Import duty on cars in Ireland is a 10% customs charge on any vehicle manufactured outside the EU or the UK — and it is only the first of three taxes. Add 23% VAT and Vehicle Registration Tax, and a car built in India, Japan or the USA lands far above its sticker price.
This page walks the full stack in the order Revenue applies it — duty, then VAT, then VRT — using a 2022 Suzuki Jimny shipped from India as a worked example. Run your own vehicle through the calculator before you commit a single euro abroad.
The import duty on cars in Ireland is 10% of the vehicle's value whenever the car was manufactured outside the EU or the UK — for example a car built in India, Japan or the USA (Revenue, 2026). Crucially, the rate is decided by where the car was built, not where you happened to buy it.
A car bought from a dealer in Great Britain but assembled outside the UK is still treated as a non-EU import and attracts the full 10%. That single distinction catches out many buyers, so it is worth pinning down before you commit to a purchase abroad.
If a car was manufactured in the UK, the customs duty is 0% under the preferential EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), provided you can show a valid certificate of origin. Buy that same badge built in an Indian or Japanese factory, and the 0% rate simply does not apply — Revenue looks at the actual place of manufacture on the documentation, not the brand's headquarters.
| Country of manufacture | Customs duty | VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Built in the EU | 0% | 23% (if new) |
| UK-origin, with proof of origin | 0% | 23% |
| Non-EU (India, Japan, USA, etc.) | 10% | 23% |
When customs duty is 0%. Duty falls to zero in two clear situations: a car of genuine EU origin, and a car of UK origin imported with the right paperwork under the TCA.
A third case involves Northern Ireland: a vehicle already registered and in use there may be brought south without customs duty or VAT under the Windsor Framework (Revenue, 2026). Outside these exemptions, any car built beyond the EU and the UK lands with the standard 10% duty attached.
A car imported from India to Ireland is treated as a non-EU import, so it attracts the full 10% customs duty, 23% VAT and VRT — none of the origin exemptions apply (Revenue, 2026). Because the customs rate hinges on where the car was built, an Indian-manufactured vehicle is the clearest example of a fully taxable import into Ireland.
India is now one of the largest car-producing countries in the world, and several globally sold models roll off Indian production lines, so this scenario is more common than most buyers expect. A familiar European or Japanese badge does not change that: the moment a car is manufactured in India, it is a non-EU vehicle for customs purposes, whatever the marque on the bonnet.
Shipping is not a side cost — it feeds directly into the tax base. Because the customs value includes the freight and insurance to bring the car to Ireland, a long container journey from India inflates the very figure on which both the duty and the VAT are then charged. In effect, every euro of freight is taxed twice over: first through the 10% duty, then through the 23% VAT stacked on top.
Three separate charges apply when you import a car into Ireland: 10% customs duty on a non-EU/non-UK-origin car, 23% VAT on the customs value, and Vehicle Registration Tax based on the OMSP (Revenue, 2026). Each one uses a different base, and the order matters.
Key figure: on a non-EU import you pay 10% customs duty + 23% VAT + VRT of 7% to 41% of the OMSP, each calculated on a different base and applied in that order.
Customs duty comes first and is 10% of the customs value — the price of the car plus shipping and insurance. It is charged before VAT is added, and it is the one charge you can avoid only with genuine EU or UK origin. For anything built elsewhere, it is unavoidable.
VAT on an imported car in Ireland is 23%, charged on the customs value plus the customs duty and any shipping costs (Revenue, 2026). This is the single most important figure to get right: it is 23%, not 21% and not 20%. Because VAT is applied after the duty, you effectively pay tax on a tax.
VRT is the third charge and is unrelated to the price you paid abroad. It is calculated as a percentage of the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) that Revenue assigns to your model in Ireland, and the percentage depends on the car's CO₂ emissions. For an imported car it is often the largest of the three taxes.
VRT is calculated as a percentage of the Open Market Selling Price, ranging from 7% for the lowest-emitting cars up to 41% for the highest, with a NOx levy added on certain vehicles (Revenue; Citizens Information, 2026). Duty and VAT are straightforward percentages — VRT is where most imported-car budgets are decided.
