Freebee
Well-Known Member
There is a possibility of importing a mobo from Jersey its not big or valuable possibly 40 years old but I am trying to put together costs - has anybody done this and now what the likely costs will be?
Importing from Jersey to uk
- Thread starter Freebee
- Start date
Tranona
Well-Known Member
Jersey is outside the UK VAT area so at the least you will have to pay VAT on its market value. Also the law says that sn imported boat will also have to meet the latest standards which a 40 year old boat won't. It is unclear how ell this is enforced, but essentially it is unwise to import an old boat into the UK.
Jim@sea
Well-Known Member
May I just say that 43 years ago I imported a boat from Alderney. I brought it back to the UK . I sold it 3 years later to someone who took it to Brighton Marine where there is (or was) a large office VAT Office.
A few weeks later I had a visit from a VAT Inspector and I had to pay some Vat.
The boat had been sold new in the UK then taken to Alderney.
Having read another reply, on the way back to the North West of the UK I called into Ireland, so when I arrived at Holyhead I filled in a Customs Declaration, where I truthfully put that I had brought it in from Ireland, and when I was asked by the Brighton Vat Inspector for a copy of my Import Declaration he said it reduced the amount of Vat I paid'
Thing's have probably changed.
When you arrive in the UK why dont you immediately get a Yacht/Boat Broker to give you a valuation, may help with negotiations if you are asked.
A few weeks later I had a visit from a VAT Inspector and I had to pay some Vat.
The boat had been sold new in the UK then taken to Alderney.
Having read another reply, on the way back to the North West of the UK I called into Ireland, so when I arrived at Holyhead I filled in a Customs Declaration, where I truthfully put that I had brought it in from Ireland, and when I was asked by the Brighton Vat Inspector for a copy of my Import Declaration he said it reduced the amount of Vat I paid'
Thing's have probably changed.
When you arrive in the UK why dont you immediately get a Yacht/Boat Broker to give you a valuation, may help with negotiations if you are asked.
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st599
Well-Known Member
As a 40 year old boat won't have a certificate stating it meets the 2014 regulations, is the valuation not zero? You can't use it and you can't sell it.
volvopaul
Well-Known Member
I thought anything built before 1985 was vat exempt or is that just if it’s in the uk?
st599
Well-Known Member
Importing is a VAT event. But more importantly, when you import it has to meet the current regulations - a 40 year old boat most probably won't.
Freebee
Well-Known Member
Where can I find a copy of the current regulations?
st599
Well-Known Member
https://www.rya.org.uk/news/rya-and...tial-new-costs-of-trading-second-hand-vessels
The Recreational Craft Regulations 2017
Having re-read, the other issue is a requirement to have all of the safety and operations paperwork.
The Recreational Craft Regulations 2017
Having re-read, the other issue is a requirement to have all of the safety and operations paperwork.
Tranona
Well-Known Member
While the regs make an interesting read, Not sure they will help you as there is no way an old boat can meet the design requirements and even if it could the cost of proving it and going through the approval process would far outweigh the value of the boat. The standards are applicable to new boats entering the market -, but boats already in the market (UK) do not have to show they comply. However the same boat being imported from outside the market does have to comply because it is deemed to be entering the market in the same way as a new boat, or a boat that does already comply with the latest standards.
It is much the same with VAT. This is a tax on transactions, not on the asset. so a boat entering from outside is potentially liable for VAT (there are some reliefs, but not in your case) even if VAT had been paid earlier in its life.
The UK is now a closed market, separate from the EU, but it has also been closed from Jersey in respect of VAT from the late 1970s and 1998 for the RCD.
Freebee
Well-Known Member
If I was to import a classic car are they not exempt from passing current regulations, are classic boats not treated in the same way? and if not why not?
Tranona
Well-Known Member
Partly in that boats built pre war or to older designs (I forget the exact date, but it is likely in the link) may be exempt from the RCD. Still subject to VAT. If you say what boat it is that you are interested in it might help.
Car regulations are quite different and largely governed by MOT requirements and there is not an MOT equivalent for boats, only the RCD for "new" imports (and domestically built boats)
Edit This is the wording of the regulations that defines "classic craft"
"original historical watercraft and individual replicas thereof designed before 1950 and built predominately with the original materials and labeled as such by the manufacturers"
This exclusion was promoted by owners and dealers in pre war boats, mainly bigger sailing boats so that they could move freely in and out of the EU for regattas as well as the niche industry of recreating/replicating such boats.
For obvious reasons it applies to very few boats.
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doug748
Well-Known Member
There was nobody clever or interested enough to foresee the problem or to pursue the matter right now. There is an exemption for older, classic boats but nothing that would help the OP.
The rules as drafted are slightly ambiguous but it would take a brave and resourceful buyer to take the matter to court for a ruling. Again nothing to help the OP.
Most importers of this sort pay the VAT and then keep their heads down on the basically silly conformity issue, however that leads to the possibility of problems on eventual resale in the UK.
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st599
Well-Known Member
Cars being imported require VAT payments and conformity checks.
Alicatt
Well-Known Member
At least with a car you can get an individual vehicle conformity check, it is a well used method of importing a vehicle, still needs to comply with the regulations in the UK. Kit car builders also use the same method too.
When I bought a Yamaha Enduro IT465 a number of years ago, while it had been on the road at some point in it's life, as confirmed by a police sergeant in Ft. William but the reg. number was lost, took a fair bit of digging, sales documents from the dealer and a statement from Yamaha about it's provenance, year of build, and which market, I finally, after a police inspection of the bike, got a proper registration rather than the Q plate I would have had going down the route of Individual Vehicle Approval.
jrudge
Well-Known Member
I assume meeting the rcd is an obligation but no more. The boat ssr registration process voluntary ) does not require a copy of the rcd paperwork and I can't see anyone ever asking for it.
This does not make it legal but it is difficult to see the practical problems. I suppose if it was a total loss your insurance company might ask for it but if it is a model in wide U.K. circulation anyway and has simply been caught up in the technicalities of Brexit why would they ask ?
This does not make it legal but it is difficult to see the practical problems. I suppose if it was a total loss your insurance company might ask for it but if it is a model in wide U.K. circulation anyway and has simply been caught up in the technicalities of Brexit why would they ask ?
Rappey
Well-Known Member
Did i read somewhere that racing boats are also exempt ?
Tranona
Well-Known Member
The requirement to comply with the RCD on import has always been there. The only thing that Brexit changed is the EU is now the same as for example the US. It is a criminal offence to not comply, although this is trade regulations so there are other ways of dealing with non compliance intended to ensure that the product does not enter the market. For obvious reasons there is little likelihood of detection once the boat has cleared customs, but as VAT is payable there is every chance that at some point in the import process compliance will be checked.
"Smuggling" from the CIs was common when we were in the EU and there were no formal checks on boats entering by sea this is no longer the case. Equally no doubt the customs and trading standards at the 2 ports of entry for goods arriving on ferries (Poole and Portsmouth) are pretty vigilant.
Is it worth it for an old boat when there are plenty of old boats for sale in the UK?
Tranona
Well-Known Member
Yes "labeled as such by the manufacturers"
