EU Customs Requirements

[Bobby1664]

I am an Australian flagged boat, currently in Scotland but I was in European waters for over 3 years, I reset my clock twice, once in Ceuta and once Melilla, both are outside the Schengen VAT zone.

I provided the marina receipt as proof when I had my papers checked by customs and the maritime police in Portugal and the Guardia Civil in Spain, no issues.

Good luck.

[Gianluca]

You should check the regulations because you are exempt all the months that the boat has not been used because it has been on the hard or repairs…

[rpelton]

Thank you to everyone who is contributing to this post.

Here is something else I am chewing on...

Because our boat is currently under repair in France (and has been since August), If I apply for the bond to extent us to 24 months, does that count for all of EU? For example, is our 18 month (now 24 month) EU customs extension good to for the Portugal coats as we make our way to Tangier or Morocco?

[Flobble]

Originally Posted by Bobby1664

the Schengen VAT zone.

There is no such thing as a Schengen VAT zone.

The topic of discussion is EU VAT and Temporary Admission.

The Schengen Agreement applies to people and is not relevant here.

Sorry to be picky, but this is one occasion where the details really do matter.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Flobble

There is no such thing as a Schengen VAT zone.

The topic of discussion is EU VAT and Temporary Admission.

The Schengen Agreement applies to people and is not relevant here.

Sorry to be picky, but this is one occasion where the details really do matter.

^^^^^...
And don't bank on the go offshore and return tactic.

[Bobby1664]

Originally Posted by Flobble

There is no such thing as a Schengen VAT zone.

The topic of discussion is EU VAT and Temporary Admission.

The Schengen Agreement applies to people and is not relevant here.

Sorry to be picky, but this is one occasion where the details really do matter.

Fair play Flobble, I stand corrected, you are right, details do matter, what I should have said is " Customs territory of the Union"

Dear OP, like you, I spent days researching this, so many different opinions, and to be honest, the best people to speak to are the local customs agents in the port where you are berthed, in my experience, the EU member states interpret the rules differently, I even had the customs officers in Faro and Lisbon disagreeing on what the correct interpretation of the rules were.

Perhaps save yourself the EU grey area and sail to Tangier.

Also, make sure you follow all the rules for a foreign flagged pleasure vessel on checking in properly when you arrive in each member state, I had to apply for an extension to my TIA in Portugal and they went through my paperwork with a fine tooth comb, I had to show the marina receipt from Ceuta to show last port outside the EU customs territory.

good luck.

[Bobby1664]

further info:

https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.e...ats-faq_en.pdf

[JeanF73]

I can answer with a real experience

1)EU limits a USA Sailboat to 18 months
2)There are provisions to extend/renew the 18 months in the EU regulation
3) Every EU country has its own procedure to handle the process.

In France:
I have had 4 times 18 months extension without leaving France; but only a few customs offices are aware/willing to go through the trouble. My initial successful contact was in Port St Louis (Marseille), with renewals provided by Lyon or Dijon. Don’t try Paris, they don’t want to hear about it.
Also France does not provide/request (in my case) any paperwork for the first 18 months; just keep a receipt from last out of EU stop.
France does not acknowledge that outside 12 NM is leaving the EU. Need to touch a port and have a Marina receipt

Netherlands:
They do recognize that the 12 Nm limit renews the 18 months. on coming from outside the EU they require an entry declaration and email you an 18 months paper. Can be renewed 10 times by sailing/fishing outside of the 12 nm boundary.

Sweden:
Will not give you any paperwork below 40 tons or so.

[Montanan]

Refit and Repair
If a yacht is temporary admitted within the EU territorial waters to undergo major overhaul, refitting or refurbishment, the temporary admission procedure is not applicable. Instead, the applicable mechanism would be the ‘Inward Processing Relief’. Through this mechanism, import VAT, customs duties and the excise duty on third country yachts imported within the EU territorial waters are suspended, provided that the imported yacht is intended for re-exportation after its processing and that the applicable requirements are satisfied. However, such a mechanism should not be confused with the temporary admission procedure as there are different requirements.


Article 251

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-cont...301277&from=EN

Period during which goods may remain under the temporary
admission procedure

1. The customs authorities shall determine the period within which
goods placed under the temporary admission procedure must be
re-exported or placed under a subsequent customs procedure. Such
period shall be long enough for the objective of authorised use to be
achieved.

