VAT

[Seapepper]

I have a 1989 yacht with no proof of vat having been paid on it. I have gone through all the information about how you can prove vat status, such as where it was on Christmas day etc etc and can collect no evidence. I do have a copy of the order from Colvic who made the hull. This shows the cost of the hull and engine and the amount of VAT but it is not receipted and does not show the hull number. I have a bill of sale from when I purchased the boat and have been told that this will suffice when in another EU country since it shows that VAT is the responsibility of UK customs. Does anyone have any experience of this or any other ideas about what I can do to prove VAT status of the boat?
John

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[PeterGibbs]

The situation on VAT is not quite so black and white as is often portrayed. Proof of conformity to VAT rules is not exclusively dependent on producing a single document. There are many owners in a similar situation to you where, shall we say, the paper trail is impaired! An original proof of VAT paid is the final backup, but a trail of evidence indicating conformity to the rules is likely to pass muster in almost all cases. I believe the authorities only go to town where there is real reason to suspect evasion, or the owner, when challenged, behaves in a hostile or evasive manner. From the facts you give, you seem able to present a reassuring trail, if not not to have the final VAT paid proof required in the regulations.

Boats that look non-new, are of EU manufacture, and owners who are clearly EU nationals and where there is a trail, albeit impaired, showing operation of the boat in EU waters for some years are not likely to be top of the pile for investigation. Of course getting any VAT authority to waive its interest in your boat in writing and so put your mind at rest is not part of the bureaucratic miasma into which we are all sailing - but that is another (and very political) issue. So what to do?

From my experience on this topic I conclude the authorities are more concerned about other categories of non-VAT documented ownership. Close to the top of the pile are foreign nationals who bring boats of non-EU manufacture into the EU for more than the stipulated period and forget to pay VAT. Then non-EU nationals owning boats in the EU can excite some interest for C & E - for such persons a complete paper trail is the best and posssibly only answer in the event they are challenged.

I have been checked out three times in recent years whilst in France, and once in the UK, and have to say the officers were polite and not the dragons sometimes portrayed. I guess a friendly non-nervous welcome on board always goes some way to relax the tension of each new encounter! Being an EU national, resident in the UK, and certified to sail, the boat being resgistered on the SSR scheme, all go towards providing a solid trail. I have never been asked for the ultimate proof of VAT paid (my boat is 6 yrs old) but I have the receipt ready (in original) if required.

I suspect your situation, too, would pass inspection. Your greater problem might arise on sale of the vessel if the intending purchaser would only be satisfied with the origianl sale document. There is no smart anwer to that one!

Good luck,

PWG

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[vyv_cox]

I have similar concerns, although I have photocopies of the original payments on my 1985 boat that show the VAT registry number.

I went through a fairly rigorous Customs interrogation and inspection at Calais this year. The only documents that they even looked at were the Part 1 certificate and our passports. All our other documents, handed to them in a single folder, were not inspected.

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