VRT & Vehicle Siezure

Depends exactly what "cleared it for €50" means I suppose.

€50.00 is commercial clearance, i put the seats back in to sell it back into the North of Ireland,got caught in the period between the conversion done and trip to the North
 
As a compliant taxpayer - PAYE, car tax, buying my food locally etc I find it hard to stomach people who don't make a connection between earning at high Irish rates (highest minimum wage in Europe), paying relatively low Irish personal tax and social insurance and then seek to avoid or evade local taxes such as VRT.
 
It was still a premeditated and deliberate act to evade tax. Nobody likes VRT, and it's anti competition clearly, but it's the law, and has to be paid like all other taxes due.

I liken scamming to theft.


its not theft or scamming, i needed to sell the vehicle, and the market in the North is better than here for high end vehicles,i was unfortunate not to have removed the vehicle ASAP.
 
its not theft or scamming, i needed to sell the vehicle, and the market in the North is better than here for high end vehicles,i was unfortunate not to have removed the vehicle ASAP.

But you cleared it as a commercial vehicle? and when you were pulled over you were in a non commercial vehicle? These are the same 4 x 4?

Were you aware that this is a common scam? or do you belive you did nothing wrong?
 

My conversion back to a passanger was only so i could sell the vehicle back into the North, I had no plans to keep it in the state, I was unfortunate to be stopped and have the vehicle siezed, but i think the revenue are forcing me into paying the VRT, and not not offering me the correct options.
 
Very relevant I'd say?


car was cleared as a commercial, and my financial situation forced me to sell the vehicle, and my only viable cost effective option was sell it back into the north, but there is no market for a commercial 4x4 in the north, therefore the seats had to go back in, and i was stopped by customs before i had a chance to bring the vehicle to the north. no other reason for the conversion. just unfortunate.
 
It's a pity you didn't place the seats in the back of the vehicle, throw a cover over them etc. until you hit the UK. At least you could have argued that you were only transporting them.

I suspect that the reason they seized the vehicle is because you failed to re-register it as an Irish vehicle. You left the time lapse so they seized it.
 
But you cleared it as a commercial vehicle? and when you were pulled over you were in a non commercial vehicle? These are the same 4 x 4?

Were you aware that this is a common scam? or do you belive you did nothing wrong?


i was aware of the previous cases where people had reconverted their vehicles, but my intention was not the same,my plan was get the seats back in and bring the vehicle back to the north, but I was unfortunate to be stopped before i got the vehicle out of the state. simple.
 


vehicle was on Irish plates, but as a commercial, but I need to seel the vehicle back into the north, and there is no market for a comm 4x4, so the seats where put back in, but i got stopped by customs before i got the vehicle out of the state.
 
so if the state is breaking the rules, why isn't is being stopped? I know its the million dollar question, but surely its black & white...
 
thats a kick in the teeth....will they not let you take the seats out and reclaim the vehicle?
 
its not theft or scamming, i needed to sell the vehicle, and the market in the North is better than here for high end vehicles,i was unfortunate not to have removed the vehicle ASAP.

Look, from the Customs point of view they caught you in a jeep, registered as a commercial, and reconverted to passenger use.

You say you merely intended to sell it on in the North after reconversion, but that's impossible to prove.

It may have been pure bad luck. Had you done the reconversion a day before taking it up north to sell you have my sympathy. Had it been done weeks or months beforehand you were chancing your arm.

p.s. Where did you get the interior - seats, door cards etc. btw?