Buying Abroad

[RichardBuchanan]

I am strongly considering buying a (slightly) used motor cruiser that has been advertised for sale in Croatia. The boat is reasonably priced but the price shown is "not including VAT". As I will be importing the boat to the UK, can anyone advise me whether I have to pay VAT on the boat's current value or on its value when new. Also, at what stage do I have to pay the VAT? Is it upon entry into the UK or at some later stage? If no-one knows the answers to these questions can anyone suggest where I might get some straightforward guidance on the matter. Are there any other significant pitfalls of which I should be aware before progressing further?
Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.

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[gjgm]

there are some frequent posts on MBC about importing, though usually from USA.
Vat is payable on the value/purchase price, and i think you have to pay VAT on the shipping too. You also have to pay an import tax, but thats not alot, but it all adds up to close to 20pct in tax levies. Most of these boats come in on ships of course , USA being rather alot of fuel, and the duties have to be paid before release of the vessel. But have a look on the other forum as there are some who have been through the process and can help more....

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[jhr]

The boat may also need to be CE marked, depending on its original provenance, and this can be both expensive and a lengthy process. Again, there have been several postings on MoboChat. Try typing "imported boat" into the search facility and see what you get.

<hr width=100% size=1>Je suis Marxiste - tendance Groucho

 

[miket]

Suggest contacting your local Customs and Excise office for correct and current information.

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[jonjo]

> suggest where I might get some straightforward guidance on the matter.

Be prepared for a long search

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[trialframe]

I imported a new boat from Germany last October. When you bring the boat into the UK you need to notify Customs within I think 7 days. The form can be downloaded from their website. Boat will be classed as a 'New means of Transport' (NMT).
On receipt of the form they will issue you with a demand for the VAT payable in 30 days.

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[extravert]

What you are describing is the procedure for bringing a boat into the EU from outside the EU (which was what the original post asked). Why did you have to do this on a boat from Germany? No extra VAT should have been payable, and customs do not normally get involved in movements between EU states.

<hr width=100% size=1>One day, I want to be a real sailor. In the mean time I'll just keep trying.

 

[whisper]

That depends on size of boat - over or under 7.5m. - and whether one opts to pay VAT in co. of origin or not. In this instance it may be that the boat purchased in Germany had not had VAT charged on it when new.
We bought a new boat in Denmark in 2002, paid the VAT there(25%), then paid UK VAT soon after entry, got receipt for this so then reclaimed from Denmark the original VAT. Thereby saved 7.5% on the already attractive Danish price.
Don't quite understand why this person would want to pay UK VAT on the German purchase as I thought that German VAT was only 16% so it would be cheaper to pay their tax rather than ours.
No idea what the situation is re buying from outside the EU but the best place to find out would be HM Customs & Excise, though that can be a bit tedious.

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[trialframe]

to the best of my knowledge, you HAVE to pay the VAT in the UK if you import a NEW boat from an EEC country. Therefore you purchase the boat ex VAT from the country of origin. You can opt to pay the VAT at source only if the boat is a demo boat ( this is strictly defined)

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[whisper]

That's not what we did in 2002. At that time it depended on the o'all length of the boat. Under 7.5m - VAT in country of origin, over 7.5m - we had the choice of UK or country of origin VAT.

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