HMRC _ Clarity at last on RGR and Special Circumstances

[Beneteau381]

No, I'm certainly not ok, although I won't be caught by the VAT changes.
I will be denied the lifestyle I have adopted for the last 16 years, basing my boat in continental Europe and spending my summers there.
My comment was not that the VAT rules are "fair" (IMO nothing about Brexit is fair) just that there has been a significant period for those affected to prepare.
Anyone affected adversely by Brexit has my sympathy.

why dont you go to the lounge area and moan?

 

[Shaddickp]

The RGR documents are pretty clear except they make reference to a boat having been 'exported' over 3 years ago may be eligible for it. My boat is in Greece and has been since I sailed away from Portsmouth in 2017. All I did was start the engine and set off. I DID not 'export' the boat or any other formality. So if I come back in late summer 2022 (current plan), will the boat be ineligible for RGR as it was never formally exported?

 

[Graham376]

The RGR documents are pretty clear except they make reference to a boat having been 'exported' over 3 years ago may be eligible for it. My boat is in Greece and has been since I sailed away from Portsmouth in 2017. All I did was start the engine and set off. I DID not 'export' the boat or any other formality. So if I come back in late summer 2022 (current plan), will the boat be ineligible for RGR as it was never formally exported?

AS far as HMRC are concerned, you took it out of the country therefore exported, whether you declared it or not. In the past, the 3 year rule has always been flexible so, you may get an extension but it all depends on whether they're clamping down.

 

[sailaboutvic]

I still not convinced how this is going to work , without get myself in trouble again from the eagle eye , what the real chances of returning back say mid summer and being stopped and ask for prove of VAT , let face it is every boat in the UK going to have to carry prove of uk VAT payment or prove where the boat was in Dec 31 every time they go out? Are the boarder force going to ask every boat they stop ?
Yes there a slim change of getting stop crossing back .
I think one of the question ask by the yachtline is VAT paid in the UK, I think if your vat was paid in the UK at some point and you have that prove , by answering yes that isn't lie in.( also known by people in our government as spinning the truth)
If the question was worded has the boat been exported then that another thing .

 

[Graham376]

I still not convinced how this is going to work , without get myself in trouble again from the eagle eye , what the real chances of returning back say mid summer and being stopped and ask for prove of VAT , let face it is every boat in the UK going to have to carry prove of uk VAT payment or prove where the boat was in Dec 31 every time they go out? Are the boarder force going to ask every boat they stop ?
Yes there a slim change of getting stop crossing back .
I think one of the question ask by the yachtline is VAT paid in the UK, I think if your vat was paid in the UK at some point and you have that prove , by answering yes that isn't lie in.( also known by people in our government as spinning the truth)
If the question was worded has the boat been exported then that another thing .

If departures have to be reported when going foreign and then checked against arrivals, there will be a problem. OTOH, if returning to UK along with several other boats from a long weekend cruise to say Cherbourg then I would think there's little chance of being caught sneaking back in.

 

[syvictoria]

If departures have to be reported when going foreign and then checked against arrivals, there will be a problem. OTOH, if returning to UK along with several other boats from a long weekend cruise to say Cherbourg then I would think there's little chance of being caught sneaking back in.

I would have thought that there will probably be little chance of being physically 'caught'. It's more a matter of whether or not you're prepared to lie/bend the truth both verbally and in writing each time you re-enter the UK. As far as I'm aware, both Yachtline and the postal form will ask specifically about the vessel's VAT status.

 

[Graham376]

I would have thought that there will probably be little chance of being physically 'caught'. It's more a matter of whether or not you're prepared to lie/bend the truth both verbally and in writing each time you re-enter the UK. As far as I'm aware, both Yachtline and the postal form will ask specifically about the vessel's VAT status.

I sure when faced with an £8k or more VAT bill, plenty of porkies will be told. Whether it's worth the risk of boat being seized plus a hefty fine if caught is down to the individual to decide. In time, as things calm down we may hopefully be back to the previous situation where extensions to the three year rule were the norm.