VAT Buying a boat advice required. (No evidence)

[Richard_W]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Richard, thats not completely accurate. Revenue Canada does audit TC ships Registry and will come looking for you if they can't find a corresponding customs declaration. They are not very good at it and it often takes a few years. In one case I know of they came after a friend of mine seven years after the fact and in another case The RCMP showed up at an other friends door asking for proof 2 years later.

You might be correct ... I have no way of proving or disproving. I have not commented on what might happen years later to somebody who is a permanent resident in Canada.

All I know first hand is that TC requires no paperwork related to duty and/or taxes when vessel is being registered, and that is what I said.

[zooplax]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Oh... one other small thing to check is.. is it CE certified... if not you'll bear the cost of getting it to meet the check.. last I heard (a while back) it was around £12,000.. in the UK.

Really wow.. That much?? I heard one of the big parts would be engine omissions and if the engine failed would need replaced but never realised it would be anywhere near £12k just for the CE mark. (Engine extra)..

[zooplax]

Originally Posted by atoll

mostly people get caught out when they haul the boat for the winter in the med,being "in transit" generally means that you haven't paid 6months or a years marina fees in advance!

often we like to think that customs officers are stupid....but in many cases they are not,and just doing their job

So I presume there are a lot of boats in transit in the med..

[atoll]

Originally Posted by zooplax

So I presume there are a lot of boats in transit in the med..

the vast majority of boats in the eu were built and bought within the eu,paying vat when they were purchased,and have the recipt to prove it.

eu boats arriving in the azores/ med from the caribean,or cyprus from the red sea generally get special scrutiny,as do no eu flagged vessels owned by eu residents.

customs have the power to seize a vessel,suspected of non payment,and the onus is on you to prove otherwise,so beware.

hopefully dave,"goboatingnow" will chirp in,as most consider him to be the forum expert on vat and its implications,
i have only been through the process once when cyprus joined the eu,and imported my boat at a much reduced rate.

[Pete7]

We had a similar experience when looking at a Jeanneau 34 a few years back. I asked the Ancasta broker on Port Solent why were there 4 electric fans in the cabin. He said the boat had been to Antigua and back twice. Instant alarm bells and 4 weeks of e mails back and forward failed to produce anything that showed the boat had VAT paid. The vendor and the broker would have been quite happy to take our money and wash their hands of the problem. We walked, the boat wasn't that special nor the price and I could do without a £6000 VAT bill plus CE stuff.

Note both Spain and Portugal are broke, so someone like customs would get a nice pat on the back if they stopped you and extracted a large VAT payment out of you.

There are also a large number of charter boats advertised which come on the market with VAT not being paid as they are registered to businesses. However, once sold also become liable.

We ended up with a yacht Part 1 registered with all the VAT receipts, dozens of them for each stage payment and the ancillaries. I keep a copy on board and the original safely tucked away at home. The cost of a cruising yacht is too much for us to take any gambles.

Is there something really special about this yacht?

Pete

[Bluewaters2812]

Not sure if it would help to sail it to Gibraltar. I believe they do not have VAT on yachts but am happy to be corrected? The issue will be to then decide where you are going to keep it, or whether you are going to take it out of the EU. Whichever country in the EU the yacht is taken to for use (imported to), will likely be charged import duties methinks. I would imagine that the only way to avoid import duties would then be to sail the yacht out of EU waters. It will also depend on your residency I would think. It would probably be very difficult for an EU resident to convince customs that their new yacht is going to be taken out of the EU waters?

[Zanshin]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

OP says the vessel is on the UK Small Ships Register. I don't think that could have happened without proof of VAT paid.

No, VAT payment/status is completely independent of registry. My boat is UK Part 1 registered (the step above SSR) and is not VAT paid. VAT won't be due until the boat enters the waters of any EU state, which won't be for a while.

[valhalla360]

The answer is simple:
- The buyer provides official proof the VAT was paid and the boat is CE certified or
- He knocks enough off the price that you can pay VAT, a large tax penalty, pay for CE certification, potential upgrades for CE certification AND some extra for your hassle (ie: you are getting 50-90% off the value of the boat).

If it's legit, he will probably come up with the documentation. Otherwise, you are likely to avoid getting into a mess. If it's hard for the guy who supposedly paid the VAT to come up with the documentation, how much harder will it be for you as the new owner to get the govt to agree the VAT was paid.