Vehicles seized for non-VRT payment

Revenue officials have seized nearly 300 vehicles, most of which were imported from the North, for non-payment of Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) in the last month.

In a major crackdown on VRT offences on vehicles purchased across the Border, the Revenue said it challenged 3,256 vehicles in an operation carried between late March and early April. Of those, 658 were found to be non-compliant.

Some 276 vehicles were seized for non-payment of VRT.  The VRT at risk, in these cases, amounted to €1.4 million, the Revenue said.

The economic slowdown and the poor availability of credit have led to increased import activity in the car market, as buyers from the State head to the UK and Northern Ireland.

Some dealers in the North are reporting a significant increase in their retail business from the Republic and are now actively taking part-exchange vehicles from the State.

The Revenue said the figures reflected “the increased volume of vehicles being purchased in Northern Ireland”.

It said it had received payments of €351,045 and collected penalties of €118,323 in relation to the vehicles challenged in the recent crackdown.

The Revenue’s operation, which was assisted by the Garda, concentrated on the Border areas of Clones, Dundalk and Letterkenny as well as in Cork and Dublin.

The largest amount of seizures were made in Clones where 64 vehicles were impounded. There were 50 seized in Dundalk and 34 in Letterkenny while 35 and 22 were seized in Cork and Dublin respectively.