Reasearching VAT in croatia as a potential buyer.

[Russell123]

Hi all,

First time posting so please be gentle and hope I'm in the right area to post.

So my initial plan is to purchase a yacht from Croatia, put it on the hard and re rig, upgrade and prepare it for export out of the EU.

I'm trying to get my head round this VAT paid and unpaid as it looks like I'll be going for an ex charter vessel.

Has anybody got links to delve deeper into the subject or better still a brief explanation of the plus's and minus's please.

Thanks.

[Doubleplay]

Having bought a new boat in Europe (Germany) I can chime. As a non resident of EU you can buy a new boat without paying VAT but you can only stay in EU waters for a certain time. It's called an export boat and you have to exit to a non EU country. Used boats are already flagged in EU are VAT paid boats by their owners at the time of registration. That's why as non EU citizen sometimes buying a new boat can be cheaper than a VAT(up to %25) paid boat which is couple years old unless you can claim the VAT back which is a very complicated and arduous process as far as I know.

[Russell123]

Appreciate the reply mate makes a bit more sense now..