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CatNewBee · 01-10-2018, 23:19

EU taxes are a nightmare.

We ended up buying our per-owned boat in the EU with CE certification and all taxes paid. It is less hassle and visiting / inspecting the candidates is also easier.

Last season many British boats were sold in Croatia, I assume this will continue with the Brexit and the horrendous tax increases there. Other countries may follow this bad example and raise also tourist taxes and cruising fees. The block tend to develop not in favor of the citizen tax wise. VAT and import taxes harmonization's were in the past always to the upper end.

**JPA Cate** · 02-10-2018, 14:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by riki

It was not easy at all to get an answer even from specialized companies, anyway, spoke with portuguese customs, belgian and italian, and the answer is YES.

No matter if new, or old or used: today if you have to import a boat to EU you have to pay around 50% (more or less depending on country VAT) over declared value.

Good on you for getting an answer, riki

Especially if it is an older boat, that may not amount to too much. It will partly be determined by how they get the valuation of the boat. Sometimes it is the Bill of Sale, other times, the appraisal on the boat. On our previous boat, when it was imported into Australia, a yacht broker provided the survey for the boat, and it turned out to be not as bad as I had feared.

Elie · 02-10-2018, 16:54

Just recently, Canada was hit by US duty taxes on import of many things. Importing a boat from USA was seriously taxed(10% for any material, equipment and boats) . That was in reply for what was considered an abusive commercial war initiated by the US administration. However, just few days ago, the free trade agreement was essentially reconducted and therefore that 10% duty is now gone. EU is also having problems of same nature as Canada. I presume that they will be solved soon when reason takes over, and all effects on buying boats will also be gone. By the way, the VAT is always deducted from price when a boat is exported brod the Euro Zone.

hellosailor · 02-10-2018, 19:17

I don't think "privates" matters at all here. Taking a foreign flagged boat and importing it into your own country--EU, US, whichever way you're going wherever--is still IMPORTING A BOAT and that's going to be subject to tariffs. Private parties or brokers won't matter.

Venue shopping and creative flagging work for some folks, but can be a real minefield if you're not better at playing the game than the professionals are.

valhalla360 · 02-10-2018, 20:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by riki

It was not easy at all to get an answer even from specialized companies, anyway, spoke with portuguese customs, belgian and italian, and the answer is YES.

No matter if new, or old or used: today if you have to import a boat to EU you have to pay around 50% (more or less depending on country VAT) over declared value.

Did they give you a breakdown of VAT vs Duty?

VAT has been due for years and runs around 20-25% depending on country.

So what makes up the rest of the 50% and is it new?

Also as someone mentioned, what value do they use to calculate it?

drewm3i · 02-10-2018, 23:51

Adam Smith: tariffs and duties serve to enrich the those who control the means of production and therefore the state's policy, while harming the consumer who absorbs the increase in price.

**GordMay** · 03-10-2018, 04:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elie

... Importing a boat from USA was seriously taxed(10% ...
... However, just few days ago, the free trade agreement was essentially reconducted and therefore that 10% duty is now gone...

I hope so, but that remains somewhat unclear, to me.
Trump has refused to be pinned down on whether he intends to ease Section 232 tariffs on Canadian exports of steel and aluminum, saying at once that the tariffs remain in place, but they won't be necessary as long as Canada and Mexico honour the terms of the new agreement.
The tariff measure "is still staying where it is," he said, adding, "but I don't think you will need to use the tariffs."

riki · 03-10-2018, 05:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

Good on you for getting an answer, riki

Especially if it is an older boat, that may not amount to too much. It will partly be determined by how they get the valuation of the boat. Sometimes it is the Bill of Sale, other times, the appraisal on the boat. On our previous boat, when it was imported into Australia, a yacht broker provided the survey for the boat, and it turned out to be not as bad as I had feared.

Quote:

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Did they give you a breakdown of VAT vs Duty?

VAT has been due for years and runs around 20-25% depending on country.

So what makes up the rest of the 50% and is it new?

Also as someone mentioned, what value do they use to calculate it?

Teorethically everything is clear, in practice i've noticed quite some disinformation even with customs responsibles and ended up getting different answers, specially in regards of the boat value. For example in some cases i've been told that the bill of sale is enough to demonstrate the price, in other cases they told me that THEY decide the price considering some lists they have; from one side it's ok, from the other you can understand that vessel conditions might not be correctly took into consideration and if we are talking about one off boats it might become a kind of lottery.

VAT is 18/24% depending on country; customs duty were 1,7% till a few months ago, now they've been rised of 25% making a total of 26,7% + VAT.
A very unconfortable situation for who is willing to buy now (as me) considering that the increase of custom duties might be raised soon or later....

AiniA · 03-10-2018, 05:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elie

Just recently, Canada was hit by US duty taxes on import of many things. Importing a boat from USA was seriously taxed(10% for any material, equipment and boats) . That was in reply for what was considered an abusive commercial war initiated by the US administration. However, just few days ago, the free trade agreement was essentially reconducted and therefore that 10% duty is now gone. EU is also having problems of same nature as Canada. I presume that they will be solved soon when reason takes over, and all effects on buying boats will also be gone. By the way, the VAT is always deducted from price when a boat is exported brod the Euro Zone.

I am not aware that NAFTA 2.0 says anything about the aluminum/steel tariffs and retaliatory Canadian tariffs. I suspect that these will disappear fairly soon though. Hope so since we have just bought a boat that is on the hard in the US. We will physically import the boat in the spring at which point taxes and tariff would be payable. For the original poster, in Canada at least used boats via a private sale are not exempt from tariffs and taxes.

Interestingly in China you are not allowed to import a used boat, only new ones and there is a huge luxury tax (50% I think). People do work-arounds like registering their boats in somewhere like Malaysia. Apparently these boats can be bought into China, for how long I don't know.

fcftampa · 03-10-2018, 06:12

in the thread title somewhere, the commercial war comes with AND boat prices.
So, how about we keep the thread threaded! and politics for the family get togethers.

Sawbonz · 03-10-2018, 07:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by GordMay

That’s certainly one opinion.
Nevertheless, the American public isn’t convinced that Europe is taking advantage of the United States in trade.

The American public, as a rule, is disengaged and disinterested in anything that doesn’t personally impact them at this exact moment. If Walmart doesn’t raise their prices they would think our trade system works. This is why polls should not be used to set policy.

seandepagnier · 03-10-2018, 16:53

A lot of people sell the boat officially for 1 euro. You can make the price whatever you want. I don't think there is much tax on 1 euro.

UFO · 03-10-2018, 17:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

A lot of people sell the boat officially for 1 euro. You can make the price whatever you want. I don't think there is much tax on 1 euro.

Hmmmmmm The Tax Man wearing Surgical Gloves springs to mind.......

Trimaran Ken · 08-10-2018, 07:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by GordMay

A majority (56 percent) believes that the E.U. is a fair trader, according to a recent Gallup survey.

A lot of people believe in abductions from beings from outer space. That doesn't mean that you base economic policies on their beliefs.

Very few people take the time to try to understand the complexities of international trade. Opinions (on both sides) are formed from whatever biased news source these people subscribe to.