Hello,
I am looking to import an electric car from NI. It was first registered in NI in August 2023 and the mileage converts to just over 6000 km so it appears that the requirements for no customs duty and no VAT are satisfied. As the car is electric the VRT is zero. It had one private owner from new as per V5C. (The owner was, as I understand, a finance company and this was a lease car, so it factually was being used, not sitting as a demo at a dealer).
However, the Revenue website documents have some ominous claims about cars "brought into NI before May 2023 and bought from NI before 30 April 2024". I have no way of knowing or proving how/when the car was brought into NI before it was first registered. The dealer says Kia would have been doing that. The dealer also says that the scheme that causes this issue does not apply to this car as it was never registered nor purchased in GB.
Is it safe to buy this car now? Or should I put a deposit on it, ask them to wait, and buy in early May? And are there other pitfalls that I might need to look at?
I am looking to import an electric car from NI. It was first registered in NI in August 2023 and the mileage converts to just over 6000 km so it appears that the requirements for no customs duty and no VAT are satisfied. As the car is electric the VRT is zero. It had one private owner from new as per V5C. (The owner was, as I understand, a finance company and this was a lease car, so it factually was being used, not sitting as a demo at a dealer).
However, the Revenue website documents have some ominous claims about cars "brought into NI before May 2023 and bought from NI before 30 April 2024". I have no way of knowing or proving how/when the car was brought into NI before it was first registered. The dealer says Kia would have been doing that. The dealer also says that the scheme that causes this issue does not apply to this car as it was never registered nor purchased in GB.
Is it safe to buy this car now? Or should I put a deposit on it, ask them to wait, and buy in early May? And are there other pitfalls that I might need to look at?