Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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232. To ask the Minister for Finance the reason customs officials are continuing to seize vehicles which have been outlined in a ruling, namely leased and borrowed vehicles from outside the State when the State has still not acted in accordance with the ruling by the European Court of Justice to amend its laws and systems for applying vehicle registration tax in the State following the ruling in September 2017 that Ireland is in breach of its obligations under Article 56 of the TFEU; the reason there has been no change of legislation in accordance with the ruling; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25218/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by Revenue that the obligation to register a vehicle is contained in the Finance Act 1992, section 131 and the obligation to register it within thirty days of bringing it into the State is provided for in Statutory Instrument 318 of 1992, Vehicle Registration and Taxation Regulations, regulation 8(1). This general principle, that vehicles being used in Ireland must be registered in Ireland, is consistent with EU law and I have no plans to introduce any changes in this regard.

The Court of Justice of the European Union did find in September 2017 that it is disproportionate for a Member State to levy the full registration tax where a vehicle is the subject of a lease in another Member State that is determined precisely and is known in advance (C-552/15). My officials are in communication with the European Commission about the extent of this ruling and I will be bringing forward measures in the forthcoming Finance Bill to implement it.