Vehicle Registration and Taxation Regulations, 1992

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Year: 1992
• Citation: IR SI 318/1992

S.I. No. 318 of 1992.

VEHICLE REGISTRATION AND TAXATION REGULATIONS, 1992.

The Revenue Commissioners, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by section 141 of the Finance Act, 1992 (No. 9 of 1992), hereby make the following Regulations: 1. These Regulations may be cited as the Vehicle Registration and Taxation Regulations, 1992. 2. Regulations 1, 2, 4, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 21 shall come into operation on the 9th day of November, 1992. 3. Regulations 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 20 shall come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1993. 4. In these Regulations—

"the Act" means the Finance Act, 1992 (No. 9 of 1992);

"approved", "approved of" and "prescribed" mean, respectively, approved, approved of and prescribed by the Commissioners;

"authorised person", "certificate", "the Commissioners", "deal", "licensing authority", "the register" and "vehicle" have, respectively, the meanings assigned to them by Chapter IV of Part II of the Act;

"distributor" means a person who holds an exclusive franchise to bring into the State for sale particular makes and models of vehicles;

"registration office" means an office established by the Commissioners at which declarations under section 131 of the Act may be made for the purpose of registration;

"tax" means vehicle registration tax. 5. The conditions referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of "category A vehicle" in section 130 of the Act shall be as follows:

( a ) an opening referred to in subparagraph (ii) of the said paragraph (b) shall be closed and sealed by being completely covered by means of a panel made of rigid metal or other strong, opaque rigid material and fixed permanently in place,

( b ) (i) the floor referred to in subparagraph (iv) of the said paragraph (b) shall be constructed of rigid metal, shall be fixed permanently to the sides of the vehicle and shall cover over any area which might be suitable for use as a footwell or seatwell to the rear of the driver's seat so as to render the latter area level with, or generally level with, the remainder of the floor to the rear of the driver's seat, and

(ii) where the level of a floor complying with subparagraph (a) of this condition is higher than the level of the floor in the area to the front of the vehicle in which the driver is accommodated, the space between the floors shall be sealed off by means of a metal panel or panels fixed permanently to each floor,

and

( c ) in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this Regulation "fixed permanently" means secured by means of continuous seam welding, adhesive bonding, spot welding or brazing and, in the case of spot welding, the welds shall be sufficiently close to each other to ensure a satisfactory seal, being normally not more than 40 millimetres apart, and, in the case of adhesive bonding, the bonding agent shall be approved by the Commissioners. 6. The register shall consist of the declarations for registration, and the declarations concerning conversions made under section 131 of the Act and any other changes to a vehicle for which declarations are required, as accepted by the Commissioners. All information on the register may be recorded on computer, or on such other medium as the Commissioners may determine. 7. (1) A declaration under section 131 (2) (a) of the Act shall be in the form numbered VRT 3, VRT 4 or VRT 5, as appropriate to the vehicle in question, in the Third, Fourth and Fifth Schedules to these Regulations, or in such other form as the Commissioners may specify and the particulars of the vehicle concerned declared to the Commissioners under the said section 131 (2) (a) shall be those required to be given on such of those forms as is appropriate.

(2) Where a registered vehicle is converted, the particulars declared to the Commissioners under section 131 (3) (a) of the Act shall be as follows:

the make and model of the vehicle,

its registration number,

the number of its seats and windows,

the cubic capacity of its load space,

the length of its floor behind the driver's seat, and

its unladen weight,

and such other particulars, if any, as the Commissioners may specify.

These particulars shall be declared to the Commissioners in such form as they shall decide.

