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.
Depends which office you go to as they all seem to have their own rules at times and they can change without warning.
Again many thanksDepends which office you go to as they all seem to have their own rules at times and they can change without warning.
Here in Portimao (and I believe in Lagos and Albufeira), if you have a foreign registered boat you will be asked to pay the light dues for the full class 1 Ocean category boat. The light tax for Foreign boats is charged twice annually as opposed to PT boats only paying once. This is because the boat is not registered with the Finance department for circulation tax (as a Portuguese boat would be) and you will not normally be asked to pay that tax.
This was a compromise decision by the 2 departments, that started a few years ago when the tax issues first raised their heads for the foreign registered boat owners based in Portugal. Basically if you pay the full category 1 light dues no-one from finances will bother you for circulation tax. If you argue over the boat category for light dues then expect problems.
If it does get to the point of being asked for circulation tax, then it's largely based on engine size and can easily exceed the Cat 1 light dues. For example my Portuguese rib with 50 HP has circulation tax of 102 euros and light dues of approx 10 euros because its class 3 and not ocean going.
An SSR boat would pay (at my last experience) 2 lots of light dues of Class 1, around 2x80 euros (I stand to be corrected as its a few years ago I last paid this), no circulation tax due under the current operational agreement. You won't find this written down anywhere, its just the way they are operating at the moment. I think Faro operate the same way but will leave it to the Culatrans to comment.
Another similar thread.
Engine tax in Portugal
The nice ladies in there do seem to have a degree of flexibility in what they charge you. Just checked my receipt for my ssr boat and I've only paid 15 as well. And its for 1 year this time, unlike previous years. Local rules and ever changing are two things you can depend on in Portugal.
