Importing a bike... the process

[Lobo]

Hi all,

A year + down the track from importing my Cb400F (from EIRE) I'm just about there.... BrianJ suggested a long while ago I post 'the experience' as may be of use. So here goes, and first up, a big thanks to Brian who was always quick with invaluable pm responses.

First up, I am not going into details of forms, because one thing I learned in the space of 12 months is how quickly the process can / does change. Bottom line, you've gotta keep your eye on the ball, and not assume things stay the way they were 6 months ago....

Whatever your plans for the bike (SORN, Long resto etc) you MUST inform HMRC <14 days of it arriving on-shore so that import duty can be assessed. Beware.... take longer than this & they are able to fine you £5/day for late paperwork.. ouch. The HMRC forms can be found on the Government Gateway website. (no tax applicable to my EU import)

DVLA cannot do anything until the bike has cleared customs... (HMRC inform the DVLA directly)

In my case a nuts & bolts resto was done, and so I stopped the admin process here & concentrated on the rebuild, ie no SORN, or road tax sought, indeed the bike sat in the garage uninsured for a year... if you'd wanted to steal it you'd have needed a skip anyways.

At completion of rebuild, in order for the DVLA to put the bike on the UK register it needed an MOT. This can be done without any insurance, and in my case I rang my local motorbike garage who do a bloody great £10 pick-up / drop off service in their Transit van & took the bike away. They then issued a valid MOT using the frame number... which is obviously read from the headstock (versus alloy plate) Tip - if you get the frame powder coated etc ensure the # still legible!

Next up you have to insure the bike < the DVLA will issue a V5C. Ring your insurance co with the frame #; and they will issue a one-off 30 day insurance certificate for registration purposes. DO NOT arrange this until you are ready to send off all the guff to DVLA due this short time-window. Furthermore, my insurance co (Footman James) told me only 3 such one-offs could be issued... unsure why.

Then get the correct DVLA Registration application form (V55C currently) & fill it in. Fairly straightforward, a lot of stuff about 'Cert of conformity'... which you can ignore if the bike > 10 yrs old. Bung the required £s for road tax, + £55 processing fee + previous foreign reg document + completed V55C + insurance cert + whatever else in an envelope to DVLA... and wait. (extremely bloody unhelpfully all district DVLA offices are now closed, leaving only Swansea. You cannot drive down there for a chat... no face-face facilities. They do however operate phone lines... the guy was quite helpful)

Note that DVLA are perfectly entitled to want to inspect the bike themselves... in which case (I guess) you're talking trailering the bloody thing to S.Wales. Lovely...

About 10 days later the V5C form arrived, with a registration year applicable to the year of build... my '77 bike has been allocated an 'R' plate. (and a Birmingham 'SOU' prefix - no idea why, but who cares?). And for some reason the 12 months tax disc has not been included...they wrote:

"There are currently changes taking place regarding the registration of imported vehicles within the DVLA. As a result of these changes in some cases our customers are receiving the V5C Registration Certificates before the replacement tax discs, MOT Certificates and V948 authorisation letters.
 
The new tax disc/MOT should arrive within 10 working days. If you do not receive these documents within this time please contact us."

....and this is where I am today..

Anyways, with the registration in hand, the last things to do are to take the V5C into (eg) Halfords & get a plate made up (take your drivers licence as proof of address)... and ring your insurance company to amend the frame # to number plate reg.

Tips...

(1) buy a bloody UK registered bike!
(2) if you buy an import get the HMRC sorted out ASAP.
(3) take your time here & enjoy the restoration.
(4) MOT the bike and register it all within 30 days

To fair, the process not insurmountable, and would not put me off buying a nice machine. (wouldn't swap mine now; I reckon it spent the first 25 years of its life in a sunny part of the 'States and was consequently in generally great condition throughout.)

Deviations from the above, eg no original paperwork (ie previous owners 'V5'); or modified bike I cannot comment upon.

Cheers,
Simon

[mick]

Cheers for sharing your experience Lobo I'm sure others will find it useful ,

I've been through the process of getting a old Honda 750 registered on an age related plate that I bought with no documents or reg number,

Bryanj was very helpful for me to  cheers Mick.

[Bryanj]

Thanks for your comments folks, I have done, shall we say "A Few", and the documentation can get awkward, There is another way but I am not willing to put it up on the site!!! anybody who wants to know can PM to get a telephone contact number.

All the best

Bryan

[Bitsa (Ralph Wright - RIP)]

Bryan,
In not so the near future can I expect all this nonsense when I bring my french k6 home?
Cheers
Bitsa

[Bryanj]

Bitsa, as it is in your name and in use in theory it ought to be easier, check on the DVLA.gov website for the paperwork to import a personal vehicle from the EU

[Bitsa (Ralph Wright - RIP)]

Cheers Bryan will do
Bitsa

[Oldiron550]

1971 Honda CL350

Lobo I know you have explained a lot of my question already, but someone on here may have some extra info to suit my situation?

Over the weekend I picked up a 1971 Honda CL350 Street Scrambler advertised on Done Deal in Southern Ireland. I live in the Northern Ireland.

Looks like I'm going down the same road as Lobo, but hopefully mine won't take a year to process!

