New procedures in place due to closure of road tax loophole
Figures from the Road Safety Authority suggest there were about 160,000 tractors in Ireland 2004, with only 67,000 of these being taxed for road use.
New rules are being implemented from October 1.
The new rules will mean that anyone who is found on the road after October 1 with an untaxed vehicle will be liable for all road tax arrears.
This can add up to a significant amount. For agricultural vehicles, road tax is currently €102 per year, with a further €8.50 per month charge if paid in arrears.
For some older vehicles, the arrears of road tax since last taxed would amount to thousands of euros, if an offender is caught after October.
At present, it is possible to retrospectively declare past periods of off-road use, but this is set to change.
According to the Department of the Environment, the use of off-the-road-declarations is a loophole, with suspected widespread abuse which is potentially costing the Exchequer up to €55m per annum.
The new rules mean that September is the last month in which a Garda-witnessed declaration (covering a period to the end of August) can be furnished.
If your vehicle will be permanently off-road, and will never be used on the road again, either by yourself or a new owner, then no action is required. If, however, you intend to use a vehicle off road, and wish to retain the option to re-tax the vehicle for road use at some point in the future, then two procedures must be completed.
The first procedure is to declare now that the vehicle has been off the road, using a form RF100A or RF111, witnessed by a Garda, with the second procedure being the completion of a form RF150 declaring the period it will be off the road in the future.
Both of these forms will then need to be lodged with your local motor tax office by September 30.
Forms RF100A, RF111 and RF150 are available online, from local motor tax offices, or from the Department of the Environment website (www.environ.ie).
Details required on the forms include vehicle licence plate or registration number, date of last taxing, insurer details, and last taxation period.
Ironically, many of the older tractors have long since lost their number plates, and possibly their tax books, which may make it all the more difficult to track down the registration details of the vehicle.
If the vehicle has been insured, the insurance renewal details often include the vehicle registration number.
If you intend to now tax a vehicle for road use going forward, which has been untaxed in recent years, the procedure is to declare this on form RF100A; the form RF150 declaring future periods of non-road use is not required.
From October, vehicles cannot be declared off the road for past periods or for future periods of less than three months.
The declaration of continual off-road usage will need to be renewed every year, bringing more red-tape for farmers.
For imported vehicles which have not been registered, as well as the above procedures, the vehicle must be transported to a designated NCT test centre for a VRT assessment, in order to get it licensed.
