Importation of cars from UK (FOI)

Request

A

Has the law regarding importation of vehicles from the UK, written in 1958, ever been updated??

B

How is the process of the car being inported from the UK policed?  How do the police differentiate between a holiday maker's car and a car that is being imported when it is legal to drive the first but not the second?

C

How many second hand vehicles are imported into Jersey annually?

D

How many second hand commercial vehicles are imported into Jersey annually? 

E

How many new cars are imported annually into Jersey?

F 

Please advise if same rules apply to commercial garages when importing vehicles.

Response

A

Article 4(2) of the Motor Vehicles (International Circulation) (Jersey) Regulations 1958 exempts visiting tourists for having to register their vehicles that are temporarily imported into Jersey.

Motor Vehicles (International Circulation) (Jersey) Regulations 1958 (jerseylaw.je)

Article 2(d) of the Motor Vehicle Registration (Jersey) Law 1993 deals with the registration of vehicles, which requires all vehicles to be registered in Jersey – unless they are exempt by virtue of the Motor Vehicles (International Circulation) (Jersey) Regulations 1958

Motor Vehicle Registration (Jersey) Law 1993 (jerseylaw.je)

B

States of Jersey Police response

If the Police or Honorary Police become aware of any non-Jersey registered vehicle circulating or parked on a public road, enquiries can be made with the owner to establish if they are visiting or remaining in Jersey. There is no grace period should the owner be importing the car into Jersey or intending to live in Jersey. Under the Motor Vehicle Registration (Jersey) Law 1993, the vehicle must be registered immediately with Driver and Vehicle Standards (DVS) and put onto Jersey registration plates, and if this is not done, the vehicle is classed under the law as an unregistered vehicle. If circulating on the roads and not registered, officers can issue a Parish Hall or court appearance (depending on the circumstances) for the owner and/or driver to be prosecuted. The vehicle would not be permitted to continue circulating on the road and can be seized by Police, again depending on the circumstances. 

C, D and E

The following table provides the requested information.  

It should be noted that Vehicle Emissions Duty rates for commercial vehicles were only introduced in 2022 therefore, no Customs data for commercial vehicles is available prior to 2022.

F

The information requested is exempt under Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 as the information is accessible  on the www.gov.je and can be accessed using the following links:

Registering your vehicle in Jersey (gov.je) 

Vehicle Emissions Duty (VED) (gov.je)

Article applied

Article 23 - Information accessible to applicant by other means

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.