rotrax
Well-known member
First Mate has picked up from a media source that HMRC are not to charge duty on British registered boats returning to the UK.
Latest from HMRC re retuning boats
- Thread starter rotrax
- Start date
Irish Rover
Well-known member
Do you mean just excise duty or does it include VAT?
st599
Well-known member
Not quite. They've removed the limit for Returned Goods Relief, so if you took a boat from the UK to the EU you can return it VAT free.
Doesn't apply if you bought a boat in the rest of the EU (UK flag or not), even if it had been a UK based boat at some point in the past. These still owe VAT on import.
rotrax
Well-known member
It's on the Sailing and Cruising UK facebook page.
st599
Well-known member
syvictoria
Well-known member
So that means that the situation has effectively reverted back to what it was pre-B?
dunedin
Well-known member
Not if you bought a boat in the EU27 and now want to bring it back to the UK. That remains a major problem.
And RCD/RCR stuff.
syvictoria
Well-known member
Yes, sorry, I was overlooking that element and more thinking about a RTW'er returning from outside the EU.
Graham376
Well-known member
None of the bills of sale for all my boats have stated location at the time of purchase so, for any UK flagged boats this may not present too much of a problem.
syvictoria
Well-known member
That is very true!
dunedin
Well-known member
Only if the owner of a boat that had not previously been in the UK under their ownership is prepared to perjure themselves when completing the form C1331 on arrival in the UK and commit criminal tax evasion
rotrax
Well-known member
The currency used for payment might give a clue to where the deal was done................................
lustyd
Well-known member
As luck would have it, perjury is quite trendy among the well to do these days!
jac
Well-known member
That's a very good point - If i live in the Uk, the seller lives in the UK, the money is paid from UK bank to UK bank in Sterling and we physically sign a Uk style bill of sale paperwork in the UK but the boat happens to be elsewhere then legally, where was the sale? I know the duty is on importing but how the hell would that be proved? Couldn't I say that ownership will only be transferred when the boat is delivered to a specified UK location?
Tranona
Well-known member
The Bill of Sale does not need any sum of money and even if it does have the common £1 and other considerations" this does not mean the transaction took place in the UK.
Baggywrinkle
Well-known member
When I registered my boat on part 1 of the UK ships register, they wanted the sales contracts and the invoices, and the invoices had to be stamped with "Paid in full" ..... all going back 5 years at least.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of the paperwork they required was in foreign languages, or were in foreign currencies ... so quite difficult to hide.
... my last sales contract when I sold my boat was in Croatian/English as unsurprisingly, the party to the deal who wasn't a native english speaker wanted the contract in black and white in their native language.
Two brits making a gentleman's agreement to sell in the EU and pretend it happened in the UK may get away with it, but it is not a strategy you could use to buy an EU boat from an EU owner and then bring it to the UK. The risk is also entirely on the new owner.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of the paperwork they required was in foreign languages, or were in foreign currencies ... so quite difficult to hide.
... my last sales contract when I sold my boat was in Croatian/English as unsurprisingly, the party to the deal who wasn't a native english speaker wanted the contract in black and white in their native language.
Two brits making a gentleman's agreement to sell in the EU and pretend it happened in the UK may get away with it, but it is not a strategy you could use to buy an EU boat from an EU owner and then bring it to the UK. The risk is also entirely on the new owner.
nortada
Well-known member
True, nor does it prove that the transaction didn’t take place in England under English law.
In the real world, I suspect the HMRC are sending a strong message that they have more on their plate than a few modestly valued, British Flagged Boats, returning to the UK under new ownership.
Or in other words, The UK’s new status post 31 Dec 2020 changes nothing.
I rather suspect the 90/180 issue will be resolved in a similar manner but this is in a different currently active thread.
No where is my Nelsonian Blind Eye?
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lustyd
Well-known member
I didn't buy a boat, but even if I did buy one I definitely followed the rules. I can't remember if a purchase took place though, but if one did tax would definitely have been paid as per the rules...
This boat? Oh I'd have to do an inquiry, I can't recall this boat, but since there is evidence...
This boat? Oh I'd have to do an inquiry, I can't recall this boat, but since there is evidence...
Bobc
Well-known member
What is does mean, is that you can take your boat off cruising, to wherever you like for as long as you like, and when you return to the UK you won't be liable to re-pay VAT on it.
lustyd
Well-known member
Unless they change the rules again while you're away, of course.
