importing from holland

[gomez]

I am thinking of importing a boat from Holland - anyone any experience of this? I am thinking of VAT, customs, insurance. Anyone done it?
Many thanks for info.

 

[WayneS]

Same regs ally there as here.

Make sure that you get hold of the original invoice for the boat showing that VAT has been paid. If the boat is quite old you may struggle with this.

If the boat was built before 1985 then make sure that you get documented proof of the following:

That the boat was built before 1 January 1985. (Any invoice for anything on the boat should do)
That the boat was in the EEC on 31 December 1992 (An invoice for winter storage or something)

These two bits should satisfy any eec customs but it is best to try, on the grounds of this information, to get a letter from HMCE stating that the vessel is "VAT exempt"

I bought a boat from Denmark and did not insist on getting this info up front, now I am struggling.

Other than that, no issues with buying a boat over there.

Cheers

Wayne

 

[Chris_Stannard]

I agree with Wayne, there is no reason not to do this. I bought a boat in Holland last November.
The problem that I had was that the Boat was built in Sweden and so as far as they were concerned the first owner was their Dutch agent. The agent sold it to the first owner, who was very casual. He had no receipted invoice or real proof of VAT paid. The agent said to me on the phone "If he had not paid we would not have given him the boat"

When I bought it I had to get a builders certificate from the builder, a copy of the transfer to the agent, and a letter from the Dutch agent saying that they had been paid in full including VAT. I then took all of this to the local Customs office in Cowes where the officer in charge gave me a certificate that states he has examined all my documentation and that all EU taxes have been paid.

Insurance is no problem, your UK broker can arrange that.

If you want to come through the canals you will need to carry Deel 1, the Dutch Waterway regulations, which you will not be able to understand. Deel 2, which gives the opening time of all road bridges and contact numbers for rail bridges, is helpful and I found you could use it. You can also get the Netherlands Waterways pilot and of course the relevant charts.

If you do go ahead, and you are in Cowes mail me if you would like a brief. I will be in France next week and Brighton the week after

Chris Stannard

 

[Sirus]

Dont no if they will be willing to help but the guys down at medway bridge marina have a lot of experince as they import hollandia might be worth a phone call.

 

[jtwebb]

I bought a boat in Holland and was very careful about documentation. This was just as well as I was boarded by French Customs who even managed to damage the carpet and left a mess and were on board well into UK waters in the Dover Straits. They deny it of course as 'their log shows otherwise'. However:
1) when buying make sure you have the original VAT receipt
2) Ensure you have proper transfer documents. We used the standard MCA form, which was witnessed by the bank employee where the deal was completed, and also used the Dutch ANWB form which gives clear details of what you are getting.
3) Do not bring the boat back until you own it and have registered it as a UK boat. I had my SSR and radio licence, the ensign was up as well as courtesy flags. The point is that a yacht can only be in French, and presumably Dutch and Belgian, waters with the authority of the owner etc. and must conform with the laws of the country of origin. It would be different if the present owner brought it to you and you then paid. The French Customs also checked my qualifications, ICC, Radio Licence, Yachtmaster etc. although there is no requirment beyond a radio operators licence
4) Dutch boats have the port of origin on the stern. The Belgian Police suggested I cover it up, they must have known I would be stopped by the French Customs.

Life might have been more complex as we came back at the begining of January when not many yachts are about and we were spoken to by Dutch Customs and Belgian Police before the French had their way.

J Webb