importing a motor tax/mot

jack1 · 20-07-11, 10:50 PM

hi all ,,,a friend of mine is lookin at buying a fiat in belgium,holland and was going to drive it back to eire,,,now he can sort the insurance but is worried about havin no tax or mot on it as it will be back the original uk plates ,,whats the worst can happen if stopped by the police ????

missfire · 20-07-11, 11:31 PM

a full body cavity search by someone with really big hands before they find out that all the drugs are actually in the fiat?

is this a trick question...?

stoop44rio · 21-07-11, 08:11 AM

Why is the car back on UK plates? If it was on Dutch plates he would be okay as hes only passing through the UK, the car cant be taxed for a country its passing through.I'd carry the insurance and licence with me if it was myself. Worse case though if on UK plate, he could have the car taken off him.

rtz62 · 21-07-11, 09:08 AM

Unle it's a really collectible Fiat, why go to the trouble, as prices are generally more in the EU (check out most classic auctions and classic experts who all say cars are going out of the UK rather than in due to exchange rates etc)

Phil Payne · 21-07-11, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jack1

.. now he can sort the insurance but is worried about havin no tax or mot on it as it will be back the original uk plates ,,whats the worst can happen if stopped by the police ????

Well, he can't 'sort the insurance' because a valid MoT is a prerequisite for insurance cover.

And the worst that can happen is what is very likely to happen - the police seem to have good ANPR cover around the ports - they will impound it and quite likely crush it.

SteveT63 · 21-07-11, 10:25 AM

Agree with Phil you cant wipe your nose without being caught on camera these days!!

If it's displaying it's UK plates, it will have some sort of record on DVLA, permanent export could be one of them. In which case as originally a UK vehicle driven on UK roads with your friend displaying it's UK identity, it will activate an ANPR alert and you could be stopped. Worst case would be that your car would be seized under Operation Cube It, for no excise licence, the clue to what can happen then is in the name and Phils eluded to it already!!

You could get a £60 penalty for no MOT as well. Your friend will leave himself wide open to be dealt with under UK Road Traffic Law because he is driving it displaying it's UK identity.
Presumably it has a current Belgian Identity? If so my advice would be, make sure the vehicle is covered on at least a 3rd party Insurance cover. Some companies will provide temp cover to facilate it's recovery to it's home destination.

Make sure it is clean tidy and 100% roadworthy.(put simply, it will attraction less negative attention if you understand me!) Belgian plates or not, if it's dropping to bits the driver can still being liable for dangerous driving by reason
of it defective parts under UK legislation.
Presumably it will have it's documentation including it's relevant MOT test for it's country? Have it all to hand.

If you do get stopped, he will be prepared, able to answer any query and project the
persona of an honest person who has made the effort to ensure the trip is being undertaken
within all the legislation that is required. If it's running on UK plates after it has been exported, it will appear, at first look by the authorities, to be a UK car, with no tax, no MOT and no Insurance according to the UK databases, that's when the World of Pain will start!

Trailer always a good idea if it's an option to you obviously.

Coxy · 21-07-11, 10:28 AM

excellent post Steve and has cleared up a few of the grey areas!

SorenR · 21-07-11, 10:28 AM

In many countries they use "temporary licenseplates" in case you need to transport an unlicensed car.

Eg. in Denmark we buy them at the DMV with full insurance. £ 12 per day up to 7 days. The new ones are throw-away stickers, the old ones were metal and needed to be returned.

DMV office 12, serialnumber 67673, valid from July 14 2011 to July 15 2011 inclusive.

Some of the guys who import US cars take them in to Europe via Belgium or Holland as the VAT and TAX are lower. They buy German export plates as they should be valid throuout the EU.

From WiKi...

Export plates (also known as "Ausfuhrkennzeichen", customs plates) are used for exporting vehicles abroad. The plates are the only ones which do not have the blue Euro strip on the left and the owner does not have to be a German resident to register the car. The date on the red strip on the right hand side does not show the expiration date of the plate; instead it shows the expiration date of the vehicle insurance. After this date the vehicle must have left Germany.

SteveT63 · 21-07-11, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coxy

excellent post Steve and has cleared up a few of the grey areas!

