Help with Purchase a vessel

[Peter P]

Hello my name is Peter P from Canada with Canadian and Greek citizenship..I am looking to purchase a 32 year old motor boat
From a commercial company in Greece. VAT is not paid or paper work was lost all these years. My question is if i buy it do i have to take it out of the country
every so often? Do i run to any other problems while i keep it in Greece? my plan is to use it less then 4 months a year.
Thanx in advance

 

[Tranona]

Welcome

If the boat is owned by a company that is registered for VAT then they should charge you VAT when they sell it to you. VAT is not a one off payment tax on the asset, but a tax on qualifying transactions. a VAT registered company selling to a private individual is a qualifying transaction. Transactions between private individuals are not qualifying transactions so no VAT is payable.

Within the EU a boat can move around freely within the UNion without paying any further VAT in another state. However from what you say the boat is in Greece and there are no checks on whether VAT is paid or not (nor in reality are there any systematic checks if you go to another state) so the boat is effectively VAT paid if you buy it from a private person. This is all independent of the citizenship or residence of the owner.

So, if it is a company selling it they should charge VAT and give you a receipt and a Bill of Sale, stamped by the local port police. If it is privately owned all you need is a Bill of Sale that passes title to you.

Hope this helps.

 

[Peter P]

Thank for your reply
If i buy such vessel and registered it with Canadian flag
can i keep it in Greece or i have to take it out every so often to a non EU country

 

[Tranona]

Thank for your reply
If i buy such vessel and registered it with Canadian flag
can i keep it in Greece or i have to take it out every so often to a non EU country

Flag is irrelevant to EU VAT rules. The boat is EU VAT paid. You only have to take boats out if they are NOT EU VAT paid. However you may well find Greek officials confuse flag or registration with VAT status which is why it important that you get a Bill of Sale stamped by the port police showing you bought the boat in Greece from a Greek owner.

 

[Peter P]

Thank you for the info Tranona
The seller which he has this vessel registered under a NEPA company
First i was told VAT was paid and we decided on a price.
Then i was told VAT papers were lost or the lawyers involved when he bought it screw things up
Now he wants to sell me the vessel VAT not paid and for me to registered outside EU ex. Canada
and use it in Greek waters. That complicates things right?
As i said before i looking to buy something and leave it in Greece for a few years for personal use
By the way my Canadian 60 ton captain licence and my commercial radio licence are they acceptable in EU countries?

 

[Tranona]

If his company that owns it is VAT registered then it is his responsibility to account for VAT on the sale. If the price including VAT is acceptable to you then buy it. If he does not agree to sell at that price with VAT but without VAT the value of the boat to you is less as you will have to either "import it" and pay VAT or it will be a "third country" boat which will be admitted under TA rules for nominally 18 months at a time after which it has to leave the EU but can immediately re-enter for another 18 months. Many not EU residents keep boats in the EU in this way as the VAT is a saving of 25%, but you have to live with the regular leaving and re-entering. OK if you do it anyway as some cruisers do, spending time in Turkey is common from Greece, or in the west side a short trip to Albania or Montenegro, but may not suit your circumstances.

You can register it in Canada in either case as VAT status is independent of registration or ownership. There is no formal requirement for any qualifications for non Greek citizens, but it might be sensible to get an ICC issued by the Canadian government to reflect your existing qualification. I have a UK issued ICC for when I kept my boat in Greece, but only because I ran it as a charter boat and when I used it I was legally chartering it from my charter company. Private boats are rarely required to show qualifications except if they get involved in an incident (collision, rescue for example) when the authorities could ask for anything!