VRT not paid on a sixth of imported vehicles

MORE THAN one in six of vehicles stopped in recent checks by gardaí and Revenue officials were found to have Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) irregularities.

In a major operation targeting vehicles purchased in the North or imported from Britain, the Revenue said 658 vehicles out of 3,256 challenged were found to be non-VRT compliant.

Some 276 were seized for non-payment of VRT during the two-week operation last month which was concentrated in the Border areas of Clones, Dundalk and Letterkenny, as well as in Cork and Dublin. The figures, published by the Revenue yesterday, indicated the VRT at risk, in these cases, amounted to €1.4 million.

The economic slowdown and more favourable sterling exchange rates have led to a surge in import activity in the car market, as buyers seek to snap up bargains across the Border and in Britain.

Car dealers in the North have reported a sharp increase in their retail business from the Republic and are now actively targeting southern customers in their advertising campaigns and taking part-exchange vehicles from the State.

A Revenue spokesman said the crackdown was part of the agency’s ongoing VRT operations which reflected “the increased volume of vehicles being purchased in Northern Ireland and Britain”.

He said the rise in used vehicles being registered in the State indicated an increasing awareness by car buyers of the better deals available outside the State. “In times when people are feeling the pinch, some may try and cut corners and delay or avoid paying VRT.”

He said there was now a multi-agency approach to VRT compliance with officials from Departments of Transport and Social Welfare assisting Revenue and Garda officers at checkpoints.

The Society for the Irish Motor Industry said that in the period since the operation began some 1,500 used vehicles have been registered for VRT, compared with 200 during the same period in 2008.

The Revenue said yesterday it had received payments of €351,045 and collected penalties of €118,323 in relation to the vehicles challenged last month.