I. INTRODUCTION

In Ireland, a Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) is levied on vehicles when new. Car rental companies are entitled to claim a refund (diminishing over time) of part of the tax. A vehicle cannot be rented over 35 days unless it is one on which VRT has been reclaimed, though not necessarily yet refunded.

The revenue authorities in Ireland have ruled that certain rentals are subject to VAT at 21% rather than the normal 13.5%. Therefore, operations in Ireland require CARS+ to do the following checks when opening every RA:
To avoid or at least minimize these situations from happening, certain logic is available within CARS+. Use the following set up steps and counter instructions as a guide.


II. REQUIRED SET-UP STEPS

A. EDIT LOCATION FILES
To restrict customers from renting the same vehicle for more than 35 consecutive days, set the maximum rental days in the Location file ("Max Rntl Days" field on page 2.). Set to 34 if using calendar days, set to 35 if using 24 hour days.

B. GVT RECORD
Thermeon's Customer Support Dept. will need to set up the GVT record "35DAYTAX". The presence of the GVT record causes CARS+ check every new rental, extension, and exchange by driver's license number and then by vehicle number.

C. VEHICLE INVENTORY
Fields in the vehicle record are devoted to tracking VRT data (some of these fields are renamed from the standard names due to the presence of the GVT record):
VRT date (ending date to be able to reclaim VRT)
VRT Refund due (amount of VRT claim due)
VRT Claim date (date VRT claim was filed)
VRT on Purchase (VRT amount paid at purchase)
VRT on Sales (VRT reclaimed)
Two programs on the Fleet Accounting Menu can be used to update vehicle records regarding VRT claim information.
Data entered through both of these programs update fields in the vehicle record.


III. COUNTER INSTRUCTIONS

A. RA OPEN
Data entered in the driver license field must be either letters or numbers; no special characters (such as hyphens, periods, commas) are allowed.

Once the start and end dates, driver license number and state have been entered, a search of the RA file is automatically performed. This search uses the driver license number to find the customer number. Next, using the customer number, the RA file is searched looking for RAs with a closing date that is within 365 days of the current RAs return date.

If the total cumulative days (rental days during the past 365 days plus days on the current rental) are less than 35 days, the rental proceeds as usual, and no advisory message is display.

If the total cumulative days are 35 or more, the following message displays:
CUSTOMER WILL HAVE RENTED FOR x DAYS - TAX RATE 21% VAT. PROCEED? Y/N
(where "x" is the total number of days)
Enter:
Y = The 21% VAT rate is applied.
N = The user can make changes to the data on the screen which will trigger a new test of start and end dates, driver's license and state.
Additionally, the vehicle record for the unit assigned to the RA must have a VRT refund claim date or or the date by which the refund can be claimed must have passed. If not, the following message will display and the vehicle will be removed from the RA:
35+ DAY RENTAL - MUST USE VRT RECLAIMED VEHICLE

Editing or extending a RA:

The tests listed above are performed when any of the pertinent data is changed including the return date or when extending a RA. If the extension will cause the rental to exceed the 35 day rule, the following message is displayed:
CAN ONLY EXTEND THIS VEHICLE TO xxx ELSE HIGHER VAT RATE. PROCEED?
(where xxx is the maximum date that the RA can be extended to and remain below the 35 day rule.)

Enter:
N = The return date will go back to the previous value.
Y = The 21% VAT rate is applied.

Also, the vehicle record is checked to see if the vehicle has had it's VRT refund claimed or if the date by which the refund can be claimed must have passed.. If not, the following message will display and a vehicle exchange must be done:

35+ DAY RENTAL - MUST USE VRT RECLAIMED VEHICLE - DO EXCHANGE

Vehicle Search:

The F4 key label is changed to "VRT Free". If used for a search, only those vehicles who have a VRT claim date or the date by which the refund can be claimed must have passed are listed.

B. RA CLOSE

When the return date is later than the expected return date, a check is made (similar to what would be made if extending an Open RA.) If this results in the customer having rented for more more than 35 days during the last 365 days, the VAT rate is changed to 21% and the following message displays:

CUSTOMER RENTED FOR x DAYS - TAX RATE 21%.

(where "x" is the total number of days)

C. VEHICLE STATUS REPORT

When configured for this logic, the Vehicle Status Report has an additional field that can limit the report to only those vehicles where VRT has been claimed. In addition, whenever the report is run those vehicles where VRT has been claimed are identified with a dollar sign ($) in front of the vehicle number.

IV. 365 DAY REPORT

The 365 Report uses the same search logic used in RA Open program. That is, a search of the RA file is performed using the driver license to cross reference to a customer number. Next, using the customer number, the RA file is searched looking for RAs with a closing date that meet the criteria.

This report can be run for any period of up to 999 days in duration for any end date in the past.

To access the 365 Day Report, type 365RPT (RET) at any menu "OPTION" field or the appropriate line number on the Daily Operations sub- menu. The screen will then display:


OPTION: __ 365 DAY REPORT

1 End Date 03-15-07
2 Period Days 365
3 Min Days
4 Driver License# ALL
5 Vehicle Number ALL
6 Subtotal 3 1) License, 2) Vehicle, 3) Both
7 Detail/Summary S
8 Printer prtspool



1BEGIN 2 3 4 5BACKUP 6 7HELP 8


Enter data as follows:

1. END DATE
 Using your selected date format, enter an ending report date.

EXAMPLE: Type 022807 (RET)
2. PERIOD DAYS
 Enter the number of days for which the report should be run. This field will accept up to 999.

EXAMPLE: Type 365 (RET)
3. MIN DAYS
 To cut down on the scope of the report, enter a minimum number of rental days.

EXAMPLE: Type 30 (RET)
4. DRIVER LICENSE #
 To limit the report to a particular driver's license, enter the number here. Otherwise press (RET) to include all driver licenses.

EXAMPLE: Press (RET)
5. VEHICLE NUMBER
 Enter up to 6 alphanumeric characters to indicate a single vehicle to be reported. Otherwise, press (RET) to include all vehicles.

EXAMPLE: Press (RET)
6. SUBTOTAL
 This field allows a choice of how the data should be subtotaled: Enter:

1 = By driver license
2 = By vehicle number
3 = Both

EXAMPLE: Type B (RET)

User tip: If no entry is made in the Minimum Days field, every RA for the number of days entered in Field 2 will be listed sorted by license number and then by vehicle number.
7. DETAIL/ SUMMARY
 Enter:

D = Detail. Rental Agreements are listed individually.
S = Summary. Only the subtotals based on your sort option will print.

EXAMPLE: Type S (RET).
8. PRINTER
 Enter:

P = Print a hard copy of this report on your terminal's assigned printer. See the Edit Terminal Records Chapter for instructions on how to assign printers.
D = Display this report on your terminal screen. See the General Data Entry Instructions Chapter on how to control the screen display.

EXAMPLE: Type P (RET)



V. OPERATIONS DBR REPORT

When a "Y" is entered in the "Print Options" field, the percentage rate for the VAT is shown in brackets after the literal "TAX".

For example: 45.15 TAX(21%)



VI. OTHER REPORTS

The following reports indicate which vehicles have a VRT claim date. A dollar sign ( $ ) prints in front of the first characters of the vehicle unit number.
Fleet Value Report
Fleet Value Report 2
Vehicles Due In Report
Vehicles Purchased Report
Vehicles Sold Report