Buying a boat from France after brexit

[lucaandrew40]

Hi.I have found a boat to buy in France from a private person.I understand I will need to pay a vat when I will bring it to uk but what are the first steps after we agree a price with the seller?Beacuse I will not be there is there a company that can deal with the paperwork?

 

[rafiki_]

You could start with the RYA off the peg form setting out T’s and C’s? Or you could get someone like Adam Baker (Global Yachtbrokers) to help? He operates internationally and could ave you some potentially costly mistakes?

 

[sarabande1]

Ward & McKenzie are another company who could help you with documentation and legal matters relating to importation into the UK

Superyacht Consultancy | Ward & McKenzie (Yacht Consultants) Limited

You could try to reduce your VAT liability by asking the seller to produce 2 different invoices, either an invoice for the correct amount against which you pay + an invoice showing a lower amount which you present to HMRC for VAT assessment or 2 invoices, one for the equipment on board and one for the boat itself at a lower value and you present the latter to HMRC. All highly illegal of course but common in international trade

Or if you are feeling brave, stick a red ensign on the back of the boat and sail it back to a nice, quiet marina in the UK yourself. When you arrive hoist a little yellow Q flag, take a dated/timed picture of it and your boat, hang around for a few hours and hope nobody notices

 

[Jim@sea]

I bought a French Boat when I lived in France and brought it back to the UK
As I understand it each French Boat has a Red "Passport" which is the French Registration, in it are the details of the owner and his photograph.
I also understand that the French keep more documents than us Brits and with the Boat I bought there was the Original Receipt from when it was new (20 years before) and it clearly showed that VAT had been paid.
This I believe is what you should expect when buying a Boat in France.
PS I made a mistake, although the make I bought (Guy Couch) is well known in France they were never imported into the UK, also the engine was an Iveco Marinized van engine. So when in the UK I wanted to sell the boat I really struggled as nobody knew what it was.
I would have been better buying an inferior boat which was imported into the UK as I would have been able to sell it easier.
PPS. Also as I understand it, if you want to Insure a Boat in France with a French Insurance Company they "insist" on a Survey and part of what they do is look at the Boats documents.
Good Luck.