UK / EU VAT paid no longer valid

[digitalnomad]

Hi Forumions

I was getting a boat surveyed today in Greece. The surveyor told me that Greece had just changed its VAT paid rules.

In his words (as he has a boat in Greece in this situation).

"If the VAT was paid in the UK, then the VAT paid on the EU is no longer valid. "

I asked: But not even if it was a year when the UK was in the EU?

Reply: No, the VAT receipt must show that the VAT paid at the time of purchase of the boat went to a country that is in the EU at this moment. So, if the boat was purchased by a company or person, and the VAT paid went to the UK, even in the years that the UK was in the EU, Greece will not recognize the VAT as paid.

This news (he said) was released last week. His personal boat was in this situation (purchased in the UK three years ago), and he had everything confirmed with lawyers.

So to summarise his situation, the boat was in Greece on the 31st of December, so his boat is not VAT paid in either the UK or Greece.

He can sail to the UK before the end of this year to claim a VAT paid status in the UK. However, in the EU, he would need to pay the VAT again to avoid the 18 monthly transit log rules.

What is more concerning is, most boats do not have transit logs stating their entry into the EU. Therefore they must either pay VAT at the moment they are moved from the dry dock to the water or leave the EU immediately (stated the surveyors' lawyer). It is unclear if Greece will allow a 30 day grace period once the COVID sailing restrictions have been lifted to resolve all these transit log issues or go straight to a pay VAT or be seize policy. His lawyer also warned that Greece is doing an inventory of the dry docks for their new 1000 euros tax on all boats in Greece, whether in dry dock or in the water.

As a potential buyer in Greece viewing boats, he told me to hold onto my socks and prepare to see a large number of boats appearing on the market from individuals that are worried about losing their boats in Greece. He told me that many boats have been in dry dock since September 2019 due to COVID. These owners are not able to move their boats in the case of transit for VAT and will probably try to cut their losses and dump their boats on the marketplace.

He speculates that boat prices in Greece will be slashed by up to 50% or more as owners try to get whatever they can from the market before it is too late.

Has Greece or Europe gone crazy?