed to be registered in the UK. Furthermore a Category C write off should require an engineer’s inspection before being registered in the state because legally in the UK, a Category C write off requires a Vehicle Identification Check (VIC) before it can be re-registered and taxed. Cartell.ie feel that the non documenting of the write off is a crucial step that is being missed on importation. It is still very much a case of buyer beware when importing a UK vehicle and one must carry out checks with Cartell.ie or The AA to protect themselves.
Categories of Write-Off’s
(Click here for full definitions of Write-offs)
Category A: Vehicle should be crushed. Not to return to the road. No serviceable parts. ELV (End of life vehicle)
Category B: Vehicle to be only used for parts. Body shell to be crushed. Not to return to the road. ELV (End of life vehicle)
Category C: Heavily damaged repairable write off. Beyond economical repair. Vehicle can be returned to the road. Cost of vehicle repairs exceeds the book value
Category D: Damaged repairable write off. Beyond economical repair. Vehicle can be returned to the road. Repair costs including VAT do not exceed the vehicle’s pre-accident value (PAV). Other factors such as Car hire or specialist parts increase the cost to return the vehicle to the road
For further information please contact John Byrne on 087 4199018 and Email or check out www.cartell.ie for further information.
Latest…
NCT to collect VRT and carry out ‘Verification’ test for all imports
From September 1st, the collection of Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) will be the responsibility of Applus+, the Spanish based company currently administering the National Car Test (NCT). Therefore it will no longer be possible to register a vehicle at a Revenue Vehicle Registration Office (VRO). They will carry out a range of tests to verify the specification of the vehicle being presented matches the original manufacturers specification and that on the V5, to ensure that the correct VRT is being applied. Cartell.ie welcomes this as a first step in the right direction towards safer cars on our roads.
This test will help prevent fraud by identifying the correct specifications and trim levels and thus ensuring the correct VRT being applied. It should also help prevent cloning by verifying all of the paperwork. However, it will not address the issue of write-offs being registered in the state as no mechanical inspection of the vehicle will be carried out. Given the inherent dangers of write-offs, Cartell.ie is calling for all imports to undergo a thorough mechanical inspection.
In 2008, Cartell.ie.ie carried out a study of a sample of 4,479 random vehicles imported to Ireland from the UK between 2001 and 2005. From that sample, it was shown that almost one in ten vehicles imported into Ireland from the UK were previously written off.
UK Logbook V5
A Category A, B or C write off, will have the fact that it is a write off documented on the UK logbook or V5. However, this data is not making its way from the UK log book to the Irish log book or vehicle registration document (VRC) and the impact of this, is that Irish drivers are in the dark about the cars’ true history. Cartell.ie called for the government to put better systems in place to help prevent the Irish public from driving these cars. This new system should have given Applus+ the power not to register the Category A and B write offs, as these should never return to the road. Indeed these Category A and B vehicles cannot legally be allowed to be registered in the UK. Furthermore a Category C write off should require an engineer’s inspection before being registered in the state because legally in the UK, a Category C write off requires a Vehicle Identification Check (VIC) before it can be re-registered and taxed. Cartell.ie feel that the non documenting of the write off is a crucial step that is being missed on importation. It is still very much a case of buyer beware when importing a UK vehicle and one must carry out checks with Cartell.ie or The AA to protect themselves.
Categories of Write-Off’s
(Click here for full definitions of Write-offs)
Category A: Vehicle should be crushed. Not to return to the road. No serviceable parts. ELV (End of life vehicle)
Category B: Vehicle to be only used for parts. Body shell to be crushed. Not to return to the road. ELV (End of life vehicle)
Category C: Heavily damaged repairable write off. Beyond economical repair. Vehicle can be returned to the road. Cost of vehicle repairs exceeds the book value
Category D: Damaged repairable write off. Beyond economical repair. Vehicle can be returned to the road. Repair costs including VAT do not exceed the vehicle’s pre-accident value (PAV). Other factors such as Car hire or specialist parts increase the cost to return the vehicle to the road
For further information please contact John Byrne on 087 4199018 and Email or check out www.cartell.ie for further information.