Many thanks for your reply. I'm just going to transfer the French reg so i guess I'm being overly concerned with the vat status never having bought a boat abroad before.....google for you lol......a mate however (who bought a used boat in spain) has told me that i have to pay IVA regardless though, which i thought strange on a used boat??There is a date that is talked about where vat is not due before but maybe not relevant over here, I really don't know. I'm sure someone will clarify that for you. Can you prove where the boat was on B day? Marina invoices etc. It would be an element of proof of its location at the important time. Are you moving it onto Portuguese reg, if so they will be interested. Otherwise I doubt they will even come and ask you. I've had boats here for 25 years and only time the authorities asked for vat proof was when I sold one to a Portuguese person who wanted it on PT reg. Stay away from PT reg and no one will ask. Maybe you can get creative with some old bits of paper on the laptop just in case. SSR is as good as anything over here if you qualify for it.