From Turkey to EU - Paying Vat on 10 year old yacht

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raintownjimmy

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Has anyone moved a yacht (bought non VAT paid) into Europe? specifically Spain. We are having trouble working out how it is valued for VAT purposes as we bought it 6 years ago. Malta has been suggested as somewhere that is 'pragmatic' about valuation but no concrete advice about that or about Spain.

Any advice or experiences much appreciated.
 
The rules are that you pay VAT on entry to the first country you enter unless you have a prior arrangement to pay it in a specific state.

The rules are not prescriptive about the base for VAT except that it should represent market value, but if you have recently bought it the price you paid could be used as a base value. Some states (such as Spain) use a formula based on a "book" value allowing for depreciation, but if the boat does not have published values they may estimate it - often less than other states may determine.

If the boat has a high value (and therefore potentially high VAT) might be worth employing a professional to deal with the VAT.
 
Thanks for replying. The boat is up for sale as it happens and getting zero interest, perhaps because she is based in Turkey where the charter market has taken a nosedive and the Turkish Lira is falling in value which makes her expensive for Turkish buyers. Ill do some research into what she would be likely to be valued at in Spain based on boats for sale there.
 
If the boat has a non Turkish flag then there won’t be any local market as It’s almost impossible and hugely expensive to get a Turkish flag on a 2nd hand boat. However depending on your residence status in Turkey and how long the boat has been there you may still be able to avail of an amnesty introduced a couple of years ago which makes the process of getting a Turkish flag quite cheap and then makes the boat more salable here. I did this late last year and sold to a local buyer. You could also take the boat to Greece or another EU country on temporary importation if you qualify for that based on your residency and advertise it VAT not paid. I bought in Greece on that basis last autumn.
 
As well as valuation, you might want to consider VAT rates: Greece (the 'natural' EU country to sail to from Turkey), 24%; Malta 18%; Spain 21%.

Turkey is in a customs union with the EU (as distinct from being part of the EU customs union). That being so, customs duty may not be payable in addition to VAT but you would be wise to check this.

The boat will need to meet RCD certification. If it's 10 years old and of EU manufacture it should already do so.

If you are moving residence from outside the EU and have owned the vessel for over 12 months (you mention six years), it may qualify for relief of VAT and duty. See S 3.15 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...-pleasure-craft-to-and-from-the-uk#section315
 
Irish Rover said:
You could also take the boat to Greece or another EU country on temporary importation if you qualify for that based on your residency and advertise it VAT not paid. I bought in Greece on that basis last autumn.
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TI is very specifically not available for importing a boat to the EU for the purpose of sale. I well remember your purchase which, on the basis of the information we had was somewhat grey...inasmuch as we had no way of knowing whether the previous owner had the intention to sell when he placed it under TI. Perhaps he didn't have.

As you imply, equally key is where the boat's owner is resident. If EU, TI is not available.
 
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macd said:
TI is very specifically not available for importing a boat to the EU for the purpose of sale. I well remember your purchase which, on the basis of the information we had was somewhat grey...inasmuch as we had no way of knowing whether the previous owner had the intention to sell when he placed it under TI. Perhaps he didn't have.
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True but intention is rather difficult to establish and it’s not something I personally would worry about based on my personal experience unless of course you’re aware of actual instances of this technicality being enforced. I’m just putting ideas forward based on my personal experiences and it’s up to the OP. To decide if they apply to him or are helpful.
 
If the boat is for sale, be careful about valuations as they might decide that the value for VAT purposes is the asking price.

If you are wanting it done on "maket value", then have some adverts for other boats the same model and age to show the VAT inspector as evidence of your delcared value.

Malta has the owest VAT rate in the Med I believe.
 
raintownjimmy said:
Thanks for replying. The boat is up for sale as it happens and getting zero interest, perhaps because she is based in Turkey where the charter market has taken a nosedive and the Turkish Lira is falling in value which makes her expensive for Turkish buyers. Ill do some research into what she would be likely to be valued at in Spain based on boats for sale there.
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You would need to sail it direct to Spain to pay the VAT there. If the boat is bought at a low price compared with a similar boat for sale in the EU (calculate this at price*80%) then it is worth considering. Your best bet for paying the tax is probably Malta. Lowest rate and anxious to get revenue. If you have just bought the boat it is rather difficult to argue a value lower than the price you paid, so that is the base for duties and VAT.

Suggest you talk to Maltese customs rather than Spain. Plus, of course, Malta is a relatively easy sail from Turkey.
 
macd said:
Not if it's expressly aired on a public forum... ;)
Perhaps the OP should exercise a little care if he plans going down the TI route (all mentions of which, of course, aren't his).
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I can just imagine the Greek Customs Authorities issuing a circular to all it's regional and local offices telling them to watch out for an application for TI from raintownjimmy who has recently started posting on ybw.com.
 
Tranona said:
The rules are that you pay VAT on entry to the first country you enter unless you have a prior arrangement to pay it in a specific state.

The rules are not prescriptive about the base for VAT except that it should represent market value, but if you have recently bought it the price you paid could be used as a base value. Some states (such as Spain) use a formula based on a "book" value allowing for depreciation, but if the boat does not have published values they may estimate it - often less than other states may determine.

If the boat has a high value (and therefore potentially high VAT) might be worth employing a professional to deal with the VAT.
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I think you could visit other eu countries on the way to Spain and get away with it provided you don't stay too long - but a further problem in Spain is you will have to pay a 12% matriculation tax on top of the IVA - VAT. Worse than that the vessel will be Spanish flagged and therefore you will in theory at least need a Spanish boat driving licence... until you re-register her as a UK boat.... There is a Spanish boat lawyer on my web site: Alex Chumillas - http://www.michaelbriant.com/spain_boat_rules.htm who can do all this for you but be aware he is not going to hand out free advice.
I imported Paw Paw via him when I first moved permanently to Spain and he organised it so i did not pay the 12% matriculation tax, got a certificate that I could sell her on after one year (which I am now doing) and keep my British Flag so I didn't have to get Spanish Government Sailing Qualifications.
 
Paw Paw said:
I think you could visit other eu countries on the way to Spain and get away with it provided you don't stay too long - but a further problem in Spain is you will have to pay a 12% matriculation tax on top of the IVA - VAT. Worse than that the vessel will be Spanish flagged and therefore you will in theory at least need a Spanish boat driving licence... until you re-register her as a UK boat.... There is a Spanish boat lawyer on my web site: Alex Chumillas - http://www.michaelbriant.com/spain_boat_rules.htm who can do all this for you but be aware he is not going to hand out free advice.
I imported Paw Paw via him when I first moved permanently to Spain and he organised it so i did not pay the 12% matriculation tax, got a certificate that I could sell her on after one year (which I am now doing) and keep my British Flag so I didn't have to get Spanish Government Sailing Qualifications.
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There is no grace period for paying VAT. You could of course risk it but if you do get caught there is a fine plus The VAT. there was a case reported here a couple of years ago 9by the person who was caught) who intended to pay the VAT in UK but was stopped in italy 2000 euros plus the VAT (and hassle).

Not sure you have to pay matriculation tax, nor register in Spain - you are importing into the EU and just pay the VAT in the state where you land. Commonly done in the Azores, for example without importing the boat into Portugal.
 
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