The OMSP is the Irish market value Revenue judges your car to be worth here — not the price you actually paid abroad. If you buy a car cheaply overseas, that discount does not reduce your VRT, because the tax is anchored to the local retail value. You can challenge an OMSP you disagree with, but only after you have paid the amount demanded.
The VRT rate is set by the car's CO₂ emissions, spread across a band structure that runs from 7% for cars emitting 0–50 g/km up to 41% for cars over 190 g/km (Revenue, 2026). A clean, low-emissions car sits near the bottom of that range; a thirsty petrol or older diesel can sit near the top. The higher the emissions, the larger the slice of the OMSP you hand over.
On top of VRT, Revenue applies a NOx levy based on the vehicle's nitrogen-oxide emissions, charged per milligram per kilometre. It is modest for a clean petrol car but can be substantial for an older diesel. The levy is added to the VRT bill, not instead of it.
Importing a 2022 Suzuki Jimny built in India shows the full cost stack: on an €18,000 landed car you pay 10% customs duty, then 23% VAT on the higher base, then VRT on the OMSP. The Jimny is a useful case because it is a petrol model manufactured in India, which makes it unambiguously a non-EU import.
Start with a customs value of €18,000 — the purchase price plus shipping and insurance from India. Customs duty of 10% adds €1,800. VAT of 23% is then charged on €19,800 (value plus duty), adding €4,554. VRT is calculated separately on the OMSP: assuming Revenue values the Jimny at €22,000 and its emissions place it in a high CO₂ band around 37%, that is €8,140, plus a small NOx levy for the petrol engine. The figures are illustrative and rounded to whole euro, but they follow the 2026 rates exactly.
| Component | Rate / basis | Amount (€) |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price incl. shipping (customs value) | — | 18,000 |
| Customs duty | 10% of customs value | 1,800 |
| VAT | 23% of (18,000 + 1,800) | 4,554 |
| VRT | 37% of OMSP (€22,000) | 8,140 |
| NOx levy (petrol) | per mg/km | 120 |
| Total import taxes | — | 14,614 |
| On-the-road cost | value + taxes | 32,614 |
The lesson is stark: on this example the taxes add over €14,600 to an €18,000 car, nearly doubling what you pay.
The same nameplate can produce noticeably different bills, because VRT follows the OMSP of the exact variant — not the badge. Compare the three-door 2022 Jimny above with the five-door Jimny built at the Indian plant, both in the same high CO₂ band:
| Customs value (incl. shipping) | €18,000 |
| Customs duty (10%) | €1,800 |
| VAT (23% of €19,800) | €4,554 |
| OMSP assigned by Revenue | €22,000 |
| VRT (37% of OMSP) | €8,140 |
| Customs value (incl. shipping) | €21,000 |
| Customs duty (10%) | €2,100 |
| VAT (23% of €23,100) | €5,313 |
| OMSP assigned by Revenue | €26,500 |
| VRT (37% of OMSP) | €9,805 |
The newer five-door carries a higher Irish market value, so its VRT is €1,665 higher before you even look at the purchase price — and its duty and VAT rise too, because the customs value is larger. Same model name, roughly €5,700 more in total taxes.
A real buyer's arithmetic. Aoife, a first-time importer from Cork, found a 2022 Jimny advertised for the equivalent of €18,000 including shipping from India. After running the calculator she saw VRT alone at roughly €8,000, and with duty and VAT the true cost climbed past €32,000 — more than a comparable Irish-registered example. She used the numbers to renegotiate, then walked away.
Paying the taxes is only half the job. A car imported from outside the EU must prove it meets EU safety and emissions standards before it can be registered in Ireland — usually through a Certificate of Conformity (CoC) or an individual approval.
The catch with a vehicle built for the Indian market is that it may not carry an EU Certificate of Conformity, because it was never type-approved for European sale. In that case you need an individual approval, and the car may require checks or modifications to meet EU rules. Confirm before you buy:
Budget for approval and any modification work: a car that cannot be homologated cannot be registered, taxed or legally driven here.
Cars built in India are right-hand drive, exactly like Irish cars, so a non-EU import from India needs no costly steering conversion before it can be registered. That is one clear advantage over a US or continental European import: the driving side already matches Irish roads, sparing you an expensive and often unreliable conversion.
