self build - proof of ownership

[snowleopard]

had no joy with this question on the liveaboard so thought i'd try it here.

my boat is SSR registered and the certificate says 'this does not constitute proof of ownership' i was once asked to show proof at customs but they relented when i told them it was a fat file of receipts i kept on board.

i suspect it's a bit like the vat issue where customs no longer issue a vat-paid certificate and expect you to carry your material invoices around.

have any other owners of self-build boats faced this problem?

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[boatmike]

Yep!
The only proof of ownership appears to be the same as VAT. Invoices for the major bits that constitute the boat. It appears you only need Hull Mouldings, Engine, Mast etc though not the whole caboodle. Assuming you bought a hull this should have a hull boulding number on the invoice the same as that marked on the hull (usually on the transom starb'd) If this ain't proof of ownership nothing is! You are expected for VAT to carry originals too not photocopies. I have mine in a waterproof bag in a safe on board with photocopies kept at home......

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[Birdseye]

In the UK you do not need proof of ownership. If the authorities are worried, surely its up to them to prove you dont own the boat. ie innocent until proven guilty.

proof of vat paid is probably different - the guilt assumption with tax seems to be reversed.



<hr width=100% size=1>this post is a personal opinion, and you should not base your actions on it.

 

[snowleopard]

no hull moulding number- built from the ground up, what i have is piles of invoices for resin, glass etc. the engines do have serial numbers so that's something!

the question was asked in martinique so my concern is not for the uk but for out of the way places. i heard of a boat calling i think in sardinia where the local authorities were obviously a bunch of crooks and were trying to confiscate everything on board for which the owner couldn't produce a receipt as 'contraband'. the other side of the coin is that if you keep receipts on board, thieves are likely to nick them as well and use them to prove they 'own' your gear.

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[jerryat]

Hi Snowleopard!

We didn't get asked for anything bar the SSR/passports in Martinque on any of the three occasions we've been there, so you may just have caught some bloke/blokette on an 'off' day. Will watch out for that though as we'll be round that area again in a year or two.

Your Sardina bit is of more (immediate) concern as we may well be heading there earlyish next year on the way to other places. I have a couple of friends who are cruising their boats in the Med at present (having each been there for several years) and neither has been asked at any time for their SAD (VAT proof of) papers. Just as well as neither has them!

Both were worrying hugely about it back in '96 when we first met, but even the French don't seem to care it seems, and that must be a first! I went through all the (huge!) trouble of proving that VAT had been paid on my boat many moons ago when HMC had a special unit set up for it. Took reams of copies of everything from boatyard lay-up receipts, anti-fouling invoices and God knows what else before they pronounced themselves satisfied and issued the rotten flimsy little bit of paper. I must have been given the tenth carbon copy 'cos it was almost unreadable then and it's a damn sight worse now!

After all that, nobodys ever asked for it! Might I suggest you get in touch with them, explaining your concerns and asking if they could (on receipt of a hundredweight or two of receipts) issue some sort of document proving you are an upstanding and law abiding citizen? You've probably already had a go along along these lines, but I still think I'd keep bashing away until you obtain something.

Agree with your concerns about keeping the docs on board though. We do keep the original SAD doc aboard but I'd think twice about keeping equipment receipts for example, for just the reasons you suggest. If you can't get HMC to cough up something, I wonder if foreign authorities would accept a disc full of scanned receipts instead. I think I'd try that and hope to keep out of jail!

As I say though, my friends have not had problems and I haven't heard of anyone else having any either - but perhaps someone on here has different experiences.

Cheers

Jerry


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