VAT in Europe

[Motco80]

Hello everyone.
Im now considering how to register my new boat(1981��)
The last owner paid VAT in israel where the boat was registered.
Now, if i will register the boat under poland flag and im have an israeli passport and also eu passport(bulgaria)
Do i need to pay VAT in europe when i will enter to eu country?
If yes, do they ask the VAT immediately? Or i can spend some time with out paying the VAT?
I dont have any plans to stay in Europe permanently. Just short visits along the way to carribean.
Thanks in advance for answering��

[SaylorMade]

Originally Posted by Motco80

Hello everyone.
Im now considering how to register my new boat(1981��)
The last owner paid VAT in israel where the boat was registered.
Now, if i will register the boat under poland flag and im have an israeli passport and also eu passport(bulgaria)
Do i need to pay VAT in europe when i will enter to eu country?
If yes, do they ask the VAT immediately? Or i can spend some time with out paying the VAT?
I dont have any plans to stay in Europe permanently. Just short visits along the way to carribean.
Thanks in advance for answering��

AFAIK there is not VAT to be paid if built before 1985, but you should probably carry some sort of evidence for the build year.

EDIT: There seems to be more to it than that, and I think more experienced cruisers from outside the EU will chime in here and give better advice than me.

[Motco80]

The boat model write in the previous registration will be enough?

[Joh.Ghurt]

Originally Posted by SaylorMade

AFAIK there is not VAT to be paid if built before 1985, but you should probably carry some sort of evidence for the build year.

Careful here. That's only true for boats than can be proven being inside the EU before the accords were signed, depending on the country that could be 1992 or some other date (later than 1985). An American boat from 1985 has to pay VAT just like a brand new one if it comes to Europe the first time.

Originally Posted by Motco80

Now, if i will register the boat under poland flag and im have an israeli passport and also eu passport(bulgaria)
Do i need to pay VAT in europe when i will enter to eu country?

The answer here is unfortunately a clear and definite YES. Immediately on arrival. Temporary importation only exists for Non-EU vessels. Also, while your passports doesn't matter, if you're a resident of the EU, you need to pay the VAT immediately otherwise you commit tax fraud. If you want to avoid that, you need to do it right and it takes some effort not worth for a boat of this age.

Here's the link to the EU about this:
https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.e...ats-faq_en.pdf

The best case for you would be if you can prove the boat was in the EU before 1992. This can be done with old invoices for yard work, marinas or the original buying contract of the original owner or such. In this case your boat would fall under the grandfather clause like mine did and it'll be assume VAT paid. In general the tax guys seem to be rather lenient with old boats, just don't mention it left the EU for more than 3 years. In this case it would have lost the VAT-paid status if no special precautions with the tax officials have been taken.

[Motco80]

Originally Posted by Joh.Ghurt

Careful here. That's only true for boats than can be proven being inside the EU before the accords were signed, depending on the country that could be 1992 or some other date (later than 1985). An American boat from 1985 has to pay VAT just like a brand new one if it comes to Europe the first time.



The answer here is unfortunately a clear and definite YES. Immediately on arrival. Temporary importation only exists for Non-EU vessels. Also, while your passports doesn't matter, if you're a resident of the EU, you need to pay the VAT immediately otherwise you commit tax fraud. If you want to avoid that, you need to do it right and it takes some effort not worth for a boat of this age.

Here's the link to the EU about this:
https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.e...ats-faq_en.pdf

The best case for you would be if you can prove the boat was in the EU before 1992. This can be done with old invoices for yard work, marinas or the original buying contract of the original owner or such. In this case your boat would fall under the grandfather clause like mine did and it'll be assume VAT paid. In general the tax guys seem to be rather lenient with old boats, just don't mention it left the EU for more than 3 years. In this case it would have lost the VAT-paid status if no special precautions with the tax officials have been taken.

Thankbyou for your comment.
A builder certificate will be enough for proving that?

And what do you mean by not to mention the boat was outside the eu for more then 3 years?
They have a system they can see it i guess?
I will also add, that im not a resident of the eu.
I just have a bulgerian passport.
Is that matters?

[h20man]

Originally Posted by Motco80

Thankbyou for your comment.
A builder certificate will be enough for proving that?

And what do you mean by not to mention the boat was outside the eu for more then 3 years?
They have a system they can see it i guess?
I will also add, that im not a resident of the eu.
I just have a bulgerian passport.
Is that matters?

If you are talking about lots of € in tax.. then... get a good EU tax specialist to help you.

I have found, and know of people that use the transfer of residence exemption to bring in cars, planes, boats, to the EU... with no duty or VAT required.


In English, there is a document published by the Irish Authorities that helps explain the overall view of how it works.


Other EU countries should have similar procedures.


Again, if we are talking about a low value item.. then just pay the VAT. Otherwise there is a way to do it.. but.. there are pro's and cons....


Good luck

[Joh.Ghurt]

Originally Posted by Motco80

Thankbyou for your comment.
A builder certificate will be enough for proving that?

If the boat was ordered by someone in the EU, that's sufficient. The certificate itself might not sufficient, as the all boats are usually built to EU standards, but some are exported immediately. Another situation quite common in Croatia was that a boat was bought by a corporation excluding VAT and then sold off to someone outside the EU to prevent paying it.

In this case, they're quite lenient with the proof. If you find some old invoices for a marina spot or repairs in Europe, that's sufficient. Also if the original invoice was on a person's name address in Europe. If your boat is of a common brand, you might want to write them and ask is they still have the copy of the original sale.

Originally Posted by Motco80

And what do you mean by not to mention the boat was outside the eu for more then 3 years?
They have a system they can see it i guess?

No they don't and as long as you don't give them the proof by blabbering the wrong things, they can't know and don't bother. In your case, it could be possible that the previous owner went from time to time to the Balearics or Greece for fun. That's enough for the boat not having left the EU economic zone for more then 3 years. This rule is usually only enforced, when it's obvious that it must have been away for longer. Just be aware of this to avoid saying stupid things.

Originally Posted by Motco80

I will also add, that im not a resident of the eu.
I just have a bulgerian passport.
Is that matters?

That would make it possible for you to temporarily import a Non-EU boat, but you'd need a different flag than the Polish one. As an EU resident, you can't even do this. Your passport doesn't matter for the boat, that's only whether you as a person need visa etc.

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by Motco80

Hello everyone.
Im now considering how to register my new boat(1981��)
The last owner paid VAT in israel where the boat was registered.
Now, if i will register the boat under poland flag and im have an israeli passport and also eu passport(bulgaria)
Do i need to pay VAT in europe when i will enter to eu country?
If yes, do they ask the VAT immediately? Or i can spend some time with out paying the VAT?
I dont have any plans to stay in Europe permanently. Just short visits along the way to carribean.
Thanks in advance for answering��

If I recall correctly, Israeli citizens MUST register their vessels with Israel, their nationality requires their vessels to have Israeli nationality. As an Israeli citizen, it would be illegal to register your vessel under a foreign flag.

Reference links:

https://www.mondaq.com/guides/result...g-registration

http://www.medyachtsurveyor.com/en/2...-foreign-flag/


https://www.afiklaw.com/updates/13778

If you are a non-resident of the EU, you can bring your vessel into the EU under temporary admission which defers customs duties and VAT for up to 18 months. The vessel will need to be removed from the EU to a foreign port or place to in order to discharge the temporary admission by realizing a physical exportation of the vessel [or good] and thence can return to the EU for yet another 18 month temporary admission [temporary import] period.