Once the car lands and clears homologation, book an appointment with the NCTS, which carries out the registration inspection on Revenue's behalf, and pay the VRT within the required timeframe. Keep every document — purchase invoice, shipping paperwork, proof of origin, conformity documents — to register and to justify the customs value. Only then can you tax and insure the car for the road.
Your own numbers will differ from the Jimny example, because the OMSP and CO₂ band vary by model, trim and year. The estimator embedded at the top of this page does the VRT part for you in four short steps — then you add the 10% duty and 23% VAT using the method above.
Open the estimate form.
Scroll to the calculator in the dark band above — it runs directly on this page, with nothing to install and no account to create.
Choose where the car is coming from.
Select the country of origin so the estimate reflects the right import route — a non-EU source like India is handled differently from a UK or Northern Ireland purchase.
Identify the vehicle.
Type a registration plate if the car has one, or pick the make, model, year and engine by hand. The more precise the variant, the closer the OMSP match.
Read your instant VRT estimate.
The tool returns the estimated VRT built from the OMSP, CO₂ band and NOx levy, and you can take the breakdown away as a PDF. That tells you quickly whether an overseas bargain survives once Irish taxes are applied — before you commit a single euro.
Beyond the headline rates, buyers usually have practical questions about Northern Ireland imports, registration deadlines and exemptions. Here are the recurring edge cases answered directly.
Often not. A vehicle already registered and in use in Northern Ireland can usually be brought to the Republic without customs duty or VAT under the Windsor Framework. The exemption depends on the car's status in Northern Ireland, so confirm the details with Revenue before you buy.
No. The 0% rate is reserved for cars of genuine UK origin with proof of origin. Because customs duty follows the country of manufacture, a car built in India remains a non-EU import at 10%, whoever you buy it from.
You must register promptly after the car arrives. Book your NCTS registration inspection without delay and pay the VRT within the required period; late registration can lead to penalties. Arrange the appointment as soon as the car lands.
You, or a customs clearance agent acting for you, file an electronic import declaration with Revenue when the vehicle reaches the Irish port. The 10% duty and 23% VAT are paid as part of that declaration, and the car cannot clear customs until both are settled. Most private importers hire an agent to handle the paperwork.
As an Irish resident, generally no. An imported vehicle must be registered before it is used on public roads, beyond the journeys connected with bringing it to its registration inspection. Driving an unregistered import risks seizure of the vehicle, so book the NCTS appointment as soon as the car lands.
Possibly not. Under transfer-of-residence relief, a person moving to Ireland can bring a vehicle they have owned and used abroad for at least six months without customs duty, VAT or VRT, subject to conditions — including keeping the car for twelve months after the move. Apply to Revenue with supporting proof before you travel.
Older vehicles can attract different treatment, and genuinely historic cars may qualify for reduced charges. The precise thresholds and conditions change, so check the current rules with Revenue for the specific age and status of your car before assuming any relief.
For a private individual importing a car for personal use, the customs duty and VAT are a final cost and are not recoverable. Only a VAT-registered business importing in the course of its trade may be able to reclaim import VAT, subject to the usual rules.
The business angle. Diarmuid, a small-business owner in Galway, imported an Indian-built utility model through his VAT-registered business in 2026. He paid the 10% duty and 23% VAT at import, then reclaimed the VAT through his normal return — an option not open to a private buyer, and one that changed his total cost significantly.
Import duty on cars in Ireland is 10% for anything built outside the EU and the UK, followed by 23% VAT on the duty-inclusive value, then VRT of 7% to 41% of the OMSP. On an €18,000 Indian-built Jimny, those three charges add over €14,600 — nearly doubling the price of the car.
Origin is everything: the duty follows where the car was manufactured, not where you bought it, and only genuine EU or UK origin (or a qualifying Northern Ireland vehicle) escapes the 10%.
Before committing to any purchase abroad, run the vehicle through the calculator at the top of this page for the VRT, add the duty and VAT with the method shown, and confirm homologation is possible. Information here is general guidance for 2026 — official Revenue rates and procedures always prevail.