Re-importing a car BACK to the UK HMRC etc !!

[datman]

Okay here's a crazy one

a Car that was sold new in the UK in the 1970s, then recently (2013) went over to ireland and used there for a couple of years (irish plates) car now back in the UK again and even the original reg still comes up on the DVLA vehicle checker page.

Rang DVLA to ask what to do with regards to making sure it was registered properly, they said I had to ring HMRC.

Rang HMRC and they said do I have proof the VAT was paid on this car , like WHEN IT WAS SOLD NEW, like IN THE 1970s!

I'm like.... WHAT???

They suggested I looked for the orignal receipt, or contacted the dealer , you know, if they still exist !! and ask them for I guess... a copy of the invoice... from 40 years ago.. Absolutely could not make this up.

Surely not only do DVLA not allow you to register a car that has not had VAT paid on it.. so it would never have been registered in the first place.. but since when has anyone ever had to prove it . Surely if this car has been in UK then out, then back in again, everything just carries on as before..

Absolute madness.

Anyone had this??? and What did you do??

[sprintmini]

Even if you have the original paperwork simply apply for the log book as though it's lost, give the DVLA the £25 for a new log book and job sorted.

[datman]

there is an old v5c (the green bit) there, might send that in and just see what happens. They'll either process it or write a letter I suppose.

[surprisingskoda]

That's pretty weird. It's incredibly easy, usually, to Re import a car from Ireland. Unless they're very confused indeed and talking about the import duties that ireland impose, for which you can actually get a rebate but you need an Irish address and to take it to an nct (mot) centre.

[scimjim]

Feb 15, 2016 14:52:10 GMT datman said:

Surely not only do DVLA not allow you to register a car that has not had VAT paid on it.. so it would never have been registered in the first place.. but since when has anyone ever had to prove it . Surely if this car has been in UK then out, then back in again, everything just carries on as before..

Thousands of cars are registered in UK every year without paying VAT on them - personal exports have to be kept abroad for a certain time/mileage before they are exempt VAT on return to UK (and you need proof that they are exempt or you can be liable for tax from the country the vehicle is exported to) - just ask any squaddie who's ever served in Germany

I think you just need to fill out a NOVA which will tell you that there's no tax required.

[nigelbickle]

Have an ongoing similar problem with a French registered mk1 Renault 25

Right hand drive, sold new in Uk, even has the original 1986 registration etched into the glass. I have all its history till it was exported about 5 years ago,( so, around 20 years here!) and it still shows on the DVLA database.

Will they let me re register it? Nope.

Full price needed for a new reg ( although may consider allowing the original, if I can prove etched Windows) together with VAT, NOVA, French registration details, new MOT( on ViN, not French reg).

So, they can stuff it. I spend as much time on the Continent as here, the French Mot (CT) lasts 2 years and I save a bunch of unnecessary costs. It stays French

Having been under - regulated for years, I think they've become draconian in he last few months. Let's hope common sense prevails, soon

[Dez]

the dvla do seem to have taken leave of their senses recently, I'm involved in and know of quite a few more cases where something that should be dead simple is being made very complicated because of 'computer says no' answers rather than people actually looking at the casenotes.

i find it quite bemusing they wont take their own paperwork as proof of age.

as it stands, i think your two options are-
persue the original reg, don't make any mention on it having been exported and re-imported. just send off the green slip with a v62 and see what happens. if its still on the system and as long as there isnt a difference between the chassis no on the car and the one on their system, i cant see why it would be an issue.

or, do a nova declaration and take it as a new registration (with associated fee) with a dating certificate from the appropriate organisation. they seem to be pushing a lot of fairly simple jobs down this route recently, i cant see any other reason other than they get to charge you for it....

[nigelbickle]

I tried that with the 25, Dez. Won't have any of it sadly, and I'm not minded to jump the hoops, so it stays French. Legally.


I've also an interesting early Renault 12 I'm struggling with. Last owner sent off the paperwork , inc the Carte Grise, to register it, but didn't include his ID; so they sent it back, less the CG. Sadly he hadn't taken a copy, so can't prove it.

So I asked the route, bearing in mind they have ' seen' the CG,( acknowledged). Seems, despite a stack of history, none of it is acceptable, so a Dating Certificate is required. Except, right now, there isn't one they will accept!
Renault Owners Club or RCCC not acceptable; Renault UK is, but they can't date anything without a ' modern' VIN..Too old....

Current answer seems to be a 50 euro note stapled to a formal request posted to Renault, in Boulogne which ' may' take up to 6 months to come back. Others have applied, the earliest to my knowledge in October - with nothing do far.

So, right now, it sits, cos I'm not doing that. Simples.

Let's hope realism sets in soon.

[Dez]

It is a bit of a shambles at the minute tbh. But they're civil servants, so they have to make it difficult to justify their existence. If you make enough of a nuisance of yourself they'll do most things eventually though.

To the OP, the statement 'declared new at first registration' on he front of the v5 should be proof enough vat has already been paid. If they wont give you a v5 you can demand a historic copy of it, to show what their records are. I think it comes under freedom of information in regards what they keep on record about your vehicle, I got them to do it for the Hudson pickup.

[datman]

Thanks. Have just obtained a NOVA via the online gateway etc, but that still means filling in a v55/5 and paying £55 plus road tax, getting car MOTd just on the VIN, and sending in ID, when they could have just pressed a button to say car back in the UK. Ho hum.

[colnerov]

Ahh yes, But why should they press the button for nothing, when they can make you jump through hoops and pay £55?.

[dodgerover]

Is it worth sending £25 and a lost logbook form to see what happens? If they can't issue one they should refund you.

[scimjim]

Feb 16, 2016 19:10:19 GMT Dez said:

..the statement 'declared new at first registration' on he front of the v5 should be proof enough vat has already been paid.

The two aren't related.

Feb 16, 2016 19:10:19 GMT Dez said:

If they wont give you a v5 you can demand a historic copy of it, to show what their records are. I think it comes under freedom of information in regards what they keep on record about your vehicle

FOI itself won't apply here. fill in a V888 and send it off with £5.