2. Except where otherwise provided, the maximum period during
which goods may remain under the temporary admission procedure
for the same purpose and under the responsibility of the same authorisation holder shall be 24 months, even where the procedure was
discharged by placing the goods under another special procedure and
subsequently placing them under the temporary admission procedure
again.
3. Where, in exceptional circumstances, the authorised use cannot be
achieved within the period referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, the
customs authorities may grant an extension, of reasonable duration of
that period, upon justified application by the holder of the authorisation.
4. The overall period during which goods may remain under the
temporary admission procedure shall not exceed 10 years, except in
the case of an unforeseeable event.


Discharge of the temporary admission is not fulfilled by simply temporarily sailing into international waters [and not to a foreign place or port] because such does not qualify as an export / reexport of the good; such temporary transit from the EU territory into international waters without a stop in a foreign place or port is still within the EU customs procedure of first entry and have only temporarily left the EU customs territory and have not been exported / reexported and thence reentered as a new import.

Relevant articles:

CHAPTER 2
Arrival of goods
S e c t i o n 1
E n t r y o f g o o d s i n t o t h e c u s t o m s t e r r i t o r y o f t h e
U n i o n

Article 133
Notification of arrival of a sea-going vessel or of an aircraft
1. The operator of a sea-going vessel or of an aircraft entering the
customs territory of the Union shall notify the arrival to the customs
office of first entry upon arrival of the means of transport.



Article 136
Goods that have temporarily left the customs territory of the Union
by sea or air
1. Articles 127 to 130 and Article 133 shall not apply in cases where
non-Union goods are brought into the customs territory of the Union
after having temporarily left that territory by sea or by air and having
been carried by direct route without a stop outside the customs territory
of the Union.
2. Articles 127 to 130 and Article 133 shall not apply in cases where
Union goods the customs status of which as Union goods needs to be
proven pursuant to Article 153(2) are brought into the customs territory
of the Union after having temporarily left that territory by sea or by air
and having been carried by direct route without a stop outside the
customs territory of the Union.

[tilaya]

Originally Posted by rpelton

Thank you to everyone who is contributing to this post.

Here is something else I am chewing on...

Because our boat is currently under repair in France (and has been since August), If I apply for the bond to extent us to 24 months, does that count for all of EU? For example, is our 18 month (now 24 month) EU customs extension good to for the Portugal coats as we make our way to Tangier or Morocco?

a hint: Tangier is Maroco
an alternative would be Gibraltar (not EU teritory)


The EU is a economical unified area of several independent countries, mostly following the common EU laws (some country specific specialties apply sometimes) hence what is valid in France is also valid in Portugal.
VAT ruling of one EU member country applies to all EU countries, e.g. you paid VAT in Poland, no other country can tax you for VAT anymore.



If you or your contracted yard has been processing the Inward Processing Scheme, your vessel would have been in an "bonded area".



The duration of the work under the Inward Processing scheme is not included in the 18 months provided for in the Temporary Admission scheme. The maximum period of presence in Community waters (stay under 18-month TA+ inward processing) cannot exceed 24 months in total.
Source:https://www.easytax-international.co...epair-a-yacht/


In Greece, we know by our experience, if you store your yacht on the hard (also without repairs) and you deposit the transit log with customs, the 18-months period is interupted. On retrieving the transit log from customs, the customs officers modifies the end-date of the transit log. At the discretion of the customs officer it may expands over the 24months duration mentioned above.



By my experience, in your situation, you (or maybe your contracted yard, best contact the French customs office in charge for the area. Anyway, they would have to issue the papperwork for you, to be able to prove duration of your stay and the extension of the Temporary Admission Scheme to Portuges or Spanish authorities.


I wish you patience and good luck
Tilaya

[rpelton]

Thank you for the informative reply. I will contact the marina where the vessel is under repair.
BTW, I went to the French embassy in Washington DC. They were no help.

[rpelton]

Does anyone know where I can secure a Temporary Admissions Document? Been searching hi and low.
Thanks!

