How do people sail Guernsey registered boats in UK mainland water?

ds797 said:
Genuine question, but I see many boats seemingly "permanently" based in UK, but registered in Guernsey, for example the racing yacht in the third picture here:

Tokoloshe II and PowerPlay triumph in RORC Race the Wight

So, presumably (and definitely not making any accusations), they are VAT-unpaid in UK, so how are they based in UK?

Thanks!
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VAT has nothing to do with registration (for all kinds of red duster registrations).
 
I understand that, but in that case why do British residents not all register their boats in Guernsey/Jersey/Cayman Islands and then they won't have to pay VAT.....?
 
ds797 said:
I understand that, but in that case why do British residents not all register their boats in Guernsey/Jersey/Cayman Islands and then they won't have to pay VAT.....?
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You could be asked for proof anytime if it seems permanently based in the U.K. and you are a U.K. resident.
Some pay the VAT anyhow with Caymen island esp if it’s Med based .
Caymen islands are registered as owned by a island company. Historically the co did not have to publish accounts .
Officialdom could ask for the accounts only ( after paying a fee ) but they legally did not have to name all the directors* .So it was used as away of keeping your ownership anonymous .

How ever recent changes , stuff like the Liechtenstein leaks and other “ co operation “ world wide with the likes of the Swiss banks playing ball with anti money laundering measures , the Caymen official register now has a pathway to identify key shareholders in entities that pro-port to own a boat / super yacht .Not open to the public I understand only via a convoluted pathway open to other officialdoms from a list .In a way some sort of smallish step towards complying with the world anti money laundering ethos .

So for the sake of example hypothetically speaking , the news of the world can not find out about Kiers Starmers SY berthed in Monaco :D .
But no doubt if suspicious the U.K. inland revenue could ( if on the agreed list ) if they wish probe further. Something like that . Then wonder where the money came from on a MP s pay?

But a tabloid reporter asking the Caymen island registrar direct will not be able to find out .He might see the anonymous Co accounts FWIW but the version with no named directors so cannot make the link .

Back to U.K. owners with CI boats in the U.K. mainland, they might be visiting on TI .Say Leander hosting the Royals before returning to the Med /Caribbean etc .All above board .

Some Co owned U.K. boats will be VAT free and loss making charter entities used to off set the loss against tax one way or another either directly or carried fwd in the owners global tax return . During a typical business year they will claim VAT back of expenses where they can . How ever HMRC will challenge faux entities.

I think for the uk channel islands you need to a resident of said island to reg a boat .
 
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We used to own a Fairline Targa 35 that was registered in Jersey when we bought it. We kept up the registration because it was the equivalent of Part 1 registration in the UK, so helpful in terms of showing the provenance of the boat and the absence of a mortgage when it came to sell. We had to have an agent in Jersey to keep the registration there but that is an easily sourced service for a modest fee.

If memory serves a previous owner was a resident in Jersey, which was why it was registered there in the first place.
 
ds797 said:
I understand that, but in that case why do British residents not all register their boats in Guernsey/Jersey/Cayman Islands and then they won't have to pay VAT.....?
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Registration is nothing to do with VAT. A UK resident cannot own and keep a boat in the UK without VAT having been paid - irrespective of its registration. The only reasons for registering the boat is to show the flag state when abroad or so that legal title is registered.

The Guernsey registered boats you see are either UK VAT paid or belong to non residents and in the UK under temporary importation rules.
 
Tranona said:
………

The Guernsey registered boats you see are either UK VAT paid or belong to non residents and in the UK under temporary importation rules.
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Or are chancers breaking the law. There have been some examples on these forums of Channel Islands registered boats in the UK, owned by UK residents and allegedly not having paid VAT - as has been easy to simply bring a boat across a few miles of channel and very few challenged. But would be tax evasion.
I suspect going forward a Guernsey or Jersey registration will be literally a “red flag” inviting extra care from officials in checking the VAT paperwork, particularly in the EU, as the Channel Islands are known to not require local VAT payment.
 
I suspect that any boat registered in the CI but kept in the UK is far more likely to have questions asked about its VAT status than a boat registered in the UK. If I owned a Guernsey or Jersey registered boat, and there were any doubts about os VAT status, which lets be honest is quite likely, I would at least register on the SSR and remove all traces of said Channel islands from the transom.
 
dunedin said:
Or are chancers breaking the law. There have been some examples on these forums of Channel Islands registered boats in the UK, owned by UK residents and allegedly not having paid VAT - as has been easy to simply bring a boat across a few miles of channel and very few challenged. But would be tax evasion.
I suspect going forward a Guernsey or Jersey registration will be literally a “red flag” inviting extra care from officials in checking the VAT paperwork, particularly in the EU, as the Channel Islands are known to not require local VAT payment.
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Yes this has happened in the past and probably still does now.
quite a few plain clothed customs and excise officers on the S. Coast who do follow up ownership and vat status.
 
dunedin said:
Or are chancers breaking the law. There have been some examples on these forums of Channel Islands registered boats in the UK, owned by UK residents and allegedly not having paid VAT - as has been easy to simply bring a boat across a few miles of channel and very few challenged. But would be tax evasion.
I suspect going forward a Guernsey or Jersey registration will be literally a “red flag” inviting extra care from officials in checking the VAT paperwork, particularly in the EU, as the Channel Islands are known to not require local VAT payment.
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Yes, living in Poole (closest big place to the CIs) I am well aware of that and of a number of boats in the harbour that have come from there without paying VAT. However don't think any of them were stupide enough to keep the CIs flag.

CI registration is nothing new and doubt HMRC would specifically target such boats except perhaps now simply because they will be paying more attention to all boats arriving in the UK. Having a CI registration is a poor indicator of non payment of VAT - in fact you can have a non VAT paid boat in the CIs registered on the main UK register.

There has always been the issue of CI boats going to France and it does not cause an issue. Being non EU residents they are entitled to keep their boats there for up to 18 months under TI rules without paying VAT. Brexit does not change what has been the situation for nearly 30 years.

The original post really raises a non issue. - the boats he highlights may well be owned by CI residents and be in the UK quite legally as visitors under the TI rules for 18 months - which starts again after a trip back to the CIs.
 
madabouttheboat said:
I suspect that any boat registered in the CI but kept in the UK is far more likely to have questions asked about its VAT status than a boat registered in the UK. If I owned a Guernsey or Jersey registered boat, and there were any doubts about os VAT status, which lets be honest is quite likely, I would at least register on the SSR and remove all traces of said Channel islands from the transom.
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Totally disagree.

We are registered in Guernsey, resident in England and Part 1 registered with nothing to hide, why would we remove all traces of the boats ancestry?
 
I assume HMRC are only interested if its VAT paid or not a Guernsey or CI registered boat can be VAT paid.

It also depends on the status of the owner, I as a Guernsey Resident could use my boat to visit the UK and for I assume X months.

An English, Welsh, Scot or NI resident would be expected to pay VAT upon bringing a CI registered boat in to norther waters.

I have not used the status of UK, as the CI are part of the UK, this goes back to when as part of the Duchy of Normandie the CI and others conquered England in 1066 and later, Wales.
 
Keith -I, Point taken, let's settle on being Crown Dependencies and possessions of the Crown in her title of Duke of Normandy.

But, we do not refer to England as being our mainland!
 
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