Croatia VAT & Taxes

[Caroline Joan]

I have been told that non EU flagged yachts entering Croatia ,that have not paid VAT will be charged VAT on arrival regardless of how long they have been in the MED. With other countries such as Greece you need to leave before 18months is up and go to a non EU country such as turkey to have the 18 month VAT/importation clock reset.
My Yacht is a NZ Registered ship

I have also heard that Croatia is very expensive and local harbour masters/police charge various inconsistant taxes.

I don't know if any of this is true and i'd love to go to Croatia but not if i have to pay VAT on the value of my yacht.
When i sail back home to NZ i will have to pay GST (our version of VAT) plus duty. The total of which is 20% so i don't want to be taxed twice.

Does anyone know the facts on this. I assume my situation would be the same for Australians, Canadians, Americans etc.

[Kenomac]

You have bad information regarding everything mentioned in your original post. VAT is not charged on foreign boats flagged outside the EU for visits lasting less than 18 months by non-EU residents. Our 2016 three month cruising permit for Croatia cost approximately 200 euros in addition to the 100 euro customs entry fee for a 16 meter boat. We own a USA flagged boat. Most anchorages are free and the country is beautiful and the people very friendly. While in Croatia, we did not pay a single euro for anchoring during a forty day stay except for one night in a national park which cost 75 euros. Upon exiting Croatia on our way to Italy, we anchored inside a popular exit harbor and were greeted by a very friendly harbor master who offered to allow us to remain anchored until morning check out for a reduced mooring rate of just 20 euros. English is spoken throughout the islands, please feel free to contact us in 2017 as we expect to spend four months in Croatia.

About the only time you'll be asked to pay for an anchorage, is if you decide to anchor adjacent to a town mooring field. There's a wedsite that lists all the anchorages that charge.

[Caroline Joan]

Great thanks for your comments. Gives me peace of mind.
Have you also been Albania, Montenegro? If so were they also pretty straight forward?

[Kenomac]

We spent a month in beautiful Montenegro and will return this year fot another two weeks or so. Easy check in and check out. 30 day Cruising permit for a 16 meter boat costs around 75-100 euros. Very cheap for what you get. Just make sure you have a skippers/captains ICC license/certificate before arrival, it's the first thing you'll be asked to show upon when you pull up to the customs dock.