Chris_Robb
Well-known member
Make sense of the following - the 4 years to 31st december they refer to is the arbitrary date when we are deemed exported from the EU on 31st December 2017..... Understand that- as everything they say is based on that - They will not justify the 2017.....
From the HMCR department responsible for the changes...
Extension to the three-year rule
RGR applies to all goods meeting specific conditions, therefore any extension to the three-year rule would need to apply to all goods. In response to concerns raised that some pleasure craft may have been in the EU for several years and may not meet the normal three-year rule for returning goods to qualify for RGR, the government has agreed a one-year grace period from 1 January to 31 December 2021. Furthermore, under current rules, if any goods are returned after the stipulated time period, HMRC can consider any special circumstances which prevented the goods from being returned to the UK on a case by case basis. As such, the government does not consider it appropriate or necessary to extend the three-year rule any further.
Date of export
The one-year grace period mitigates the need for owners to provide evidence of the actual date of export from the UK, they will only need to demonstrate that the vessel was in the UK at some point.
Extending the relief to pleasure craft that have never been in the UK
The legislation will apply to all goods that have left the UK. To expand this to include items that have never been in the UK would risk a range of goods being imported under RGR that would normally be subject to import duties.
Repairs and maintenance
One of the conditions of RGR is that goods should be re-imported in the same condition as they were on export. Running repairs and maintenance have always been allowed subject to the goods not being exported specifically to be repaired.
Ownership
A key condition of VAT RGR is that the returning items must not have been sold or changed ownership. This is to prevent a sale being made outside the UK territorial waters and therefore being outside the scope of VAT. If a vessel is re-imported during 2021, it will be sufficient to show that any sale or transfer or ownership was made in compliance with VAT legislation.
So my conclusion is that.
If you skedaddle back to the UK by the 31st Dece 2021, you will effectively start the clock again. BUT look at the rules of ownership, - any sale outside the UK will be a problems - that means any sales of a british boat to a brit, after 31/12/2017 will mean that you will not be the same person as the exporter - so have no claim. dead - il et mort.
It clearly looks like any yacht that has NEVER been to the UK, cannot claim VAT. Understandable.... but a tad unfair - but thats life.
Remember that the majority of these boats will have EU Vat - so will maintain their value in a larger market.....
How the RYA have arrived at some of their conclusion I dont know - not looked yet at their latest on Canaries issue.