How awkward does something have to be? when it comes to the social welfare they don’t make it easy, that’s for sure.
We have done just about everything we have needed to do since I have become disabled, in order to settle into the new lifestyle that we have been forced into. However this Drivers and Passengers with Disabilities scheme, is the biggest ‘scheme’ I have ever come across!
For nearly a year now we have been ringing Monaghan (the office where they rule all the roost with regards to this and other disabilities schemes) and we have been told time and again how to get on the scheme, but each time the story has changed ever so slightly and we have been left confused. Now we have been told that our car, which was inherited through the family, is not allowed on the scheme as we are not the ‘original’ owners who purchased the car, even though the car was purchased by us from the rest of the family! Cars of inheritance or gifts are simply not allowed on the scheme. No explanation, just cause!
Long story short we will need to change our car, trade it in against a car of equal worth with a modification in order to be on this scheme. That is just bothersome for the sake of it!
I do have a Primary Medical Certificate which should make this process straight forward, but, as you can see below in the information, it is complicated and unnecessary and it means we have to trade our car, which is something we don’t want to have to do nor have the money for, so unless it is a straight swap for something, we won’t be doing it 
Another thing is we will have to modify the car in order to be on the scheme, this modification has to be 10% of the cost of the car. This part pisses me off because I know people who have gotten brand new cars in the last 2 years and only got a steering knob put on the car, at the cost of about €20, this 10% thing is only recent meaning those who have already availed of the minimum modification requirement can carry it over on to their new cars without the 10% modification needing to be done to their car, but for us new applicants, we have to pay the full penance! and also the Mobility allowance is now gone, with absolutely no replacement, so there is no help at all for people like us who want to get on the scheme.
It is just not fair.
Here is how the scheme works:
– All information taken from Citizens Information site – 28th June 2014 –
Tax relief for disabled drivers and disabled passengers:
Information
The Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme provides a range of tax reliefs linked to the purchase and use of vehicles by disabled drivers and disabled passengers in Ireland. The rules of the scheme are set out in the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Regulations 1994 (SI No. 353/1994) as amended. Under the terms of the scheme, you can claim remission or repayment of vehicle registration tax (VRT), repayment of value-added tax (VAT) on the purchase of a vehicle and repayment of VAT on the cost of adapting a vehicle, up to a maximum of €9,525 for a disabled driver and €15,875 for a disabled passenger.
Relief is limited to a vehicle that has been specially constructed or adapted for use by a disabled person and that has an engine size of less than 2,000cc in the case of the driver and 4,000cc in the case of the passenger.
If you qualify for tax relief under the scheme, you can also claim repayment of excise duty on fuel used in your vehicle for the transport of a disabled person, up to a maximum of 600 gallons per year. In addition, if you qualify under the scheme, your vehicle may be exempt from the payment of annual road tax on application to a Motor Tax Office.
Vehicles adapted for disabled drivers or passengers are entitled to exemption from toll road fees. Toll road operators issue special passes which are recognised by all other toll road operators and which allow such vehicles pass through the tolls without paying. To obtain a special pass apply to your nearest toll road operator (pdf).
Rules
In order to qualify for tax relief under the scheme, you must have a valid Primary Medical Certificate. A Primary Medical Certificate confirms you are severely and permanently disabled and:
- Are completely or almost completely without the use of both legs or
- Are completely without the use of one of your legs and almost completely without the use of the other leg to the extent that you are severely restricted as regards movement in your legs or
- Are without both hands or both arms or
- Are without one or both legs or
- Are completely or almost completely without the use of both hands or arms and completely or almost completely without the use of one leg or
- Have the medical condition of dwarfism and serious difficulties of movement of the legs
Local Health Offices of the Health Service Executive (HSE) process applications for a Primary Medical Certificate. If the HSE refuses your application for a Primary Medical Certificate, you may appeal the refusal to the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal, National Rehabilitation Hospital, Rochestown Avenue, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.
How to apply
Download and complete Form DD1 (pdf). This application form is also available from the Central Repayments Office.
