Importing a car from Japan to Ireland: duty, VAT, VRT and the papers that decide the bill

A used car from Japan can be registered in Ireland, and it arrives right-hand drive because Japan drives on the left too. You pay customs duty (10%, or 0% if the car qualifies as Japanese-originating under the EU–Japan agreement) and 23% VAT when it lands, then Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) at an NCTS centre. You must book that appointment within 7 days of the car arriving and register it within 30 days.

One of the biggest swings in the bill isn't the car's price but whether you can prove its CO2 and NOx figures. Without that proof, Revenue charges VRT at the top rate of 41% and adds the maximum NOx charge. And the pre-registration examination checks the paperwork and that the car matches it, not the car's condition. Whatever the dealer's photos didn't show is yours to find out.

Which cars can come in

• Right-hand drive is normal. Japanese-market cars are built for driving on the left.
• Used cars from outside the EU go to the NCTS for a pre-registration examination once they've cleared customs. Revenue doesn't examine them for VRT at the point of import.
• The examination has two stages: checking that your documents are complete, and checking that the car matches them. Neither stage is about the car's condition.
• You need evidence of previous registration. For a car from Japan, that's normally the export certificate issued when the Japanese registration is cancelled for export. The NCTS centre keeps it, so make a copy first.
• Documents must have English translations. Revenue's manual says this about the evidence for CO2 and NOx, and Japanese papers are in Japanese.

What it costs

Item	How much	Notes
Customs duty	10%	0% under the EU–Japan agreement if the car counts as Japanese-originating. To claim it, the invoice needs a statement on origin from the Japanese exporter, or you need the exporter's or maker's records ("importer's knowledge"). Rates shown are for a used petrol car of 1,500–3,000cc
Import VAT	23%	On the customs value plus duty, plus transport and insurance from where the car enters the EU to its destination in Ireland
VRT (CO2 part)	7% to 41% of the car's value	Set by the CO2 band. The value is Revenue's open market selling price (OMSP) in Ireland, not what you paid. No accepted CO2 evidence means 41%
VRT (NOx part)	Up to €600 (petrol), up to €4,850 (diesel)	Charged per mg/km of NOx. Without evidence, these maximums apply
VRT for a car more than 30 years old	€200	Revenue puts vehicles "more than 30 years old at the time of registration" in VRT category C, charged a flat €200. The CO2 and NOx parts don't apply
Tyre charge (EMC)	€2.80 per tyre, spare included	Collected at the NCTS centre for imported used cars entering the Irish market for the first time
Late registration	Extra VRT	0.1% of the VRT for each day the car is late
Shipping, customs agent, motor tax, insurance	Quoted separately	Exporters' Ireland pages give roll-on roll-off shipping to Dublin as about 6 to 8 weeks from departure, depending on vessels

A rough example. For every ¥1,000,000 of car and shipping (about €5,600 on 1 October 2026), duty and VAT at the full rate come to about ¥353,000 (about €1,980): 10% duty, then 23% VAT on the total. If the 0% Japan rate applies, it's about ¥230,000 (about €1,290). VRT comes on top and depends on Revenue's valuation and the CO2 band, so it can't be worked out from the price alone. These are estimates at the European Central Bank's reference rate of 1 October 2026 (€1 = about ¥179).

What a missing CO2 figure does. Revenue's own worked example is a 2010 petrol sports coupé valued at €30,847 with no CO2 or NOx evidence: 41% of the value (€12,647) plus the €600 NOx maximum, €13,247 in VRT. For comparison, its example of a 2016 1.8-litre petrol saloon with papers showing 148g/km paid 25% of its value.

The 30-year line. For a Japanese classic, the age can matter more than the papers. A car more than 30 years old when it's registered pays €200 in VRT instead of a percentage, so the CO2 problem below falls away. In October 2026, 30 years back is October 1996. Nissan launched the R33 Skyline GT-R in January 1995, so the early ones are over the line and the later ones aren't yet. Revenue's page doesn't say whether it counts from the build date or the first registration, and Japanese papers usually show only the first registration month (see Japanese car build dates). If a car is close, ask Revenue how it will date it before you buy. Our founder owned an R33 GT-R; where he'd look on one is on our R33 page.

The papers problem, and why it's worse for Japanese cars

Revenue accepts these as CO2 evidence for a car from outside the EU:

• evidence on the previous registration documents
• evidence from the statutory authority in the country of origin
• a document from the manufacturer stating CO2 at the time of manufacture
• a Certificate of Conformity

Japanese-market cars weren't built for EU type approval, so as far as we know there's usually no European Certificate of Conformity to fall back on either. Check with the maker for your exact car. What a Japanese export certificate does show, box by box, is on our page about the Japanese export certificate.

Japan's transport ministry (MLIT) publishes fuel economy lists by model and version, and those lists include a CO2 figure in g/km, calculated from the fuel economy. Whether Revenue accepts that figure for your car is Revenue's decision, not ours, and a translation is needed. Find out before you buy, not after the car has landed.

