Bringing boat from Europe to UK for work to be done - is it still ok?

[Seven Spades]

If you are a uk resident for tax purposes and you wish to bring in a boat for repair or maintenance then it can and is done routinly by yards like Berthon and Pendennis. Bothh oif these yards do this al the time amnd there is no drama. If you boat is in for routine maintaince then taking it back to the EU is not going to be a problem either not that they woudl know what you have done etc. In any event even if you spent a lot of money it might not change the boats value so it is out of scope.

 

[Bobc]

My boat, kept in Brittany for the last 9 years and registered as having paid EU CAT, needs a new sprayhood to replace the existing one.

Supposing (because French cover makers are very expensive) I were to bring her back to the UK for a few weeks while I had one made to measure, would I be liable to VAT? She would not be going into a commercial yard but into a club marina.

What formalities would I have to follow?

Who would know and who would care? Certainly not the French customs.

 

[Boathook]

My boat, kept in Brittany for the last 9 years and registered as having paid EU CAT, needs a new sprayhood to replace the existing one.

Supposing (because French cover makers are very expensive) I were to bring her back to the UK for a few weeks while I had one made to measure, would I be liable to VAT? She would not be going into a commercial yard but into a club marina.

What formalities would I have to follow?

Just come over on 'holiday' and the spray hood gets damaged so you replace it as not repairable. Whilst you or even we think that it is expensive, it won't alter the value of the boat and who's to know apart from the boats either side of where you normally moor.

 

[sailaboutvic]

I think people missing the point as I understand it @Poignard is a British citizen lives in the UK and if he bring the boat which is EU vat paid into the UK he liable for vat .
He not worry about the extra value added to boat

 

[All_at_Sea]

In my case the work will be in the order of £25k, rectifying a problem and not increasing the value, just maintaining it. So hopefully the yard will be happy to do the paperwork. Let's see.

 

[dunedin]

I think people missing the point as I understand it @Poignard is a British citizen lives in the UK and if he bring the boat which is EU vat paid into the UK he liable for vat .
He not worry about the extra value added to boat

Not if he previously owned the boat in the UK before taking to the EU 9 years ago. Yes if never been in the UK under his ownership.

 

[sailaboutvic]

In my case the work will be in the order of £25k, rectifying a problem and not increasing the value, just maintaining it. So hopefully the yard will be happy to do the paperwork. Let's see.

Please let us know how it goes nd if you manage to find a yard , which yard would be handy too

 

[sailaboutvic]

Not if he previously owned the boat in the UK before taking to the EU 9 years ago. Yes if never been in the UK under his ownership.

I think that’s known by most of us here , as it’s been written time and time again ,
although I understand there has been some changes made by HMRC lately re RGR .
don’t ask for a link ,
if interested look it up

 

[Tranona]

The only change is to remove the 3 year limit for boats. The rest of the rules stay the same. So it does cover Poignards situation and he could get a new sprayhood in the UK - but not VAT free.

 

[Poignard]

Thanks for the interest shown in my query. I appreciate your help.

Just to get the facts clear:

My boat has been in France for 9 years and is, technically, EU VAT paid (although I have never actually paid any VAT there, or in the UK).

She was built before the introduction of UK VAT.

I have owned her for 26 years.

I am a British citizen, resident in the UK.

I do have a lifetime French Carte de Sejour (Residence Permit) but I don't think that is relevant in this case.

If I bring her back to the UK for a few weeks to have a new sprayhood made, I have no problem about paying VAT on the sprayhood. I am not trying to avoid that.

But what I don't want is for me to have to pay VAT on the yacht itself, as if it were being imported.

The same situation would apply if I just brought her back to, say, attend a Twister or classic boat rally in the UK.

A Frenchman who visits the UK in his yacht for a short period is not expected to pay UK VAT on his yacht.

Therefore, should I be?

 

[Skylark]

Thanks for the interest shown in my query. I appreciate your help.

Just to get the facts clear:

My boat has been in France for 9 years and is, technically, EU VAT paid (although I have never actually paid any VAT there, or in the UK).

She was built before the introduction of UK VAT.

I have owned her for 26 years.

I am a British citizen, resident in the UK.

I do have a lifetime French Carte de Sejour (Residence Permit) but I don't think that is relevant in this case.

If I bring her back to the UK for a few weeks to have a new sprayhood made, I have no problem about paying VAT on the sprayhood. I am not trying to avoid that.

But what I don't want is for me to have to pay VAT on the yacht itself, as if it were being imported.

The same situation would apply if I just brought her back to, say, attend a Twister or classic boat rally in the UK.

A Frenchman who visits the UK in his yacht for a short period is not expected to pay UK VAT on his yacht.

Therefore, should I be?

In such circumstances, I’ve always thought that asking for forgiveness was better than asking for permission :-

Why not simply remove the old fabric during your next visit to the boat, sling it under your arm as you pass through customs and, if asked, swear it a bicycle poncho.

When home, use it as a pattern for a replacement, n’est ce pas?

 

[sailaboutvic]

You last posting clears up all the points needed to answer your question .
has Tranona said the 3 year RGR rules is no longer .
you being the original owner who exported the boat .

 

[Poignard]

In such circumstances, I’ve always thought that asking for forgiveness was better than asking for permission :-

Why not simply remove the old fabric during your next visit to the boat, sling it under your arm as you pass through customs and, if asked, swear it a bicycle poncho.

When home, use it as a pattern for a replacement, n’est ce pas?

That is what I was going to do. I had a firm lined up to do the work and almost accepted the estimate; a firm that several people on here said they had been happy with.

But then a man I know in a similar situation to mine (boat in France, he living in the UK), had a sprayhood made by the same firm, using his old one as a pattern.

He was unhappy with the result. It didn't fit properly.

Of course they will put it right but that means more to-ing and fro-ing for him. The cover maker obviously won't go out to France to check what's wrong.

So I have backed out and decided against doing as he did.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

That is what I was going to do. I had a firm lined up to do the work and almost accepted the estimate; a firm that several people on here said they had been happy with.

But then a man I know in a similar situation to mine (boat in France, he living in the UK), had a sprayhood made by the same firm, using his old one as a pattern.

He was unhappy with the result. It didn't fit properly.

Of course they will put it right but that means more to-ing and fro-ing for him. The cover maker obviously won't go out to France to check what's wrong.

So I have backed out and decided against doing as he did.

That makes sense, as a properly fitting sprayhood usually needs the fasteners to be located in-situ. Maybe not the main fastenings, but things like lift-the-dot fasteners which shape the canvas, and whose position varies from boat to boat.

 

[Tranona]

That is what I was going to do. I had a firm lined up to do the work and almost accepted the estimate; a firm that several people on here said they had been happy with.

But then a man I know in a similar situation to mine (boat in France, he living in the UK), had a sprayhood made by the same firm, using his old one as a pattern.

He was unhappy with the result. It didn't fit properly.

Of course they will put it right but that means more to-ing and fro-ing for him. The cover maker obviously won't go out to France to check what's wrong.

So I have backed out and decided against doing as he did.

Quite right. No self respecting firm would make from a pattern of a knackered 20 odd year old cover that is stretched out of shape. Guarantee for a poor fit. Once you have seen a skilled cover maker measure up, make a pattern then make and fit to an existing frame you will realise why. It is however quite possible to make both frame and cover without visiting the boat if it is a known design or from a few basic measurements from the boat.

 

[Koeketiene]

Who would know and who would care? Certainly not the French customs.

Likewise, it's not like HMRC is going round every UK boatyard to verify the VAT status of boats there...