I have a Ford Transit Custom SWB (short wheelbase) Limited PHEV that we converted to a camper in Ballymena. We originally registered the vehicle as a panel van and then got an engineer’s report to declare it as a camper. We then submitted all the paperwork to Revenue. They have come back to us with a VRT (vehicle registration tax) bill of €8,500 at a VRT rate of 13.3 per cent. The vehicle has a CO2 rating of 37g/km, so I would have thought it should be calculated at 8 per cent? I have tried to explain this to Revenue, but they are insisting all campers are calculated at 13.3 per cent with no exception. Do you think I have any comeback on this? From Nicky B
Well, you certainly ought to. According to Revenue’s own website, there should be an applied rate of 8 per cent VRT for your camper van.
That’s based on Revenue’s own criteria, which state that Category B VRT will be applied to “vehicles [which] are European category N1 and generally have three seats or less. VRT category B also includes motor caravans”.
According to Revenue’s criteria, the 13.3 per cent rate of VRT should only apply in cases where the vehicle has CO2 emissions of 120g/km or higher. As you point out, your Transit PHEV has emissions of 37g/km.
Now, there are some specific fixtures and fittings which any converted van must have if it’s to qualify, in Revenue’s eyes, as a motor caravan (or what we would generally call a camper van).
Those specific fixtures must include: “living accommodation which contains at least the following equipment: seats and a table; sleeping accommodation (which may be converted from the seats); cooking facilities; and storage facilities.” I’m going to assume for now that your van meets those criteria.
However, there are some subsections to those criteria which include: “The living accommodation area should allow for a comfortable living environment for a person, or persons, for an extended period” which sounds somewhat vague. It also states: “A motor caravan should provide mobile living accommodation where a person of average height can move around comfortably while standing.”
If those criteria aren’t met, then Revenue may well reject the vehicle as a motor caravan (camper van …) and apply the standard rate of 13.3 per cent commercial vehicle VRT, or the flat €200 fee.
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However, even in that case, Revenue should still be applying the lower 8 per cent VRT rate, as even if the camper conversion doesn’t meet Revenue’s specific requirements, then your Transit would simply still be a van, and one with emissions of significantly less than 120g/km.
The only thing I can think of that might be happening is that they’re assuming that the extra weight of the camper van fixtures and fittings has altered the CO2 emissions of the Transit beyond its original Certificate of Conformity (COC) and therefore they’re assuming that the 13.3 rate applies. Of course, that should have been explained to you if that’s the case, and if it is the case, then the company that you used for the conversion might be able to help you out with further paperwork.
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However, this could also be a case of Revenue being inconsistent in how it applies its own rules and regulations.
We’ve seen countless examples of this down the years, and even examples where Revenue has used equivalent cars in the Irish market to calculate a VRT value, where there is no equivalence whatsoever to the car they’re actually valuing.
The entire VRT system is a mess, and it should have been reworked from the ground up years ago.
I would certainly go back and argue your case if there’s still time within the 30-day window. If you were told that “all campers are calculated at 13.3 per cent with no exception”, you should have a very strong case to at least have the Transit re-examined.
If it’s past the 30-day window, or coming up to it, you may have to pay the calculated VRT upfront, and then appeal the decision.
The good news; a large number of those appeals are successful, but of course the bad news – and indeed the anti-consumer news – is that you are out of pocket until Revenue decides you’re in the right.
Appeals ought to go to an independent body that could assess them properly, and the payment of VRT withheld until such an appeal has been completed, but that’s not the way the system works. It’s an incredibly anti-consumer set-up, but we’re stuck with it for now.
