Prof of VAT status

[Tranona]

So it is, thanks Tranona. I therefore will take a humble pie from the freezer and stick it in the m'wave and I apologise to the hmrc person who advised Daka. I'd be interested to see the underlying law but dont have time to search for it. It's quite needle-in-haystack if, as I suspect, it's in the 200pages of 1993 EU regulations on imports/exports generally. If you happen to know where the law is please shout.

The whole Reference Note does come with the "health" warning that it should not be taken as law, only HMRC interpretation! So I guess the actual law could say something even more vague, otherwise why insert the word "normally"?

Anyway, given the difficulties of enforcing such a rule there probably is no case law to work from as I doubt HMRC have bothered to try and enforce it (whatever it is!).

 

[westernman]

If you do import a boat from outside the EU into the UK, you have to declare it to customs and pay VAT on it.

For this you get a VAT receipt, which is a tiny pink slip filled in by hand which is the second or third copy off a pad.

That is it. It is the most unconvincing document you could imagine.

By far the best is your bill of sale where it is signed in the section for a private individual resident in the EU.

You can add to the contract you sign something like "the seller warrants that the vessel is VAT paid" as well.

Then, for you the buyer, there is not and cannot ever be any obligation to pay VAT (unless you export and then reimport the boat) - even if something previous in the history of the boat is not entirely kosher.
Not your problem.

All the same stuff applies to second hand cars, TV sets, computers........

 

[pheran]

For what its worth........

I, a UK citizen and resident, have recently sold my 2002-built boat in Holland to a German buyer. The question of VAT status was not an issue, the question was not even raised!