Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 346: To ask the Minister for Finance the number of checks which have been carried out by Revenue and Customs and Excise in respect of foreign vehicles imported here; if they are fully compliant with Irish vehicle registration tax, road tax and insurance obligations; the number of such checks which have identified non-compliant vehicles; the figures for each year from 1998 to date in 2006 on an annual basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5016/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, responsibility for road tax and insurance obligations do not lie with my Department. My reply is therefore only in respect of vehicle registration and vehicle registration tax.

In order to fully answer the Deputy's question, it is helpful to outline the legislative nature of vehicle registration tax, and the conditions governing its administration and enforcement by the Revenue Commissioners. VRT is applicable at the time of registration of a vehicle in the State, rather than at the time of its arrival here. This tax was introduced in 1993 following the establishment of the Single Market, which under European Community law required the removal of all taxes and customs controls that up to then had been imposed on goods at the time of their importation from other member states. Consequently, enforcement of the law in regard to VRT takes place subsequent to the arrival here of vehicles from abroad. The law requires that under normal circumstances all foreign vehicles being brought permanently into the State must be registered for VRT purposes within 24 hours of arrival. The appropriate VRT must be paid at the time of registration unless the vehicle qualifies for relief under transfer of residence or other similar provisions.

However, under section 135 of the Finance Act 1992, a non-resident of the State is entitled to temporarily keep a foreign vehicle in the State for a period normally not exceeding one year without having to register it, or pay vehicle registration tax. Non-residents who bring vehicles into the State under this provision are not legally required to declare them to the Revenue Commissioners in order to avail of the relief. As such, Revenue has no record of the number of instances in which this exemption is availed of.

Regulation 5(1) of the Temporary Exemption from Registration of Vehicles Regulations 1993, S.I. No. 60 of 1993, sets out the conditions which must be satisfied to gain the exemption. These include that the vehicle must be owned by or registered in the name of a person whose normal place of residence is outside Ireland; the vehicle must not be disposed of or hired out in Ireland or lent to someone who is normally resident in Ireland; the vehicle must not be driven by someone who is normally resident in Ireland, other than with the permission of the Revenue Commissioners and generally speaking, the vehicle may not be used, within Ireland, for transporting persons for reward or the transport of goods between places within Ireland.

A person is generally regarded as being normally resident in the country where he or she lives for at least 185 days in a year because of personal ties, or both personal and occupational ties. A person who lives in a country primarily for the purposes of attending a school or university or other educational or vocational establishment is not regarded as having his or her normal residence in that country. Proof of normal residence may be required by the Revenue Commissioners.

The temporary exemption rules accord with Article 39 of the EC Treaty which provides for the free movement of workers within member states. A reciprocal arrangement also applies to Irish residents who bring their cars temporarily to another member state. I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that their officers, who are based at numerous locations around the country, carry out regular and ongoing checks to identify and deal with breaches of the VRT regulations. This applies particularly in regard to the permanent retention of unregistered vehicles in the State or in the possession of State residents. Co-ordinated national enforcement campaigns are also carried out periodically to detect infringements in this area. If a vehicle is confirmed as being in contravention of the VRT regulations it is seized and is normally released either for export on payment of a penalty or on payment of the appropriate tax and a penalty. The penalty is scaled according to the length of time the vehicle has been in the State on an irregular basis. In first encounter cases a warning is issued to the vehicle's owner to regularise its status either by registration or exportation. These warnings are followed up by subsequent checks to confirm compliance, failure of which results in seizure. Cases involving serious fraud or aggravated circumstances such as obstruction are normally prosecuted.

The following table sets out the level of VRT enforcement activity since 1998 to date. It is worth pointing out that a number of the seizures in the table below resulted from Garda activity.