Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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514. To ask the Minister for Finance if a vehicle which was bought for commercial purposes in 2020 and was never deregistered due to Covid-19 could now be deregistered and reregistered as a 2022 vehicle; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20420/22]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I understand from Revenue that the application process for the de-registration of a vehicle and repayment of the associated Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) continued to operate normally throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

As explained on the Revenue website, if there are exceptional circumstances, then a vehicle may be de-registered and the VRT repaid provided that the following conditions are met:

- the circumstances arise within seven working days of the registration;

- the vehicle has not been licensed for use in a public place (i.e. road tax has not been paid); and

- an application for de-registration is made to Revenue within 21 days of the date of registration.

These statutory conditions help to maintain the integrity of the vehicle registration and VRT system, which gives assurance to purchasers that an unregistered vehicle is new.

In the particular case to which the Deputy refers, I recommend that the taxpayer should contact the National Vehicle Registration Tax Service (NVRTS) in Revenue to explain the details of their situation, which will allow Revenue to consider the case.  The taxpayer can do this by using the MyEnquiries facility on the Revenue website.