Nigel Conniford · 21-07-11, 01:29 PM

You can always get insurance company to insure the car on the chassis number if the are not valid, when we imported the Mazie from Holland they removed and returned the plates before we could export it also I think this is the case in Bulgium as the owner owns the registration and they transfer it from car to car as and when they sell them, much easier just to hire a trailer

21-07-11, 10:25 AM	#6
SteveT63 Senior Member Classic Audi Club Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 3,045	Agree with Phil you cant wipe your nose without being caught on camera these days!! If it's displaying it's UK plates, it will have some sort of record on DVLA, permanent export could be one of them. In which case as originally a UK vehicle driven on UK roads with your friend displaying it's UK identity, it will activate an ANPR alert and you could be stopped. Worst case would be that your car would be seized under Operation Cube It, for no excise licence, the clue to what can happen then is in the name and Phils eluded to it already!! You could get a £60 penalty for no MOT as well. Your friend will leave himself wide open to be dealt with under UK Road Traffic Law because he is driving it displaying it's UK identity. Presumably it has a current Belgian Identity? If so my advice would be, make sure the vehicle is covered on at least a 3rd party Insurance cover. Some companies will provide temp cover to facilate it's recovery to it's home destination. Make sure it is clean tidy and 100% roadworthy.(put simply, it will attraction less negative attention if you understand me!) Belgian plates or not, if it's dropping to bits the driver can still being liable for dangerous driving by reason of it defective parts under UK legislation. Presumably it will have it's documentation including it's relevant MOT test for it's country? Have it all to hand. If you do get stopped, he will be prepared, able to answer any query and project the persona of an honest person who has made the effort to ensure the trip is being undertaken within all the legislation that is required. If it's running on UK plates after it has been exported, it will appear, at first look by the authorities, to be a UK car, with no tax, no MOT and no Insurance according to the UK databases, that's when the World of Pain will start! Trailer always a good idea if it's an option to you obviously. __________________ Peace...........through superior acceleration! T85 1985 90quattro I5 20vT T81 1983 80 Sport Red T81 1983 80 Sport Silver

21-07-11, 01:29 PM	#10
Nigel Conniford Chief Sausage Meister!! Classic Audi Club Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 3,614	You can always get insurance company to insure the car on the chassis number if the are not valid, when we imported the Mazie from Holland they removed and returned the plates before we could export it also I think this is the case in Bulgium as the owner owns the registration and they transfer it from car to car as and when they sell them, much easier just to hire a trailer __________________ Horsepower is the force that determines at what speed you hit the wall, Torque is the force that determines how far you take the wall with you after you hit it.

20-07-11, 11:31 PM	#2
missfire making wooden things Classic Audi Club Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: cow land Posts: 8,156	a full body cavity search by someone with really big hands before they find out that all the drugs are actually in the fiat? is this a trick question...?

21-07-11, 08:11 AM	#3
stoop44rio Grown up member Classic Audi Club Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: antrim, ireland Posts: 504	Why is the car back on UK plates? If it was on Dutch plates he would be okay as hes only passing through the UK, the car cant be taxed for a country its passing through.I'd carry the insurance and licence with me if it was myself. Worse case though if on UK plate, he could have the car taken off him.

21-07-11, 09:08 AM	#4
rtz62 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 1,527	Unle it's a really collectible Fiat, why go to the trouble, as prices are generally more in the EU (check out most classic auctions and classic experts who all say cars are going out of the UK rather than in due to exchange rates etc)

21-07-11, 10:28 AM	#7
Coxy 4 Ring Mafia Classic Audi Club Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: on the side of a hill in Shropshire! Posts: 28,215	excellent post Steve and has cleared up a few of the grey areas!

21-07-11, 10:28 AM	#8
SorenR Grown up member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Vesterlyng/Föllenslev, Denmark Posts: 563	In many countries they use "temporary licenseplates" in case you need to transport an unlicensed car. Eg. in Denmark we buy them at the DMV with full insurance. £ 12 per day up to 7 days. The new ones are throw-away stickers, the old ones were metal and needed to be returned. DMV office 12, serialnumber 67673, valid from July 14 2011 to July 15 2011 inclusive. Some of the guys who import US cars take them in to Europe via Belgium or Holland as the VAT and TAX are lower. They buy German export plates as they should be valid throuout the EU. From WiKi... Export plates (also known as "Ausfuhrkennzeichen", customs plates) are used for exporting vehicles abroad. The plates are the only ones which do not have the blue Euro strip on the left and the owner does not have to be a German resident to register the car. The date on the red strip on the right hand side does not show the expiration date of the plate; instead it shows the expiration date of the vehicle insurance. After this date the vehicle must have left Germany.