What our own car's papers show. We went through the full inspection record sheet for our own car, a 2012 Toyota Prius α, issued in June 2025. Under fuel economy it lists the Japanese standards the car meets, each as a percentage above the standard, and notes that its WLTC fuel consumption "hasn't been calculated". There's no CO2 figure in g/km anywhere on it, and nothing about NOx. If the car you're looking at has papers like these, they won't give Revenue a CO2 number on their own, so line up the evidence before the car ships.

For cars made before 1997, Revenue's manual allows CO2 to be worked out from an official combined fuel consumption figure. Japanese figures are in km per litre: divide 2,320 by the km/l figure for petrol, or 2,630 for diesel. A car rated at 10 km/l works out at 232g/km. The fuel consumption must still come from a source Revenue approves.

The steps, in order

1. Before you pay for the car: get the CO2 and NOx evidence lined up, with translations, and check the car's likely OMSP on Revenue's VRT calculator. A model that hasn't been presented in Ireland before won't be on it, and Revenue only values those once the car is presented.
2. Import declaration. Your customs agent lodges it in Revenue's Automated Import System, and you pay the duty and VAT. The NCTS will ask for proof of payment, normally the customs declaration.
3. Book the NCTS within 7 days of the car arriving in the State, and plan how the car gets there. The NCTS's own FAQ says it's an offence to drive an unregistered vehicle in the State, so ask your agent whether they deliver it or you need a transporter.
4. Pre-registration examination and VRT. Bring the export certificate, the VRT Vehicle Purchase Details Form, a dated invoice, proof of name and address, your PPSN with documentary evidence, proof of when the car entered the State (such as shipping papers), and the CO2 and NOx evidence. If the model isn't on Revenue's system, you go back later to pay and receive the registration number.
5. Registered within 30 days of arrival, with the number plates on the car within 3 days of registration.
6. Motor tax and insurance before you drive.

Where Japanese imports get stuck

No accepted CO2 or NOx figure. This is the expensive one. It can add thousands of euro to the VRT on its own.

A value you didn't expect. VRT is a percentage of Revenue's open market selling price, not your invoice. Revenue can rate a car as good, fair or poor, and a fair or poor rating may reduce the VRT. Most cars are rated good.

Condition that only shows up after it lands. As we read Revenue's manual, the NCTS examination checks identity and papers, so no official check of rust or damage happens before you've paid duty, VAT and VRT. Our founder owned two EP3 Civic Type Rs and drove them hard. What to look at on one in Japan, and what can't be told by looking, is on our EP3 page. Which rust to worry about first is on rust on the body or a part.

"Japan doesn't salt its roads." You'll see this on Irish sites selling Japanese imports. Japan's transport ministry says the opposite for the roads it manages: in winter it spreads de-icer, with sodium chloride as the standard. Snowy regions get salted, and some coasts get sea air. Our own Prius α was used around the city of Toyama, on the Sea of Japan side, and its front struts and a frame-like part behind the passenger door have rusted. Where a car lived in Japan matters, and a listing rarely says. Photos of our car's underside are on the underside page.

Papers that don't match the car. The NCTS checks the car against its documents: the VIN, make, model and variant, engine size, number of doors. If something is missing or doesn't match, the car isn't registered that day, and there's a re-test fee when you come back with the right papers. Compare the chassis number on the export certificate with the one stamped on the car before it ships (how to read a Japanese chassis number).

Missing the deadlines. Late registration adds 0.1% of the VRT for each day the car was in the State unregistered when it should have been registered, and a car that isn't registered within 30 days is liable to detention or seizure.

What this page can't tell you

• Your VRT. Only Revenue sets it, when the car is presented. The calculator is an estimate.
• Whether a particular document will be accepted as CO2 or NOx evidence. Ask Revenue or your agent.
• The car's condition from here. We don't lift cars, and we don't say whether a car has been in an accident.
• Legal or tax advice. This is a plain summary of Revenue's guidance, checked on the date below.

The papers can be sorted from Ireland. The car can only be looked at in Japan. Send us the listing and tell us what worries you, such as the strut tops, the sills or the underside, and we can go and photograph what can be seen without lifting the car or removing anything, and tell you what we couldn't see. See how a viewing works.

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What to ask the seller before you buy

• A clear copy of the Japanese registration details, so you can see the exact model code, engine code and first registration date
• Whether they can supply any maker's document showing CO2 or fuel economy for that exact version
• Confirmation that the original export certificate will travel with the car
• Close photos of both front strut tops from the engine bay, the sills and the rear wheel arches, in daylight
• The underside from ground level at each corner

Car outside the Tokai region (Aichi, Gifu and Mie)? Start with a Remote Check. We phone the dealer in Japanese, ask your questions, and ask whether they have any maker's document showing CO2 for that exact version, before you pay for shipping to Ireland.

Written by Yoshiaki Sagara, a paintless dent repair and detailing technician in Japan. He looks at cars for overseas buyers through Ninja Desk Japan. About us

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