How much alcohol can you take into the EU on a yacht from the UK?

[Halcyon Yachts]

We deliver lots of yachts, it is therefore hardly surprising that some of them have a very healthy store of fine spirits and wine... I have trawled the internet but am struggling to find the definitive answer about how much can now be transported into the EU from the UK.

What are your thoughts?

Pete

 

[st599]

The limits on what you can transport in to the EU and what you can transport in to the EU VAT free are different. For example, the minimum limit that an EU country can have for beer is 110 litres, but only the first 16 litres are Tax free.

However, the booze has to be owned by you and be for personal use - and the Douanes may ask you to prove it.

 

[Black Sheep]

My thoughts are that if you're delivering a yacht from the UK to the EU, and you're concerned there may be too much fine wine or mature whisky aboard, you may feel compelled to take action to reduce the stock levels!
I don't suppose you're looking for crew? I have a proven track record of recycling ethanol into urea...

 

[JNKScot]

Is it back to the old days of "Ships Bonded Stores" where the booze, apart from the personal DF allowance, had to be kept secure under lock and key inside the 12 mile limit?

 

[Graham376]

Currently, when entering the European Union from Great Britain (rules do not apply to travellers between Northern Ireland and the EU), travellers can benefit from the following allowances:

• Alcohol: a. 4 litres of still wine; and b. 16 litres of beer; and c. a total of 1 litre of spirits over 22 % vol. OR 1 litre of undenatured alcohol (ethyl alcohol) of 80% vol. (or over) OR 2 litres of fortified or sparkling wine.
• Tobacco: 200 cigarettes OR 100 cigarillos OR 50 cigars OR 250 g tobacco;
• Other goods up to a value of EUR 300 per traveller or EUR 430 for travellers by air and sea.

 

[Seven Spades]

Is it back to the old days of "Ships Bonded Stores" where the booze, apart from the personal DF allowance, had to be kept secure under lock and key inside the 12 mile limit?

Technically yes.

 

[Tomahawk]

Why would you want to buy expensive stores in the UK and take them to Europe where they are so much cheaper?

 

[st599]

I think the issue is that you may be a delivery skipper. The booze you find on board isn't yours and isn't for personal consumption and may exceed personal limits anyway. Therefore you're liable.

 

[Quiddle]

Why would you want to buy expensive stores in the UK and take them to Europe where they are so much cheaper?

Presumably because they are already on the boat being delivered.

 

[graham]

I would ask the owner to remove any excess booze ,why take a chance for somebody else's convenience?

 

[RobbieW]

As a responsible commercial operator, isnt this something you should be researching through HMRC etc to protect your contractors (skippers/crew) ? Answers here may be far from the reality on the ground

 

[Iliade]

Surely you just sail with what is onboard and declare what remains after the delivery to the appropriate customs agency. They will issue a bill for duty &/or VAT, which the owner will have to pay?

 

[Giblets]

I would ask the owner to remove any excess booze ,why take a chance for somebody else's convenience?

Either that or require the owner to come on the trip and take full responsibility for any excess on-board stores. Perhaps advice from Pete's professional trade body would be in order.

 

[Beelzebub]

I once delivered a yacht from Guernsey to Falmouth. The owner had stocked the boat with the duty-free allowance for 5 adults when bad weather dictated that he and his crew had to return to the UK while leaving the boat in Guernsey.

Eventually he decided that having the boat delivered to Falmouth would be best for him, given work/family commitments. After an uneventful trip, we arrived in Falmouth to be met by a Customs guy. We explained that all our belongings were already packed and on deck ready to go and the owner ( who was there to meet us) admitted that the booze was his.

The Customs chappie was not impressed with the 5 litres of spirits plus wine plus tobacco goods and started giving the owner a hard time. Fortunately our taxi arrived and we scarpered but I had the impression that at the very least the owner was about to be hit with a bill for duty.

 

[lustyd]

It's not his job to be impressed, it's his job to collect the taxes due! The tax free allowance is just that, you can bring more if you declare it and pay.

 

[Beelzebub]

It's not his job to be impressed, it's his job to collect the taxes due! The tax free allowance is just that, you can bring more if you declare it and pay.

I have no comment about rights and wrongs here. For what it's worth, I'd imagine that with a rushed return to the UK, the last thing on the owner's mind was the amount of whisky in the booze locker.

 

[Graham376]

Just put it all in a locker, apply self adhesive paper seal with date and signature and call it a bond locker. That's all Gib customs did to us when they caught us well over (double) the duty free limit.