Your Household Goods Come In Free, Under a Regulation Ireland Did Not Write
What a person brings when they move to Ireland is governed by a Union regulation that applies directly in every member state. Article 3 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009 admits personal property free of import duties where a natural person transfers their normal place of residence from a third country into the customs territory. Four conditions do the work. The goods must have been owned, and if durable used, at the old residence for at least six months; they must be for the same use at the new one; the person must have lived outside the customs territory for a continuous twelve months; and the goods must be entered for free circulation within twelve months of the move. Alcohol, tobacco, commercial vehicles and the tools of a trade other than portable instruments get no relief at all.
At a glance
- Import duty on household goods
- None, where the conditions in articles 4 to 11 are met
Article 3 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009.
- How long you must have owned them
- Six months before you stopped living there
Article 4(a), except in special cases justified by the circumstances.
- How long you must have lived abroad
- A continuous 12 months
Article 5.
- Deadline to bring them in
- 12 months from establishing residence here
Article 7(1), except in special cases.
- No relief at all
- Alcohol, tobacco, commercial means of transport, and trade equipment
Article 6, which excepts portable instruments of the applied or liberal arts.
- Whether Irish law adds anything
- Nothing we read - the relief is in the Regulation and is directly applicable
No Irish instrument was read for this record, and the Regulation needs none to apply.
Requirements
- A transfer of your normal place of residence from a third country
- Possession for six months, and use of the durable goods, at the former residence
- Normal residence outside the customs territory for a continuous twelve months
- Entry for free circulation within twelve months of establishing residence here
Exceptions by origin
No exceptions recorded
Nothing we have read treats any nationality differently for this topic. The rule above applies to everyone.
What the law says
«Subject to Articles 4 to 11, personal property imported by natural persons transferring their normal place of residence from a third country to the customs territory of the Community shall be admitted free of import duties.»About this source
The Union's legal database. Publishes each act as adopted in the Official Journal and, separately, a consolidated version carrying every amendment to a stated date, identified as 0YYYYRNNNN-YYYYMMDD. The consolidated text marks each amended passage with the instrument that changed it.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: A consolidated text is explicitly not authentic - EUR-Lex says so on the document - and only the Official Journal version has legal force. It also says nothing about how any member state applies the act: a regulation is directly applicable but the border practice, the evidence an officer may ask for and the national exceptions are in national law, which is published elsewhere.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«The relief shall be limited to personal property which: (a) except in special cases justified by the circumstances, has been in the possession of and, in the case of non-consumable goods, used by the person concerned at his former normal place of residence for a minimum of six months before the date on which he ceases to have his normal place of residence in the third country of departure; (b) is intended to be used for the same purpose at his new normal place of residence. In addition, Member States may make relief conditional upon such property having borne, either in the country of origin or in the country of departure, the customs and/or fiscal charges to which it is normally liable.»The six months of ownership and the same-use condition, plus a power for member states to require that the goods bore the duties they were liable to at home.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Union's legal database. Publishes each act as adopted in the Official Journal and, separately, a consolidated version carrying every amendment to a stated date, identified as 0YYYYRNNNN-YYYYMMDD. The consolidated text marks each amended passage with the instrument that changed it.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: A consolidated text is explicitly not authentic - EUR-Lex says so on the document - and only the Official Journal version has legal force. It also says nothing about how any member state applies the act: a regulation is directly applicable but the border practice, the evidence an officer may ask for and the national exceptions are in national law, which is published elsewhere.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Relief may be granted only to persons whose normal place of residence has been outside the customs territory of the Community for a continuous period of at least 12 months.»About this source
The Union's legal database. Publishes each act as adopted in the Official Journal and, separately, a consolidated version carrying every amendment to a stated date, identified as 0YYYYRNNNN-YYYYMMDD. The consolidated text marks each amended passage with the instrument that changed it.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: A consolidated text is explicitly not authentic - EUR-Lex says so on the document - and only the Official Journal version has legal force. It also says nothing about how any member state applies the act: a regulation is directly applicable but the border practice, the evidence an officer may ask for and the national exceptions are in national law, which is published elsewhere.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«No relief shall be granted for: (a) alcoholic products; (b) tobacco or tobacco products; (c) commercial means of transport; (d) articles for use in the exercise of a trade or profession, other than portable instruments of the applied or liberal arts.»The four exclusions. The last is the trap for anyone moving a workshop or a professional kit.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Union's legal database. Publishes each act as adopted in the Official Journal and, separately, a consolidated version carrying every amendment to a stated date, identified as 0YYYYRNNNN-YYYYMMDD. The consolidated text marks each amended passage with the instrument that changed it.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: A consolidated text is explicitly not authentic - EUR-Lex says so on the document - and only the Official Journal version has legal force. It also says nothing about how any member state applies the act: a regulation is directly applicable but the border practice, the evidence an officer may ask for and the national exceptions are in national law, which is published elsewhere.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Except in special cases, relief shall be granted only in respect of personal property entered for free circulation within 12 months from the date of establishment, by the person concerned, of his normal place of residence in the customs territory of the Community.»About this source
The Union's legal database. Publishes each act as adopted in the Official Journal and, separately, a consolidated version carrying every amendment to a stated date, identified as 0YYYYRNNNN-YYYYMMDD. The consolidated text marks each amended passage with the instrument that changed it.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: A consolidated text is explicitly not authentic - EUR-Lex says so on the document - and only the Official Journal version has legal force. It also says nothing about how any member state applies the act: a regulation is directly applicable but the border practice, the evidence an officer may ask for and the national exceptions are in national law, which is published elsewhere.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
Practical notes
The relief is a customs one and it belongs to the customs union, which is a different arrangement from any travel area and reaches Ireland whatever the position on borders.
This is customs duty. Value added tax on a transfer of residence is a different relief in a different instrument, and nothing here reaches it. Irish procedure at the border is national and was not read.
The text read is the Regulation as adopted rather than a consolidated version.
- consolidatesCouncil Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009
EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union
About this source
The Union's legal database. Publishes each act as adopted in the Official Journal and, separately, a consolidated version carrying every amendment to a stated date, identified as 0YYYYRNNNN-YYYYMMDD. The consolidated text marks each amended passage with the instrument that changed it.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: A consolidated text is explicitly not authentic - EUR-Lex says so on the document - and only the Official Journal version has legal force. It also says nothing about how any member state applies the act: a regulation is directly applicable but the border practice, the evidence an officer may ask for and the national exceptions are in national law, which is published elsewhere.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source