The Honda was first imported from the U.S.A into Southern Ire 18 Nov 2005 and given the Irish registration number ZV 7893 (South Ire age related plate for 1971) Date of first taxed in Southern Ire OTR 12th Oct 2006. It wasn’t taxed this year but the owner said it was taxed a couple of years age.
The only documents I have for the CL350 is the Irish registration tax book, which states has all the above info.
 
Correct me if I’m wrong.
The first thing in need to do is inform HMRC (NOVA) I've imported a motorcycle from South Ire (one of the EU countries) into the North Ire within the next 14 days. They will hopefully add the CL350 onto their system and send me a reference number and in due course I take this to the DVLA as proof of all duty has been paid. Do I pay duty or Vat on a January 1971 Honda? Anybody know?

 Ask recognised classic motor-vehicle club to issue age related certificate for Japanese motorcycle to help obtain a UK registration.
Not sure if I need this certificate, the info is on the Irish tax book?

Apply for an MOT using the Honda's frame number.
Only when it's cleared HMRC can I apply for a MOT?

Once passed take the MOT cert along with insurance, V55/5 form and a V3 form to DVLA (NI) who will issue a registration number.
I think the V3 form is only used in N Ireland?
We use a V3 when you applying for an age related number plate if the vehicle is imported from the EU into the North Ire? Anybody know?
 
One of my biggest concerns is when registering the Honda for the first with DVLA (NI) will they only issue a 2014 registration number or would I be issued an age related (1971) number? I hear there's no guarantees they will issue an age related number!
A 2014 issued registration number on a classic bike looks completely wrong.
 
Maybe I could register the Honda in Swansea? more chance of an age related plates!
 
Has any of the lads from the North (Ire) already gone down this road?



 

[LesterPiglet]

Don't forget Coleraine DVLC has been thinned out. You may have to deal with SWansea.

[Oldiron550]

I was really hoping to get a Co Armagh number (my local) or at least a 71 age related Northern Ire plate. But if Coleraine is thinning i might end-up with a K reg.
A lot better than a new 2014 plate off the shelf!

[Lobo]

Hi Oldiron.

Basically HMRC will decide whether duty is payable, but I'd be highly surprised if it were. Having processed your p'work they will advise the DVLA directly & advise you so, ie that you may proceed. No 'reference number' that I remember: just a note from them to say the DVLA advised.

Don't see why you need to ask any classic motor vehicle for an age related cert as you have the log book, AND the date of manufacture is stamped on the frame plate. (DVLA used this as my bike's reference for plate allocation)

Correct - get initial MOT based on frame #, and only when passed this apply to the DVLA (not HMRC as written) for registration into the system. This form is over the top with loadsa questions (eg on exhaust emissions blah blah... you can ignore these on a bike of your age)

I do not believe the DVLA WILL EVER issue a modern plate.... rather they'd issue a 'Q' plate if not furnished all the info they wanted. Assuming the old paperwork is on place, and the frame # matches it I'm 99% sure you'll be getting a rego in accordance with the date of manufacture stamped into the frame plate.

And nope, I didn't get a local plate at all; I live in Hampshire & was allocated a Birmingham reg.

Can't answer your thoughts if Swansea, but would doubt it if there is a NI office avail.

Cheers,
Lobo

[Oldiron550]

Lobo am I right saying I can apply for the MOT now before I get any reference from HMRC to proceed?

[Bryanj]

Yes you can do the MOT BUT if you want to rude it there you need insurance and on the mainland they charge for a year but it will only last 30 days on a frame number then you "Loose" the money, so if you are insistent i would trailer or van the bike to the MOT

[Lobo]

My insurance company (Footman James) would only give me 30 days insurance cover if using the frame #. I work abroad, with time tight in the UK asked "what if it fails the MOT & I don't have time for attempt #2 within the month? Answer was that only 3 such insurance periods would be tolerated.... after that they were at a loss at obviously it is way outside of the norm. 

As for doing the MOT < HMRC pass on details to the DVLA I'll sit on the fence, as at that point in time no details of your bike will exist within the DVLA database. Common sense / Bryan say yes... but I'm so bloody suspicious of pen-pushers & their "computer says no" crap these days. My thoughts are "what's the point.... it's not as if you'll be able to enjoy the bike any sooner, and its annual MOT clock will be ticking away sooner, rather than later"

As for riding it directly to the MOT centre with no number plate..... I was told "no problem" by my garage, so long as you can prove the booking, are taking the shortest route & have the all important insurance cover. I took Bryan's advice & had my garage collect it / drop it off at a highly reasonable £15 .... thus able to delay buying insurance cover by a few more weeks.

Good luck,
Simon

[Trigger]

Yes, it is true. You can ride your bike to a mot station without displaying a registration number (number plate). I ride bikes round with my trade plate strapped to the tank. Boy's in blue love that one. The cop's also hate the fact that you can MOT a M/C for day time use only. ie, no head light or tail light needed. You do need a brake light and can get away with a cycle horn . I have heard that they are trying to do away with day time use only. That will upset my mate that still rides his KX250 on that law.
The trike law is also changing at the moment, more complicated and get rid of some of the loopholes. 

[Bryanj]

Trigger do you know what is changing on the trikes as we have to get my mates done soon after finding that the "proffessionals" who built the rear end needed stringing up by their tackle as it was so crap you wouldn't belive---nice paint tho