Vat on UK boats coming back to UK after 18 months in E.U

[Jobs a good un]

Hi all
a friend said if he takes his boat to the E.U for longer than 18 months and comes back to the U.K then vat is due again ?

 

[Tranona]

No. He is perhaps confusing 2 issues. The 18 months refers to the time the boat is allowed to stay in the EU under temporary Admission. It then has to leave the EU, although it can return and start another 18 months.

The most commonly used rule for returning to the UK is the Returned Goods Relief which allows the person taking the boat out of the UK to return without paying VAT. The basic rule limits this period notionally 3 years but there is currently a concession removing this limit for boats reflecting the number of owners who got stuck with their boats after Brexit, not helped Covid restrictions. In reality, though very few people are affected by the original time limit, which was discretionary.

Hope this helps.

 

[webcraft]

Assuming we ever did bring our boat back from Portugal, how would the value be determined for VAT? We paid less than 4k for her.

- W

 

[Tranona]

You would not be required to pay VAT as you would be eligible for Returned Goods Relief as I explained to the OP