Buyers

Buying in Ireland vs. importing from the UK

Importing an EV from the UK can look cheaper on the sticker price. Whether it actually is depends on a handful of things people often price in too late — this covers the parts that matter, not a step-by-step how-to.

Great Britain and Northern Ireland are not the same import

A used EV bought in England, Scotland, or Wales (Great Britain) is treated as a non-EU import: on top of VRT, you're generally liable for import VAT (23%) and potentially customs duty, calculated on the vehicle's value plus transport. That can add thousands to what looked like a cheaper asking price.
A car genuinely based and registered in Northern Ireland can usually be brought in without the VAT/customs step, under the Windsor Framework's rules for goods already in NI. But that depends on the specific vehicle's own registration history, not just its current number plate — a car first registered in GB and only recently moved to NI doesn't automatically get NI treatment. Sources on the exact cutoffs and conditions don't fully agree with each other, so don't take a seller's word for which category a car falls into — check Revenue's own guidance for that specific vehicle before you commit.
This is the single biggest thing worth confirming before assuming an import is cheaper: run the numbers (purchase price + transport + VRT + likely VAT/duty) before comparing to an equivalent car already on an Irish forecourt, not after.

VRT relief for EVs applies either way — but check it for your specific car

Battery electric cars can get VRT relief of up to €5,000 (tapering out between €40,000–€50,000 OMSP, gone above that), currently due to run to the end of 2026 — this applies on top of an import, not instead of it.
Whether that relief applies in full to a used/imported EV, or only to new ones, isn't something we could confirm with full confidence from Revenue's own published guidance — sources disagree. Run the actual reg or vehicle details through Revenue's VRT calculator before you buy, rather than assuming the relief applies.
Either way, VRT is charged on Revenue's own valuation (OMSP) of the car, not what you actually paid for it — a bargain purchase price doesn't necessarily mean a bargain VRT bill.

An import needs its own history and inspection checks

Irish-only vehicle history checks currently show Category A and B write-offs but not C, D, S, or N — run a UK-specific history check on any UK-sourced car in addition to the Irish one (see our Used Car Buying Guide and Resources page).
Get an independent pre-purchase inspection before you commit to shipping or driving a car home, not after — a problem that's cheap to walk away from in the UK gets much more expensive once the car is on a boat.
For an EV, that inspection should include an independent battery health check — see our EV Buyer Check, which also works on a UK-registered car before you import it.

Registering the car once it's here

An imported car needs to be presented for a VRT inspection and registered in Ireland within 30 days of import — an unregistered import isn't legal to drive here. Book the VRT appointment (at an NCT centre) as early as you can; slots fill up.
You'll need the V5C (UK logbook), proof of ID and address, and — for an EV — the Certificate of Conformity, which confirms the exact spec Revenue is valuing.

This isn't tax advice, and VRT/customs rules change — always confirm the current numbers for your specific vehicle on Revenue's own VRT guidance before you buy. See also the Used Car Buying Guide for the checks that apply to any used car, imported or not.