Thanks everyone, as far as I know he’s not a NZ citizen and has an address in
Australia, got a reply back from NZ
customs, they weren’t interested in how long it had been out of the NZ,
“The vessel will be subject to Goods and Services tax (15%) on importation (free of Customs duty if manufactured in New Zealand). The GST is payable on the
purchase price of the vessel minus depreciation of 10% for each year the vessel is personally owned and used (to a maximum of 80%). Your shipment will also be subject to an
Import Entry Transaction fee of $52.67 NZD.”
So based on that I only have to pay about $3k.