Duties NOT FOR SALES IN US WATERS...

[Efam6]

"Duties NOT FOR SALES IN US WATER TO US CITIZEN/RESIDENT."

How does this apply? I've always seen it on boats that seem to have really good pricing, any coincidence?

[boatman61]

Could it be something to do with taxes...

[Efam6]

Yeah most likely. But does it mean if you are an American by nationality you cannot buy that boat? And if so then why is it for sale in the US? Does that mean only a non us citizen residing in America can buy it and would that not be illegal?

Who are they marketing to?

[GordMay]

As an American, you can buy it - and then import it.
If it's a NAFTA* boat, it's cheap.
If not, not so ...

* Goods that are made in Canada or Mexico may be eligible for duty-free treatment or reduced duty rates (± 1.5%) under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

➥ http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/tra...e_trade/nafta/

[Efam6]

So if its a boat being sold under this condition, and its listed by a company in Florida, and I am an American and I buy it for say $300k, what do I finally end up paying?

I think somewhere I saw a low tax fee on boats from Europe but not sure if this is the same.

[DeepFrz]

Its not tax its duty. Seems the same when it comes out of our pockets but its not.

[skipmac]

HTS number (Harmonized Tariff Schedule) for sailboats is 8903.91.00. Not only NAFTA but a number of other groups are duty free.

However the MFN which is pretty much the standard duty rate is only 1.5% into the USA.