Advice for new owners from Australia coming to Europe to collect a boat

[Barra]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

You may not be aware that Turkey ( by treaty) is actually inside the customs union of the EU.

dave

What does that mean in practice? ie the VAT clock is reset when you leave greece for turkey as far as i understand?

Our Boat is VAT paid and Australian registered. Our "proof" is a copy of the original owners purchase invoice showing VAT was paid. Havn't had to use that in anger yet but I have some swiss friends who had their boat impounded for 3 weeks in france while they located a VAT paid invoice from their boats previous owner.

As Dave says there is no such thing as this mythical VAT paid certificate but certainly locate some kind of proof in advance of needing it or you may well get held up for an extended period when they do come checking (and then have schengen visa issues maybe ???

[goboatingnow]

What does that mean in practice? ie the VAT clock is reset when you leave greece for turkey as far as i understand?

Who says, Turkey is part of the Customs Union of the EU and the TIR directive specifically uses that term , not the EU. Has anyone ever actually checked. I was clearly told that turkey does not reset the VAT clock in portugal a few years ago. but I suspect a lot of cruisers don't actually know, because VAT is not really checked on foreign boats and many customs officials are unsure of TIR provisions.

but I have some swiss friends who had their boat impounded for 3 weeks in france while they located a VAT paid invoice from their boats previous owner.

why would a swiss owner need a vat paid boat ?

dave

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Multihull

Catana shipyard is not on the Atlantic side of France.
It is in the Med already (Canet en Roussillon).

Thanks for that one..
been bringing Lagoons down from the La Roche area so jumped to conclusions..
Still its good for them.. makes life a lot easier..

[The Miss]

Hi Boatman61

You are correct our boat is being built in La Rochelle but as agreed with the builder they will move the boat as part of the shake down to Cantel for us to collect. We have agreed to have our boat in Turkey for the Bodrum boat show in August.

Very interesting about VAT, I always understood that Turkey not part of EU, though they are trying to join I think?

As we will be starting in Turkey in winter we aim to have at least 2 full summers in Med at the very least. We will be in no hurry and as this is probably the only time we will do this area by boat so we hope to do well. Neither my Husband and I have traveled much and certainly not to Europe so as you can imagine our excitement is building! We have been to busy raising a family and working hard to fund the dream...

Cheers the Miss
Homepage | Miss Catana

[goboatingnow]

Very interesting about VAT, I always understood that Turkey not part of EU, though they are trying to join I think?

Just be careful as to your understanding , most cruisers go to Turkey to get around the Visa restrictions on staying in the EU. VAT rules and TIR ( Temporary Import relief) are a bit different. The TIR directive that provides for the 18 month relief from VAT , specifies the Customs Union of the EU. This is a different concept then the 'EU'.

Goods , with some exception, transported into Turkey are not exported from the EU, due to a custom union agreement with Turkey. Hence the boat is not in effect "exported" from the Customs Union so the TIR period is not reset.

For example the Channels islands are not in the EU. but they are in the Customs Union of the EU. Hence there is no VAT in the channel Islands.

Equally the Canary Islands are in the EU and are in the Customs Union of the EU, yet there is also no VAT there.!! Its a bit complex, due to all the accession treaties that were signed as countries joined the EU .

PS welcome to Europe when you do come, you'll have a great time and the bureaucracy on the ground for cruisers is virtually non existent in reality

dave

[boatman61]

Well.. if you wanted to play safe cruise France, Italy, Corsica, Sardinia and then through Messina and along and up the Boot of Italy... across the Adriatic then head down again and cut across to Sicily, Malta and then Tunisia for the winter.. warmer and cheaper..
That's if you find out Turkey does not reset your clock.. then come Spring head for Greece and Turkey.. do the Balearics and Spain on the way back... would suggest you give most of the E coast a miss apart from Barcelona and Cartagena.. tie up in Gib, hire a car and drive to the White villages, Grenada and Seville.. the rest of the coast ain't worth much

[goboatingnow]

A simple way to reset the clock in the western med is an overnight in Marina Smir in Morroco, nice pizzas,

then Tunisia for the winter.. warmer and cheaper..

right now I wouldnt recommend Tunisia boatie.

dave

[Barra]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

W

why would a swiss owner need a vat paid boat ?

dave

Cos swiss boats are largely kept in EU waters long term ie they can do the dance and move it outside the EU every year but that no doubt gets tedious. That particular boat was caught because they didnt worry about the VAT clock as it had been bought from a previous EU owner and was VAT paid.