(3) An original declaration in relation to a vehicle signed by the person paying tax on the vehicle, or, in the case of a company, signed by a person nominated by the company, shall be presented to a registration office at the time of the making of the declaration, together with any other documents the Commissioners may require to satisfy themselves as to the bona fides of the application. In the case of an authorised person, the declaration duly signed pursuant to this paragraph in respect of the registration of a new vehicle may be presented by means of a facsimile machine. Where a declaration is presented to a registration office by means of a facsimile machine, the original declaration shall be forwarded to that registration office by the authorised person not more than 3 working days later. 8. (1) A person not being an authorised person who manufactures or brings into the State a vehicle which is not exempt from registration under section 135 of the Act, shall bring the vehicle to a registration office and make a declaration under section 131 of the Act in relation to the vehicle not later than the next working day after its manufacture or arrival in the State or, in the case of a vehicle which requires the making of a customs entry on arrival in the State, not later than the next working day after its release from customs control.

(2) However, where the person referred to in paragraph (1) has reasonable cause to believe that the vehicle concerned may qualify for registration without payment of tax, the person shall bring the vehicle to the registration office and make an application to the office for relief under section 134 of the Act. In such a case, the person shall make a declaration under section 131 of the Act not later than one month from the date of the application aforesaid or as soon as may be after receipt of the decision of the Commissioners on the application, if the decision is given during that month, and if the decision allows the application and is given after payment of the tax on the vehicle, the Commissioners shall repay the tax to the person under the said section 134. 9. (1) The identification mark assigned by the Commissioners under section 131 (5) of the Act to a vehicle entered in the register (in this Regulation referred to as "the identification mark") shall consist of:—

( a ) the third and fourth numerals of the year in which the vehicle is first brought into use,

( b ) an index mark, as provided for in the table to paragraph 4 of the First Schedule to these Regulations, corresponding to the functional area of the licensing authority in which the owner at the time of registration ordinarily resides,

( c ) a number which when combined with the appropriate numerals and mark aforesaid produces a unique combination,

( d ) in the case of a vehicle which the Commissioners are satisfied was constructed or first brought into use more than 30 years prior to the time of registration, and the person applying for registration so requests, an index mark ZV and a unique number.

(2) A determination shall be made by the Commissioners for the purposes of this Regulation as to the year in which a vehicle is brought into use and shall take into account any previous registration documents, the distance which the vehicle has travelled, and any other matters which are, in the opinion of the Commissioners, fair and reasonable in the circumstances of the case.

(3) The numbers referred to in subparagraph (1) (c) of this Regulation shall be assigned sequentially to each index mark, but the Commissioners may omit any numbers from a sequence established under this Regulation.

(4) The identification mark of a vehicle shall remain assigned to the vehicle and no other such marks shall be assigned to the vehicle save in such circumstances as may be determined by the Commissioners or where the owner of the vehicle requests that the identification mark assigned to a vehicle which reaches 30 years of age be replaced by a mark in the ZV series.

(5) Where a declaration under section 131 of the Act is made by a person, not being an authorised person, the identification mark of the vehicle concerned shall be displayed thereon as on and from a day not more than 3 working days after the registration of the vehicle.

(6) The identification mark of a vehicle shall, until the vehicle is scrapped, destroyed or sent permanently out of the State, be exhibited on the vehicle on a rectangular plate or on an unbroken rectangular surface forming part of the vehicle and, in either case, the identification mark shall comply as to lettering, numbering and otherwise, with the provisions set out in the First Schedule to these Regulations.

(7) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (8), the identification mark of a vehicle shall be exhibited, in the case of a vehicle which has only one front wheel, on the back of the vehicle and, in the case of any other vehicle, on the front of and on the back of the vehicle in a vertical or nearly vertical position, so that every letter or figure of the identification mark is vertical or nearly vertical and is easily distinguishable, in the case of the letters and figures placed on the front of the vehicle, from in front of the vehicle and in the case of the letters and figures placed on the back of the vehicle, from behind the vehicle.

(8) Where one or more trailers of any kind are attached to a vehicle, a duplicate of the identification mark of the vehicle shall be exhibited on the back of the rearmost trailer in the manner that the identification mark is required to be exhibited on the back of the vehicle.

(9) Figures, letters, designs, ornamentation's, fittings or...