Every imported Audi resolves to an eight-digit statistical code that ties your exact car to the OMSP its VRT is charged on, returned when you run the VIN through the ROS VRT enquiry. With Audi the catch is that two cars which look identical on paper can sit on different codes — because the trim line, not just the engine, is part of what Revenue is valuing.
A3: why S line costs more than a badge
The A3 is the model where the trim trap bites hardest, because it is the Audi people import in volume and the one with the widest spread of specs. Start with the engine — the 1.6 TDI and the 2.0 TDI are coded apart, and body style splits them again, so the five-door Sportback and the three-door hatch are not interchangeable entries. But the decisive line is the trim. An S line is not an SE with nicer wheels in Revenue's eyes: it carries its own statistical code and a higher OMSP than an SE or Sport on the very same 2.0 TDI, because its sports suspension, styling pack and interior lift the market value the tax is calculated on.
That is where importers quietly overpay in reverse — or underpay and get caught. Pick the SE code for a car that is really an S line and you have understated the OMSP; the figure looks cheap until the NCTS inspector reads the spec and the bill moves up. It is the same trim sensitivity that catches buyers of the BMW 3 Series M Sport, and although the A3 shares its MQB underpinnings with the Volkswagen Golf, the Audi badge carries a higher OMSP — so the boot badge and the build sheet matter as much as the engine plate.
A4: pick the right generation and drivetrain
The A4 layers a second problem on top of trim: generation. Audi's internal codes step through B7, B8, B9 and so on, and the changeover years trip people up — the B7 ran to around 2008 and the B8 arrived for 2009, so a 2009 car is a B8 and choosing a B7 code puts you on the wrong platform and the wrong OMSP entirely. Within a generation, the saloon and the Avant estate are separate entries, the 2.0 TDI outputs split again, and — crucially for Audi — quattro all-wheel drive is coded and valued apart from the front-wheel-drive car. The A4 shares much of its mechanical DNA with cars like the Škoda Octavia, but the badge premium means its OMSPs sit higher, so a mismatched drivetrain here is an expensive slip.
When the badge is too rare to list
Audi's mainstream range is well covered in ROS, but the further you climb the prestige ladder the thinner the database gets. Genuinely low-volume cars — an RS with a tiny Irish parc, or cousins from the group's top marques such as Bentley and Rolls-Royce — are frequently incomplete or absent from the enquiry, simply because too few examples have ever been registered here to build a reliable value. When the ROS lookup returns nothing that matches, you do not invent a nearby code: the vehicle not listed procedure applies, you register through the NCTS, and Revenue determines the statistical code and OMSP at physical inspection instead of from the online table. It is slower, but it is the correct route for anything rare enough to fall through the database.
Audi code splits at a glance
The splits that most often cost Audi importers money, with the trap to check before your NCTS appointment:
| Model | Variants with separate codes | Import trap |
|---|---|---|
| A3 | 1.6 TDI vs 2.0 TDI, SE / Sport / S line, Sportback vs 3-door | S line has its own higher-OMSP code — don't select an SE entry for it |
| A4 | B7 / B8 / B9 generation, saloon vs Avant, quattro vs FWD, 2.0 TDI outputs | A 2009 car is a B8 — a B7 code is the wrong generation and OMSP |
| Bentley / Rolls-Royce | Low-volume prestige — few or no Irish registrations on record | Often absent from ROS; use the "vehicle not listed" route, code set at inspection |
Audi VRT questions
Does an Audi A3 S line have a different code from an SE?
Yes. The S line is a distinct trim line with its own statistical code and a higher OMSP than an SE or Sport on the same engine, because its styling, wheels and interior lift the market value VRT is charged against. Selecting the base SE code for what is really an S line understates the OMSP and the bill — match the exact trim on the spec, not just the model and engine.
How do I tell an A4 B8 from a B7 when picking a code?
Use the registration date. The B7 A4 ran to around 2008 and the B8 arrived for 2009, so a 2009 car is a B8 and a B7 code puts you on the wrong generation and OMSP. Body style — saloon versus Avant — and quattro versus front-wheel drive split the codes again within the same generation.
What if my Audi isn't listed in the ROS enquiry at all?
Low-volume prestige models, and cousins such as Bentley or Rolls-Royce, are often incomplete or absent in ROS. When nothing matches, the vehicle not listed procedure applies: you register through the NCTS and Revenue determines the statistical code and OMSP at physical inspection rather than from the online table.