Croatia NON - VAT boat purchase experience (Blog Style)

[Ramsey]

No. As I said earlier only non-EU flagged vessels can avail of TA.

ok, ok. Just found it interesting that you cannot do that in EU, but you can do it in UK.

sorry for the ignorance, but what's the difference between Part 1 and SSR ??

 

[Stingo]

...

sorry for the ignorance, but what's the difference between Part 1 and SSR ??

See the reply in post #18

 

[Irish Rover]

ok, ok. Just found it interesting that you cannot do that in EU, but you can do it in UK.

sorry for the ignorance, but what's the difference between Part 1 and SSR ??

You're just getting yourself confused talking about the EU and the UK as if they were one. They are not. You cannot bring a UK flagged boat to the UK on TA and you cannot bring an EU flagged boat to the EU on TA.

 

[Ramsey]

You're just getting yourself confused talking about the EU and the UK as if they were one. They are not. You cannot bring a UK flagged boat to the UK on TA and you cannot bring an EU flagged boat to the EU on TA.

Post #18 seems to disagree wit this.

 

[Tranona]

You're just getting yourself confused talking about the EU and the UK as if they were one. They are not. You cannot bring a UK flagged boat to the UK on TA and you cannot bring an EU flagged boat to the EU on TA.

That is not true. Flag is irrelevant. It is residence of the owner that determines whether TA is available in both EU and UK customs areas. Legally in an EU sense the fact that the boat is registered in the EU is also irrelevant although as this (and many other threads on the subject) some states and/or local officials have difficulty with that concept.

 

[Baggywrinkle]

so, being a Swiss resident, could I keep my NON-VAT boat under a Polish flag, using temp admission in EU ?!?!?!!?

No ... they have rules on registration state for eligibility of TA ...

Here are the UK ones ...

Check if the vessel is eligible for Temporary Admission relief​

Relief under Temporary Admission is subject to certain conditions. The vessel must:

• be registered outside the UK in the name of a person established outside the UK
• belong to someone whose normal place of residence is outside the UK if the vessel is not registered
• be used by a non-UK resident (except for limited exceptions)

The vessel must be clear to identify, for example by the:

• registration number or certificate
• name of the vessel
• hull identification number

Sailing a pleasure craft into the UK temporarily for private use

Here are the EU ones ...

What are the basics?

Non-EU vessels which are intended for re-export may be temporarily be brought into and used for private purposes in the EU, or more strictly in the 'customs territory of the Union, (which includes our territorial waters) without customs duties or Value Added Tax (VAT) needing to be paid.

https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2018-04/rules_for_private_boats-faq_en.pdf

If you have a Polish flag then the boat is an EU vessel so not eligible for TA.

 

[Irish Rover]

That is not true. Flag is irrelevant. It is residence of the owner that determines whether TA is available in both EU and UK customs areas.

I'd be interested to see some official links confirming this. Anything I've read suggest otherwise.

 

[Ramsey]

interestingly enough, this is exactly what both "register companies ive contacted told me: "residence of the owner that determines whether TA is available" confused to the max now. Baggy is doing the research as we speak...

 

[Baggywrinkle]

To summarise:

If an individual owns a private boat for their own use then ....

To keep a boat in the EU, regardless of flag state, an EU-resident is required to pay VAT - boat is then EU goods and in free circulation.

To keep a boat in the EU, with no VAT paid, the owner must be a non-EU resident and the boat must be flagged outside the EU - boat can be used under Temporary Admission rules..

To keep a boat in the EU with VAT paid, the flag state and residence of the owner are irrelevant as long as evidence exists to show EU VAT paid and the boat has not changed hands outside the EU.

If it has left the EU then it must return with the same owner and fulfill the returned goods rules to avail itself of returned goods relief.

Returned goods rules in this link:

General rules for duty relief on returned goods

 

[Irish Rover]

If anyone else was the author of #25 I would have said @Baggywrinkle has done the research - Case closed. However @Tranona is an acknowledged expert in these matters so let's wait for his response - posted in reply to #28 which I neglected to quote.

 

[Baggywrinkle]

If anyone else was the author of #25 I would have said @Baggywrinkle has done the research - Case closed. However @Tranona is an acknowledged expert in these matters so let's wait for his response - posted in reply to #28 which I neglected to quote.

I've had problems with the Croatians and Sloveniens once in 2021 as they refused to acknowledge my U.K. flagged boat was VAT paid and told the new Slovenien owner he needed to pay VAT.

I got a spedition company to produce a T2L based on my Croatian import paperwork from when Croatia acceded to the EU in 2013 - they then accepted it as VAT paid and the boat was sold as EU goods - it was EU accession rules that deemed it VAT paid due to age, I never actually paid VAT, just a token sum for import duties and the associated paperwork.

Up until accession it was in Croatia under TA rules and I was German resident. The Croatian government were very late writing the EU accession rules into Croatian law, and they introduced a scheme which reduced VAT to 5% for boats in the run-up to accession, including a requirement to register the boat in Croatia. This was a clear money grab, 5% instead of the 25% as a sweetener but I knew I didn't have to pay any VAT and I didn't want a Croatian registered boat subject to Croatian rules, so I ignored it, waited for accession and they were forced by EU law to deem boats older than 8 years old VAT paid. I completed the import paperwork with no issues and no VAT bill.

My current fight is the Croatians refusing to accept that I can retain EU goods status (VAT paid) on a VAT paid German registered boat - evidenced by invoice showing VAT. Both the seller and buyer are German resident and the boat will change hands in a Croatian marina. Their reasoning is that because I am going to register it in the U.K. it will lose it's EU VAT paid status which is wrong.

I'm confident I'll prevail, but plan b is German registration just in case.

 

[Tranona]

If anyone else was the author of #25 I would have said @Baggywrinkle has done the research - Case closed. However @Tranona is an acknowledged expert in these matters so let's wait for his response - posted in reply to #28 which I neglected to quote.

Apologies you are right - I was too hasty in my reply and neglected to double check on the TA conditions. Reinforces the need for the OP to keep everything about the boat's documentation away from the EU

 

[Irish Rover]

Apologies you are right - I was too hasty in my reply and neglected to double check on the TA conditions. Reinforces the need for the OP to keep everything about the boat's documentation away from the EU

Thanks for the correction. Even Homer nods .

 

[Tranona]

Just to add a thought Channel Islands registration makes sense as that allows TA in both EU and UK customs areas. TA is to a custom area not the sovereign state and UK overseas territories are not in the UK customs area.

 

[Irish Rover]

Just to add a thought Channel Islands registration makes sense as that allows TA in both EU and UK customs areas. TA is to a custom area not the sovereign state and UK overseas territories are not in the UK customs area.

True, if the OP has any wish you visit the UK - surely not .
Seriously I registered a previous boat in Jersey when the UK was still in the club. I found the Jersey registry excellent to deal with - pretty much on a par with the UKSR.

 

[Tranona]

He plans to go walkabouts and the UK should be on any tourists list , or it might have a nostalgia attraction for him. The Red Ensign registries have been around for a long time so should know what they are doing.

 

[Irish Rover]

He plans to go walkabouts and the UK should be on any tourists list , or it might have a nostalgia attraction for him. The Red Ensign registries have been around for a long time so should know what they are doing.

I got in trouble last week for joking about rubber ducks so I'd best keep my thoughts to myself .

 

[Baggywrinkle]

Wrong thread ... doh!