[JeanF73]

What country?
The rule is EU wide
Every country applies the rule differently

[JeanF73]

France:
In 2014,
port St Louis
Agnes Winkler, agnes.winckler@douane.finances.gouv.fr, +33 (0)970 27 85 35
Corinne le Mercier, corinne.le-mercier@douane.finances.gouv.fr, +33 (0)970 27 85 xx
Celine Pagnon, celine.pagnon@douane.finances.gouv.fr , +33 (0)970 27 85 32
Except for Dijon, the only place in France that knows how to get an extension; they “educated” Dijon and tried to educate Paris who got Dijon to do the work

As far as I know:
France accepts a proof on being in a port, Marina, etc outside of EU less than 18 months old. Marina receipt, fuel purchase, etc. Navigation outside of the 12nm range is not accepted.
Extension available for longer.

Netherland
douane.landelijk.team.jachten@douane.nl
All online
18 months temporary import: any trip outside 12 NM qualifies as exit from the EU. Up to 10 exit/re-entry permitted if I recall.

Sweden
Less than 40 tons, forget about getting anything

Portugal is know to not accept Gibraltar as exit from EU.

[Montanan]

References:

I located this site which has an example form.


https://www.qualityfreight.com/image...mportation.pdf


Or scroll down for the link to the .pdf file download here.

https://management.ind.in/forum/temp...-eu-98474.html



Customs clearance documents and procedures

https://trade.ec.europa.eu/access-to...and-procedures

Special procedures
Goods may be placed under any of the following treatments:


Union Transit, which comprises:
External transit - non-Union goods may be moved from one point to another within the customs territory of the EU without being subject to import duties, other charges related to the import of the goods (i.e. internal taxes) and commercial policy measures. Moving goods to another EU Member State means the customs clearance procedures are transferred to the customs office of destination.

Internal transit - Union goods may be moved from one point to another within the customs territory of the EU without any change to their customs status. This includes transporting goods through another territory that is outside the EU customs territory.

Storage, which comprises customs warehousing and free zones:
Customs warehousing - non-Union goods may be stored in premises or any other location authorised by the customs authorities and under customs supervision ('customs warehouses') without being subject to import duties, other charges related to the import of the goods and commercial policy measures.

Free zones - Member States may designate parts of the customs territory of the Union as free zones. They are where goods can be introduced free of import duties, other charges (i.e. internal taxes) and commercial policy measures, until they are either assigned another approved customs procedure or re-exported. Goods may also undergo simple operations such as processing and re-packing.

Specific use which comprises temporary admission and end-use:
Temporary admission - Non-Union goods can enter the EU without the payment of import duties, provided they are intended for re-export without being changed. The maximum period for temporary import is two years.
End-use - goods may be released for free circulation under a duty exemption or at a reduced rate of duty on account of their specific use.



https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.e...pecific-use_en

Specific use
Specific use comprises both temporary admission and end-use.

Temporary admission
'Temporary admission' allows goods to be brought in temporarily to the Union with total or partial relief from import duty. Examples of where this procedure might be used would be in the case of goods imported for purposes such as exhibiting at a trade fair or taking part in a music show. In some cases the completion of customs formalities is not required (e.g. temporary admission of means of transport).

The temporary admission is subject to the following conditions:

No alteration of the goods is intended, other than changes brought about by normal depreciation due to the use made of them;
The goods can be clearly identified, unless abuses are unlikely given the nature of the goods or the intended use;
The holder of the procedure is established outside the customs territory of the Union, except where otherwise provided. For instance, natural persons who have their habitual residence in the customs territory of the Union and work for an employer who is established outside the territory can benefit from total relief from import duty in respect of means of transport used by them (as owner or as renter) for commercial or private purposes;
The overall customs requirements for are met; and
A guarantee is provided if required.

An ATA or CPD carnet can be used for temporary admission. List of customs coordination offices of ATA and CPD Carnets in the Member States.

In case of partial relief from import duty, the amount of duty to be paid is set at 3 % of the amount of import duty which would have been payable on those goods had they been released for free circulation on the date they were declared for the temporary admission procedure. This amount would be payable for every month or fraction of a month during which the goods have been placed under the above mentioned procedure.

The maximum period during which goods may remain under this procedure cannot last for more than 24 months. Nevertheless, the time-limit in many cases is even shorter.


Rules for private vessels:

https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.e...ats-faq_en.pdf


Reference to lists of custom's offices:

https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_custom...me.jsp?Lang=en

Contact the ones where you will be entering the EU.

If the goods [e.g., a vessel] are intended to be re-exported, the declarant
must lodge a standard customs declaration for temporary admission;

This should be available to be prepared and completed at an EU custom's office to obtain clearance.