Booze on board post brexit

[LadyInBed]

I thought sailing was about free-spirited adventure rather than pro-actively hunting for rules and regulations to obey

All for free sprites - Rum, Gin, whatever

 

[Frogmogman]

Ah yes. Monsieur Gosselin and his cave full of vintage calvados guaranteed to induce a splitting headache on the return trip. Happy days.

You think the Calvados is bad ? Try the Vieille Prune my friend....

 

[Bajansailor]

Frogmogman (who posts occasionally on here) does just that re bringing booze from the UK to France - he has an English pub in Paris, and he needs to bring in regular shipments from England to supply the demand for 'proper' beer.

If any Forumites find themselves in the vicinity of Saint Germain on the western outskirts of Paris and desire some 'proper' English beer (Adnams is on tap), please do stop in and visit Frogmog (aka Giles) at The Bitter End - The Bitter End, pub anglais à Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
You will be guaranteed a warm welcome by a fellow sailor who has particular soft spots for Contessas and vintage Swans.

 

[Graham376]

But for the return leg I'm concerned with uk-duty-paid stores.

I wouldn't worry too much about retail stores paid for, just keep the receipt so if taken back to country of purchase you should be in the clear. Customs can tell the origin from the label.

There's some more info here about duty free stores and the UK document actually states there is no common EU policy, each country doing its own thing which conflicts with info I got elsewhere. The Excise Goods (Aircraft and Ship’s Stores) Regulations 2015

 

[Deleted member 36384]

I returned home from out of the EU with a load of booze, a house move. The customs form declared the booze and all of it, including the half full bottle had duty paid before they would release the container. I think if the agent had not declared the booze no one would have checked as it was just personal stuff. Therefore, I think if you sail back to the UK, post Brexit and the UK has no agreement on this and if they ask and you declare, they will charge you duty on booze. They ignored the motocross bike, bought abroad and now obviously being imported. Whether they place more emphasis on booze than other goods, I would not know. However, I have heard stories that booze duty is far more rigorously controlled, looked for and prioritised e.g. bring over a kilo of snow and no one cares, a crate of booze with no duty paid, a world of pain awaits.

 

[Boathook]

No worry in those days. All yachts just offered a G&T to the customs officer when he came aboard at Ramsgate. They didn't count 'opened' bottles.

The alcoholics ward at St Augustine's Hospital (now closed) was stuffed full of local customs officers.

It was the same with customs up near Faversham. They also use to ask us kids where other boats were attempting to go on holiday. I seem to remember that they weren't to interested with yachts that were a bit over the limit.
In Calais we were always greeted by Dexipotter? selling duty free and then the customs.

 

[eddystone]

Have any yachts actually had their alcohol checked in the UK or neighbouring countries, in living memory? Because you never ever hear of it happening and I don't think that will change, Brexit or not. Drugs and guns and a bit of paperwork is all they care about.
Why someone would be agonising about leaving their booze on the pontoon defeats me, I thought sailing was about free-spirited adventure rather than pro-actively hunting for rules and regulations to obey, and pre-emptive kowtowing to petty officialdom. Oh well each to their own.

Pro-actively seeking out or inventing rules and regulations seems at least as well ingrained in the British psyche as any other European country as will be increasingly evident post Brexit.
I expect French customs to be tougher post Brexit as they look for stowaways seeking employment (at least until, say in a generation, they twig people in France speak French)

 

[GHA]

I don't intend importing above my limit either way but not having a land-based home or a car, offloading my "normal" stores before crossing the channel would be problematic:

If only I was a bit closer an evening or 2 would we could have overcome that problem

 

[Daydream believer]

Have any yachts actually had their alcohol checked in the UK or neighbouring countries, in living memory? Because you never ever hear of it happening and I don't think that will change, Brexit or not. Drugs and guns and a bit of paperwork is all they care about.
Why someone would be agonising about leaving their booze on the pontoon defeats me, I thought sailing was about free-spirited adventure rather than pro-actively hunting for rules and regulations to obey, and pre-emptive kowtowing to petty officialdom. Oh well each to their own.

You must be joking. I had my boat stripped by the customs officer in Burnham when he found some cigars ( King Edwards) that I did not know my crew had stowed aboard. Took me ages to put everything back. He really lost his rag, after he went ashore ( we were on a mooring & it was midnight) to establish the duty figure & came back & my crew said " Oh don't bother you can keep em!!"-- I paid the duty & the fine before the officer killed him.
To make matters worse I crewed a friend in an EAORA event to Ostend the following year & he recognised me. He went through that boat & caused the skipper so much hassle that they told me that they could not take me on anymore cross channel trips, even though I was one of the main regular crew on EAORA races & club events.

 

[Ohlin Karcher]

You must be joking. I had my boat stripped by the customs officer in Burnham when he found some cigars ( King Edwards) that I did not know my crew had stowed aboard. Took me ages to put everything back. He really lost his rag, after he went ashore ( we were on a mooring & it was midnight) to establish the duty figure & came back & my crew said " Oh don't bother you can keep em!!"-- I paid the duty & the fine before the officer killed him.
To make matters worse I crewed a friend in an EAORA event to Ostend the following year & he recognised me. He went through that boat & caused the skipper so much hassle that they told me that they could not take me on anymore cross channel trips, even though I was one of the main regular crew on EAORA races & club events.

What a nightmare! Sounds like the customs occifer was a bit of a wrongun..

 

[Daydream believer]

What a nightmare! Sounds like the customs occifer was a bit of a wrongun..

Not really. A 21 year old with a brand new Stella is always going to raise eyebrows & i used to go to Ostend 3-4 times a year. My attitude to his officialdom was a bit -- well you can guess ( It has not changed much 50 years later) His junior , with whom I was very friendly, had tipped me off that i would be searched next time. I came back because he did not like my gung ho attitude. I probably got up his toffy nose a bit. (Cannot imagine how )

As a result I told my 2 crew " bring nothing back". They complained but I insisted. Unknown to me one of them stowed 4 boxes of King Edwards in his bag. So the Customs officer came aboard, we filled in the forms & I was quite cocky when he asked if i had anything to declare. Well i would be thinking that I had one up on him.
The first bag he looked in had the cigars & that was it.
He threw everything out, He tipped up the tool box into the bilge, My nav bag with pencils & bits along with it. All the floor boards came up. Papers tipped out, Crockery, knives & forks tipped on the floor. All our bags tipped out on deck, sails, the lot, an absolute mess.
Total barsteward. The junior officer just stood & looked at me as if to say " Well I warned you" .At least he did not join in the destruction.