Do foreign flagged yachts get checked in the EU?

I've now been 6 years sailing around in Spanish, Portuguese and Moroccan waters in my British flagged boat. I've been checked in every harbour by Portuguese customs and Guarda in Madeira and the Azores, by customs and 2 police agencies at a time in 3 Moroccan ports but only three times in Spain in over 70 months in scores of harbours and anchorages here.

So my own conclusion is that it varies by policy by each state and, possibly by perception of the value of the boat. My 10m 45 year old boat wouldn't yield much tax revenue even if I was liable (and I don't believe that I am.) And if I was, as far as I understand it, it would be for a maximum of €3000. So a small risk and an affordable worst case outcome.

But if I had a €million boat I would arrange my affairs so that they were unquestionable. And even an ignoramus like me is aware that 'exporting' your boat out of the EU and then sailing it in EU waters close to or beyond the limits allowed is legally fraught.
 
From what I saw, danish nationals with new boat, registration to a US company set up for this and US flagged, all to avoid tax due. They had agreed to sail straight out of EU waters but for a number of reasons came back it without discussing with customs and it bit them. I saw it as a sob story for sympathy when they knew exactly what they were trying to do
 
Last edited:
Daverw said:
From what I saw, de ish nationals with new boat, registration to a US company set up for this and US flagged, all to avoid tax due. They had agreed to sail straight out of EU waters but for a number of reasons came back it without discussing with customs and it bit them. I saw it as a sob story for sympathy when they knew exactly what they were trying to do
Click to expand...
This is pretty much what I thought.

My take-away is the following ....

1. Make the first move - Involve the authorities and ask questions before they ask you, and before you do anything that might end up with you chained to a dock for 3 months.
2. Make sure your paperwork is in order, and get it checked by the authorities, or if you can afford it, use an agent like the superyachts do.

If planning to use "innocent passage" or "adverse weather" as an excuse for side-stepping the immigration and taxation rules of a sovereign state, be aware that you are operating in an environment of drug/people smuggling, with an increasingly political migrant situation. The 1st world problem of unpaid VAT is a distraction. There is also the very real possibility that a message is being sent to the boating community as a whole, and that is, don't take liberties with our immigration and tax laws. Is it really surprising that the authorities all over southern Europe are taking no prisoners when it comes to enforcing their laws. Being a relatively well off European won't save you from the inconvenience involved in extracting yourself from a problem of your own making.
 
And if you are going to hope nobody notices your rule breaking - probably best not to have a YouTube channel… I doubt the authorities are watching YouTube to find targets but there are people who would see it as their duty to tip off the authorities about tax evasion or immigration offences.
 
ylop said:
And if you are going to hope nobody notices your rule breaking - probably best not to have a YouTube channel… I doubt the authorities are watching YouTube to find targets but there are people who would see it as their duty to tip off the authorities about tax evasion or immigration offences.
Click to expand...
+1 ...... Never underestimate the internal turmoil of people who would love to break the rules but can't bring themselves to do it, and the animosity they feel towards those that benefit from flaunting the rules.
 
Baggywrinkle said:
Nightmare .... it appears the boat was exported from Denmark, don't know the residency status of the owners but they spent 73 days chained in harbour while it was sorted out.

Make of it what you will ....

Click to expand...
EU citizens. They exported the boat to Turkey stopping on the way. Then left Turkey and stopped in the EU with a non-EU VAT paid boat.

Surprise, surprise. As anyone here knows, you enter the EU as an EU citizen with a non-EU VAT paid boat, you need to pay VAT.
 
westernman said:
EU citizens. They exported the boat to Turkey stopping on the way. Then left Turkey and stopped in the EU with a non-EU VAT paid boat.

Surprise, surprise. As anyone here knows, you enter the EU as an EU citizen with a non-EU VAT paid boat, you need to pay VAT.
Click to expand...
They had it wrapped up in an ownership structure where they could avoid EU VAT, but no, I'm also not surprised they spent the best part of 3 months chained to a dock while it was sorted out.
 
Baggywrinkle said:
Nightmare .... it appears the boat was exported from Denmark, don't know the residency status of the owners but they spent 73 days chained in harbour while it was sorted out.

Make of it what you will ....

Click to expand...
People doing dodgy VAT juggling get interrogated..and seemingly were unconvincing. Amazing that they set up this scheme, had all of this knowledge of VAT law, had the permit to sail for 90 days to Turkey and yet according to themselves had never previously had a lawyer?

Baggywrinkle said:
+1 ...... Never underestimate the internal turmoil of people who would love to break the rules but can't bring themselves to do it, and the animosity they feel towards those that benefit from flaunting the rules.
Click to expand...
Or the animosity of those who obey the rules, towards folks who think they are more clever and who attempt to abuse the rules to avoid paying their fair share..

Those people need to be "buckled up" again until they have paid twice the proper amount of VAT.... I think they got away very cheaply...
 
pandos said:
Or the animosity of those who obey the rules, towards folks who think they are more clever and who attempt to abuse the rules to avoid paying their fair share..
Click to expand...
I am quite philosophical about that, it's their choice and their risk. If it impacts me directly I'll react, but otherwise I tend to leave it to karma.

I live a stress-free life by adhering to the rules, and recently acquiring German citizenship, I've come to greatly appreciate Schadenfreude. It does make me chuckle when people get caught.
 
We've (UK reg) been based in Portugal for 19 years and over the years have been boarded maybe half a dozen times on our mooring and once when anchoring off Mazagon in Spain. In every case, they only wanted to see passports, registration and insurance. I get the impression that those who have been questioned about VAT are sailing fairly new boats, not old bangers like ours.

Only run-in with customs was in Gib, when we had purchased twice our allowance of cigs from the bond warehouse. Customs officer sorted it by converting one of our lockers into a bond locker and sealing it.
 
Happens also between EU countries. We're German-flagged, and have been boarded in Sweden (multiple times), Ireland, and Spain. All friendly interactions, though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top