Sounds like TVA (VAT in English), but Noumea has a TGC instead - a Taxe Generale de Consommation, according to this:
https://service-public.nc/profession...tion-douaniere. The TGC tax rate has four levels, the highest of which is 22%. There is also a Taxe de Base d'Importation TBI, but I could not find what the rates for that were. An additional 10 or 15% wouldn't be hard to imagine. It seems
fishing boats are exempt from much of this, but it would need to be a
fishing boat.