Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

289. To ask the Minister for Finance to provide clarity on vehicle registration tax payments for cross-Border workers who work in Northern Ireland and receive a company car registered in Northern Ireland for business engagements, despite living and being resident in the Republic of Ireland, where the car resides overnight. [14141/25]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Finance Act 1992, as amended, sets out the rules governing vehicle registration and Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT). In general, the legislation obliges an individual who brings a vehicle into the State to register it within 30 days, and VRT is charged at the point of registration.

Section 135 of the Act provides for certain limited circumstances in which a vehicle that is temporarily brought into the State may be exempted from the requirement to be registered. Detailed provisions in this regard are set out in the Temporary Exemption from Registration of Vehicles Regulations, 1993 (S.I. No. 60 of 1993). The legislation allows temporary exemptions from registration to be granted for up to 12 months, or such longer period as Revenue may allow in any particular case. Where a vehicle is so exempted from registration, VRT is not payable for the period of the exemption.

In accordance with the legislation, a situation of the type described in the Deputy’s question can be eligible for temporary exemption from registration and VRT. In such a situation, the main conditions governing eligibility for exemption are that the car is brought into the State by a person who is established here, that their employer is established in Northern Ireland, that the employer provides the car as part of the person’s contract of employment, and that the car is owned or leased by the employer. The granting of a temporary exemption is dependent on the vehicle being subject to normal taxes in Northern Ireland, including that the vehicle is not the subject of exemptions or refunds of VAT, excise duty or other consumption taxes there on the basis of being exported from that jurisdiction.

Other conditions of the temporary exemption are that the car –

- is not disposed of or hired out in the State, or lent to a person established in the State,

- is not used for the carriage of person for reward within the State,

- is not used to transport goods for business purposes within the State, and

- Is used principally for business purposes outside the State.

Information about vehicle registration and VRT is available on Revenue’s website. Further details about the temporary exemption, including information on how to apply, are available at www.revenue.ie/en/vrt/reliefs-and-exemptions/temporary-exemption.aspx. Application is made through MyEnquiries. If an individual has a specific query about the matter, they can contact Revenue via MyEnquiries or can contact the National VRT Service, Anne Street, Wexford on 01 738619.