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Ram · 14-01-2013, 23:50

Yacht in Transit-Greece, Albania, or Italy where should I go to pick up parts?

I need a fairly large expensive shipment sent from Miami to one of these Countries- Greece, Italy or Albania-
Has anyone done this yet & what % were you charged and did they wave the fee or tax for importing your yacht parts because you’re a “Yacht in Transit” -How long did it take going thru customs-?
I’ve done this in France, was refunded the tax after I left the country-so I’m wondering what it’s like in these countries?
In theory Countrys are suppose to do this`, but in some countrys its only a theory--

**atoll** · 15-01-2013, 01:41

Sail The Blue - Corfu Yacht Service

Ram · 15-01-2013, 07:27

Thanks - I dropped them a line,

Ram · 19-01-2013, 09:44

Just a bum- anyone ?

Kettlewell · 19-01-2013, 10:00

I can't give specific advice for your location, but when doing this in other countries I have sometimes found it handy to go to a local marine chandler and ask them either how they do it or would they bring it in for small fee--often the local person has all the right contacts and procedures in place, and might even save you money in the long run. For example, a lot of Canadian businesses have U.S. addresses also for shipping and receiving stuff.

Ram · 19-01-2013, 10:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

I can't give specific advice for your location, but when doing this in other countries I have sometimes found it handy to go to a local marine chandler and ask them either how they do it or would they bring it in for small fee--often the local person has all the right contacts and procedures in place, and might even save you money in the long run. For example, a lot of Canadian businesses have U.S. addresses also for shipping and receiving stuff.

Thats a good idea- I will look into that thanks!

**noelex 77** · 19-01-2013, 10:20

It is difficult.
There are some real horror stories from cruisers with customs charging high fees and long delays. Greece apparently uses weight to calculate vat in some cases.

I try to order everything from a a vat country like the UK which greatly simplifies everything.

I will be very interested in your experiences, but I am doubtful that you going are going to get anything vat free, at least in Greece and Italy. Getting anything through customs even paying the appropriate vat will be a struggle, but good luck and make sure you let us know how it worked.

A couple of tips the vat varies on different islands in Greece so pick a low vat island if possible. Also consider the possibility of having the good shipped to the UK you will pay vat at a lower rate and importantly the customs procedures are easy. If you have someone who can ship the parts from the UK to Greece or Italy it will get through the minefield of customs in these countries easily if it comes from another EU country.

Ram · 20-01-2013, 04:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by noelex 77

It is difficult.
There are some real horror stories from cruisers with customs charging high fees and long delays. Greece apparently uses weight to calculate vat in some cases.

I try to order everything from a a vat country like the UK which greatly simplifies everything.

I will be very interested in your experiences, but I am doubtful that you going are going to get anything vat free, at least in Greece and Italy. Getting anything through customs even paying the appropriate vat will be a struggle, but good luck and make sure you let us know how it worked.

A couple of tips the vat varies on different islands in Greece so pick a low vat island if possible. Also consider the possibility of having the good shipped to the UK you will pay vat at a lower rate and importantly the customs procedures are easy. If you have someone who can ship the parts from the UK to Greece or Italy it will get through the minefield of customs in these countries easily if it comes from another EU country.

I’ve done this in France & had no problem at all- I had to pay the vat & if I left the country in about 2 weeks & checked in to a different country I received my money back- it worked as it was supposed to- But Greece- Albania may be different- I’m looking into it now- and will update what I find as I find it- What I don’t want is one more horror stories!

NornaBiron · 21-01-2013, 22:20

We've just had a package delivered to Greece from Jersey (non-EU). We are EU citizens (not that that makes a difference) and our boat is UK registered. The item - a new anchor - cost £1100ish including delivery. We knew that we would have to pay VAT @ 23% when it entered Greece. We've just been informed that we have a €529 bill to pay on collection of the anchor- wtf? We're heading over to the office now to see what the extra charges are, will report back on our return.

Ram · 31-01-2013, 15:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by NornaBiron

We've just had a package delivered to Greece from Jersey (non-EU). We are EU citizens (not that that makes a difference) and our boat is UK registered. The item - a new anchor - cost £1100ish including delivery. We knew that we would have to pay VAT @ 23% when it entered Greece. We've just been informed that we have a €529 bill to pay on collection of the anchor- wtf? We're heading over to the office now to see what the extra charges are, will report back on our return.

WOW , that’s terrible!!! Please let us know what the outcome is !!- I was just told by Greek Shipping Agent-- that the "in transit " rules are for ships only sorry to say but they dont apply to yachts,
-
I told the Agent that the value was about $6500USd & he said put down $1200 USD and expect to pay 23% vat on this- Did you pay anything to a shipping agent ?

NornaBiron · 01-02-2013, 00:59

Hi Ram,

Sorry it's taken me a while to get back with the info, I've only just calmed down!

The charges were as follows:

€17 formal import document
€27.91 Goldair handling fees
€383.48 duties and tax
€93.48 UPS agent
€7 tax stamps

We'd already paid £246.52 to UPS for carriage from Jersey to us in Crete so we're not very happy with the fact that they then add another €93.48 on when going through customs.

The tax and duties is about right and what we expected to pay. In Greece you pay VAT at 23% on the cost of the product and on the cost of delivery on import from outside the EU.

The other charges were all completely unexpected, we've had to pay them to get our anchor but we will be disputing the charges with UPS, I don't hold out much hope though.

In hindsight (a wonderful thing) we should have had the item delivered to the UK, paid the tax there (20%) and then shipped it to Greece - you live and learn

Hope this experience helps others to avoid the pitfalls of importing into Greece.

Ram · 01-02-2013, 02:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by NornaBiron

Hi Ram,

Sorry it's taken me a while to get back with the info, I've only just calmed down!

The charges were as follows:

€17 formal import document
€27.91 Goldair handling fees
€383.48 duties and tax
€93.48 UPS agent
€7 tax stamps

We'd already paid £246.52 to UPS for carriage from Jersey to us in Crete so we're not very happy with the fact that they then add another €93.48 on when going through customs.

The tax and duties is about right and what we expected to pay. In Greece you pay VAT at 23% on the cost of the product and on the cost of delivery on import from outside the EU.

The other charges were all completely unexpected, we've had to pay them to get our anchor but we will be disputing the charges with UPS, I don't hold out much hope though.

In hindsight (a wonderful thing) we should have had the item delivered to the UK, paid the tax there (20%) and then shipped it to Greece - you live and learn

Hope this experience helps others to avoid the pitfalls of importing into Greece.

Thanks that very helpful- Im now looking at Albaina & Cypress-I just read Albania will not charge vat on Vessel in Transit- -Ive sent out about 6 e-mails & waiting for a reply & will post results