buying from america

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herdman

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Hi - does anyone know how you buy from the US? In particular, if, for instance, a boat cost USD 50,000 , then cost 16,000 dollars to ship over, I assume you would just pay VAT at 17.5% on the 50,000?? And if you bought the boat in the US, then had some work done (eg to the value of 20,000 USD??) would the vat you pay still just be on the original 50,000 USD?? or 70,000 USD (NB I assume it is VAT that you have to pay and not anything higher....) thanks v much....
 
The rates are as follows:

You pay VAT on the invoice price of the vessel, in this case $50,000. You would pay VAT on the shipping as well I am afraid, again at 17.5%.

On top of the VAT you also pay import tax, which for yachts is 1.7% but you only pay this on the Yacht, not the shipping.

On any work you have done in the states, this should be invoiced seperatly and therefor is not subject to VAT or Import Duty (But may be subject to sales tax in the US).

For your figures, the bill would be:

$50,000 (Yacht)
$16,000 (Shipping)
$20,000 (Works)
$11,500 (VAT)
$00,850 (Import Duty)

$98,350 (Total Cost)


When I bought a US boat back in 2004, it was advertised for $25,000. I got a really good deal and paid just $12,500 - though the broker invoiced me for services he supplied another $12,500. I was happy to pay this because he had done a very good job. I then paid the VAT and Import Duty on the $12,500 I paid for the boat when it arrived back.
 
You also need to consider the cost of obtaining CE type approval if that indibvidual boat has not already been in use in the EU -- I haven't got this quite right technically as there are some relevant dates but someone will be along shortly to give the full details.
The cost and difficulty of achieving this normally puts people off.
What I don't understand though is how/if it is ever enforced. After all if you import a 10 year old Malo 36 from the US and I buy one in the solent in 2 years time who is going to know/care that mine has been in use in the EU for 10 years , therefore doesn't need type approval whereas yours was first in use in the UK after the magic date and therefore does need type approval??
 
VAT rules require VAT to be levied on the whole transaction, including delivery and any parts/works done on the boat after sale and before delivery to the UK. That's what it says in the book. Oh, and C&E may make their own assessment of value, not necessarily the purchase invoice you are waving frantically in your hand!

The concept is that you pay tax on what you've imported to its total market value.

You might want to land it somewhere else in the EU and negotiate a better deal - it's been done, and it's legit. You only have to show you have paid EU dues in one of the constituent countries: beware, if you import the boat immediately into the UK from another EU country in this way, HMCE have the right to charge you VAT as above, and oblige you to recover the VAT paid to the country of first import. If you were to declare it, of course. It's all a revenue gouging game. So you will want to delay your grand entry into the UK, won't you? At least for 3 months.

Fun isn't it? Wonder why hardly anyone makes a DIY import from the USA. Please don't think this is protectionist crap, as you should know the EU is founded on a religious observance of free market principles...democracy......

PWG
 
What you seem to be referring to is the Recreational Craft Directive, which has nothing to do with the EU but with the EEA. As you suggest, it's a considerable issue. Some EEA-built vessels US would not be required to comply if built before a certain date (which I don't have off the top of my head). Many more recent boats, particularly of a type routinely sold in Europe, would be RCD-compliant, which isn't precisely the issue so much as whether they have a plate and paperwork to prove it.
There's chapter and verse on the RYA website, and in previous threads.
 
I am thinking of buying a 1987 Moody. We sail her to the Azores and then to Britain.
Since the Azores are Portugal I understand, that I have to pay the VAT in the Azores, since it is the first stop in the EEC.
Has anybody done it and how much was the VAT?
I also understand that the Azores have different VAT rules.
Tried to find some answers on the net, but nobody had it really done.
The other issue is the CE since most European boats have never been used before in the EEC (They were shipped after manufacturing to the U.S.A)
I am really looking for an answer.
 
you maybe wholly correct, but I m not sure that all aspects covered by RCD would always be met by an EAA boat exported to USA. Obviously, the more it is, the better, but someone still has to go through those 500 odd pages and verify, and then specify what (maybe minor) aspects (such as a manual bilge pump) need to be fitted.
 
This, lifted verbatim from the RYA website, is the point I was making, lines 3 and 4:

A boat does not need to comply with the RCD if:-
It is one of the exclusions listed in Appendix 2
It was built in the EEA prior to 16 June 1998
It was in use in the EEA prior to 16 June 1998
It is only visiting the EEA for reasons of tourism or in transit (time scales are undefined)
 
Please see my post of a few moments ago regarding RCD compliance. If the boat was built or used in the EEA prior to 16 June 1998, it has an exclusion from RCD certification.

There are plenty of previous posts on VAT payment in the Azores, where VAT would indeed become due. As I think I mentioned earlier, the attraction is that the Azores authorities are reputed to accept lower VAT-able valuations than their UK counterparts. x% of $70K is a lot less painful than x% of $100K.

Contrary to what some have suggested, the VAT-able amount is not necessarily the sum paid for the vessel, but the authorities' assessment of its worth (although the two may be the same). If a kindly uncle gave you a boat in the US, for instance, $0 would not be its VAT-able value in the EU. The Azores are said to accept any feasible valuation. A post search will throw up the details of a boatyard (in Horta, I think) which has been helpful to other yotties on this issue.
 
I am currently considering buying a used Catalina 36 from the US. I understand that it will need RCD compliance etc but there are a couple of things I am not clear on.

1) Does VAT have to be paid when the vessel enters an EU port or when the vessel reaches my own home port ?

2) Is there a time frame in which RCD compliance has to be concluded ?
 
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