Applying for remission of VRT
You need to send the following documents to the Central Repayments Office
- Form DD1
- The original Primary Medical Certificate if you are claiming for the first time. You must apply to your Health Service Executive (HSE) Area for an application form for a Primary Medical Certificate – obtain an application form from your Local Health Office in the HSE. Complete the application form and return it to the Senior Medical Officer of the Local Health Office. The Senior Medical Officer then appoints a HSE doctor to visit your home and carry out an assessment of the level of your disability. If you satisfy the requirements, you are granted a Primary Medical Certificate by the HSE.
If your application for remission of VRT is acceptable, you will be sent a Letter of Authorisation which authorises you to purchase a vehicle. When you have chosen the vehicle, the vehicle identification number (VIN) must be submitted to the Central Repayments Office on the form issued to you with the Letter of Authorisation. You will be issued with an Exemption Notification that allows the vehicle to be registered exempt of VRT at the NCTS centre.
When you have bought the vehicle, you must obtain the following documents
- An original invoice from the dealer showing the full purchase particulars of the vehicle and verifying that payment of the amount due has been made in full
- An original invoice from the person who adapted the vehicle, showing that payment has been made in full. The invoice must show full details of the adaptations to the vehicle and the VAT charged.
- From 29 April 2012 a new vehicle that is adapted requires an Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) certificate from the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI)
To register the vehicle at the NCTS centre the dealer must submit these documents, along with the Letter of Authorisation, the Exemption Notification and the completed Form DD1. If the documentation is in order, the NCTS will register the vehicle without charging VRT.
When the vehicle is registered, to obtain a repayment of the VAT the dealer should submit the Letter of Authorisation, the Exemption Notification and the invoices mentioned above to the Central Repayments Office.
Applying for repayment of VRT and VAT
If VRT has not been remitted and you want to claim repayment of VRT and VAT, you need to submit the following documents to the Central Repayments Office.
- A fully completed Application Form DD1
- The original Primary Medical Certificate if you are claiming for the first time.
- An original invoice from the dealer showing the full purchase particulars of the vehicle and VAT charged and showing that payment of the amount due has been made in full
- An original invoice from the person who adapted the vehicle, indicating that payment has been made in full. This invoice should set out the full details of the adaptations and the VAT charged.
- The vehicle’s Vehicle Registration Certificate.
If the vehicle has been registered before, there is no need to go through the usual change of ownership procedure as this will automatically happen when the vehicle is taxed exempt at the Motor Tax Office.
If your claim is accepted you are issued with a Certificate of Approval by the Central Repayments Office which you should submit to your local Motor Tax Office. You will be issued with a new Vehicle Registration Certificate which you should send to the Central Repayments Office where it will be endorsed to the effect that the vehicle was purchased under the Disabled Drivers and Passengers Scheme and cannot be disposed of for two years. This certificate will be returned to you immediately.
If the vehicle has previously qualified for tax relief under the scheme, the maximum amount of tax relief that can be claimed for the vehicle will probably have already been claimed. However, you should still submit form DD1 with all the required documentation as listed above.
Applying for refund of excise duty on fuel
Claims for repayment of excise duty on fuel should be made once a year on Form DD3 (pdf) which will be automatically sent to you by the Central Repayments Office.
You need to keep receipts for the fuel purchased for two years, but do not have to submit them with your claim. You have to estimate the percentage of that fuel that is used for your own transport or the transport of a disabled passenger.
Applying for exemption from motor tax
If your vehicle is being registered in Ireland for the first time, you need to present your Vehicle Registration Certificate to your local Motor Taxation Office.
If your vehicle was previously registered in Ireland before you entered the scheme, you will be given a Certificate of Approval by the Central Repayments Office, which you should present at your Motor Taxation Office.
Where To Apply
You can find further information on the tax relief scheme (pdf) on the Revenue Commissioners’ website
Central Repayments Office
Office of the Revenue Commissioners
M: TEK II Building
Armagh Road
Monaghan
Ireland
Tel:+353 (0)47 62100
Locall:1890 606061
Homepage: http://www.revenue.ie
Email: cromon@revenue.ie
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Irish Dysautonomia Awareness 