Quote:
Originally Posted by Dockhead  But this boat has Part I reg now. Hmmm. And U.S. registration is really easy and really conclusive (it IS a certificate of title), costs almost nil, and is good for life and never needs to be renewed. If it really doesn't affect VAT status, maybe I should give it another think. Do you suppose that VAT status and customs clearance would be the same thing? With EU VAT paid, I don't have to clear into customs every time I enter a new EU port? This is most confusing. |
a) an EU VAT Paid boat, which has (probably) never left Europe but is registered in the USA and skippered by a US Citizen / has non EU crew aboard.
Or
b) an EU VAT Paid boat, which has (probably) never left Europe but is registered in the UK and skippered by a US Citizen / has non EU crew aboard.
Mmmmm. Starting to move into uncharted waters for me with Customs clearance into the EU for a boat
. But my thinking (that means I am not sure - but it sounds about right
) is that simply because a boat is VAT paid does not mean it can avoid clearing customs IF their is any other reason to (say, from being a non-EU registered vessel) - just that it means the outcome of such a customs clearance would
not in 2 years time include a bill for VAT
I think that is one to Google for a US registered yacht arriving from the US (and ignoring the VAT issue) simply for the customs clearance procedures for the boat.
and then of course we have immigration clearance into the EU / individual EU countries for the non EU crew - which is a seperate matter - albeit in practice dealt with at the same time. I don't know for sure, but I suspect US folk wandering around the EU for any great length of time need a visa in at least some EU countries - and from my recollection their is no EU wide VISA scheme....I only mention it to further confuse
/ to keep you Googling
........and as if the crew will have to be checking into each country anyway then the boat doing the same is no great additional burden in practice.
But thinking a bit more
, I can see why a UK registration would be attractive for the sake of (EU) simplicity. Especially as the vessel is part 1 registered already I would try and keep this (note that if she became US registered she would have to be formally delisted from the UK Part 1 register) - I am also thinking that if / when you come to sell in the UK / EU the less likley to put anyone off with a "foreign" boat. As a Non UK national and not
really based in the UK the only 100% straight way to proceed would be by using a UK (or EU) company. This Declaration of Eligibility has some guidance notes on it
http://www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/msf4727...igibility).pdf
Out of choice I would go for a UK company for simplicity. The downside is cost if done 100% proffesionally - but can be made fairly cheap if one can obtain a UK address for free, rather than pay for a registered office address and are willing to deal with your own annual paperwork. This is the UK company registry:-
Incorporating a company
Confusing? Yeah
