Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 66: To ask the Minister for Finance the changes, if any, that have taken place or are about to take place for the registration of tractors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8180/11]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that a number of changes have taken place recently in relation to the registration of vehicles, including tractors. Section 61 of the Finance (No. 2) Act of 2008, made provision to allow Revenue to appoint a competent person to carry out a pre-registration examination on all vehicles presented for registration, in order to ascertain that all the conditions necessary for the registration of the vehicle and the proper administration of vehicle registration tax (VRT) have been complied with, before the vehicle could be registered. Section 109 of the Finance Act 2010, subsequently provided that Revenue could authorise a competent person to declare the vehicle details to Revenue and to collect, on behalf of Revenue, the VRT due on vehicles.

The provisions of these Acts were implemented with effect from 1 September 2010 when the NCTS, acting as a competent person appointed by Revenue, took on the role of conducting a pre-registration examination of all vehicles presented for examination in accordance with the legislation. Like other vehicles, tractors must, in the normal course of events, be presented at an NCT Centre for a pre-registration inspection. However, Revenue became aware that there were a number of tractors already in the State that, for whatever reason, were not registered in accordance with the legislation in place before 1 September 2010. It was recognised that the new legislation may place a burden on the owners of those vehicles to fulfil their registration obligations. Additionally, there may have been a number of people who, because they were not aware of the impending change, despite the extensive advertising campaign run by Revenue, that were not in a position to register their tractor immediately after import. For these reasons, Revenue did, as an interim measure until the end of 2010, waive the requirement for a tractor to be presented for examination at registration.

Directive 2003/37/EC relating to type approval of tractors was transposed into Irish law in Statutory Instrument 773 of 2005. This Instrument required that all new tractors must have a Certificate of Conformity as a prerequisite of registration. The provisions of this Instrument were fully implemented in September 2010 as part of the new registration regime. Therefore, from 1 September 2010, it was not possible to register in the State a new tractor, i.e. one that not been previously registered elsewhere, unless it was type approved in accordance with Directive 2003/37/EC and had been issued with a Certificate of Conformity.

In accordance with the provisions of the Finance Act 2010, the basis on which VRT was charged was changed on 1 January 2011, from a system of vehicle categorisation used by Revenue since the introduction of VRT, to the system of classification used by vehicle manufacturers when declaring vehicles for type approval purposes in Europe. While the new system did not have any impact on the rate of VRT charged on tractors nor on the registration procedures relating to tractors, it did, among other things facilitate the registration process in the State and in particular, the compliance with EU Directives in relation to registration.

From 28 March 2010, the Commissioners introduced an initiative that facilitated the registration of used vehicles by authorised traders. This initiative allowed authorised traders to have a pre-registration examination carried out on vehicles in stock, long before a sale is agreed. Then, when at some later date one of these previously examined vehicles are sold, the authorised dealer could complete the registration process in his own premises and pay the vehicle registration tax due, through Revenue's On-line Service (ROS).

It was decided that because of these additional changes to the registration process, the waiver in relation to tractors would be extended to allow the changed procedures and practices to bed down and thus minimise the impact of the new registration obligations on the agricultural sector. This waiver is now scheduled to cease at the end of June 2011 and from then on, tractors, like all other mechanically propelled vehicles, will be obliged to undergo a pre-registration inspection before they are registered for use in the State. In the meantime, the relevant documentation relating to the tractor and the registered owner must be presented for examination at an NCT Centre. The Deputy should also note that in accordance with Section 48 of the Finance Act 2011, the VRT rate for certain vehicles, including tractors, will be increased from €50 to €200 on 1 May 2011.