Trouble was they couldnt prove it and that was the point im trying to make - unless you want hassles you need to keep some proof handy.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

A simple way to reset the clock in the western med is an overnight in Marina Smir in Morroco, nice pizzas,




right now I wouldnt recommend Tunisia boatie.

dave

Bizertte was nice last April... folk were friendly, yes there was discontent but it was not directed at foreigners... and we were in a fishing harbour/city miles from the 'civilised areas' like Monastir..

[The Miss]

I have to be honest I will need to get my map out later and look at these places to confirm where they all are. Plus I need to check the VAT conditions off course but for the main we think this is an issue we will deal with once we arrive.

The destinations mentioned are what you call "stuff of dreams" coming from Tasmania. Tassie is almost as far away as you can get from Europe, I sometimes have to pinch myself to think this world will soon be our new home.

Not a fan of most take out food but good kebab and pizza is wonderful I think I will aim to try pizza in every country and do a review. Is this possible without becoming too fat?

Cheers the Miss

[Prairie Chicken]

I stand corrected. I knew Croatia had joined the EU but was thinking Schengen for some reason. I don't think they will join Schengen for a couple more years.

I didn't know about Turkey's treaty with the EU. There really aren't many places to run to anymore, are there?

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by The Miss

I have to be honest I will need to get my map out later and look at these places to confirm where they all are. Plus I need to check the VAT conditions off course but for the main we think this is an issue we will deal with once we arrive.

The destinations mentioned are what you call "stuff of dreams" coming from Tasmania. Tassie is almost as far away as you can get from Europe, I sometimes have to pinch myself to think this world will soon be our new home.

Not a fan of most take out food but good kebab and pizza is wonderful I think I will aim to try pizza in every country and do a review. Is this possible without becoming too fat?

Cheers the Miss

If you like pizza , you have to try it in nice in France , it's used to be part of Italy , great pizza with superb ingredients , really thin base. H,mmmmmm. Better then wood fired ones in Italy actually ( and they are good)

Turkey and Greece are the place for kebabs , so many variations

If your a foodie , you'll love the med

Dave

[Prairie Chicken]

Originally Posted by Barra

Cos swiss boats are largely kept in EU waters long term ie they can do the dance and move it outside the EU every year but that no doubt gets tedious. That particular boat was caught because they didnt worry about the VAT clock as it had been bought from a previous EU owner and was VAT paid.

Trouble was they couldnt prove it and that was the point im trying to make - unless you want hassles you need to keep some proof handy.

This is the situation we find ourselves in. We're still trying to get a copy of the original bill of sale to show VAT paid.

[Toys_with_time]

Originally Posted by simonpickard

Hello all,

Lots of good info in this thread. As an Austrlaian resident also coming to Europe to collect our boat and then sail her back I was wondering if I could hop on board this thread and ask a few questions of people?

1. In terms of the insurance did you use Australian companies or Euro based ones?

2. Did you register the boat as Austrlaian? So fly an Ozzy flag? Just wondering how you did this / costs / how long the process takes, etc?

3. I've read that it's easier going East to West in the Med? Is that correct? I.e. Sail quickly West to East early in the season and then take your time sailing back West?

4. Can you realisticlly see the Med in one season? We're picking the boat up early April in Gurnsey, need to be back in the out of the Med for the start of the ARC rally end of Nov 2014. Or is that too quick and should we take another season?

Thanks in advance, I hope it's ok to jump on this thread as I was about to start another one named the exact same thing!

Regards,
Simon

1 summer in Med far too short IMHO. Our original plans were 2 years and about to start on our 4th summer in June. There are a lot of stunning Greek islands not to mention all of the other places. Med isn't small - end to end its similar distance to an Atlantic crossing - and packs a lot of interesting places per square mile. We insured with Pantaneous like many others and they now have an Australian agency. Had no problems with Australian registration from France and no major issues with customs / immigration along the way.


TwT

[Toys_with_time]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

A simple way to reset the clock in the western med is an overnight in Marina Smir in Morroco, nice pizzas,




right now I wouldnt recommend Tunisia boatie.

dave

And while in Marina Smir ask them to arrange a car and driver to take you to Chefchaouen for the day. Great place and lovely people (and I recommend you buy some of their local olive oil while up there from the markets - makes normal cold pressed oils seem like water).