Importing a Yacht from US to Australia

[neilrob]

Thanks for all the advice. special thanks to Mark - Sorry to hear of all the difficulties, but Monday must be looking very good to you.
Leighton thanks for the advice re the US/AUS FTA
I am planning to buy a boat for around US $100k from the west coast and then sail back to base the boat in Vanuatu for a couple of years of Pacific cruising with the ability to cheaply jump back to Oz as required.
Thanks Neil

[gare]

Hi all new to this web site and webbing ,commenting on yacht imports to Australia .
Ex pat 19 yrs west coast US may be able to help people wanting to transfer register vessels into your name and be in a position to import pay taxes etc at a later date to AUS . Have hands on knowleage no I dont have all the answers but access to a lot .Seems to me a lot of people are not getting it right and its costing plenty . There are boats out there that are for sale and the price is negotiable and no not a broker ,wheeler dealer , Email me if I can help Good sailing

[Zanshin]

Australia is a tough one - be very careful on the arrival rules, an e-mail might not be sufficient and they want a fax. Luckily, everything is >48hours sail from Oz!

New Zealand rules are laxer, but still require 48 hour minimum notification.


For up-to-date general information there is no better site than Noonsite: The global site for cruising sailors ! Once you have the general information from them you should go to the consular site for the country in question to get the official information!

[dana-tenacity]

The maximum penalty in NZ is $15,000 fine and/or 12 months jail.
The only difference so far is they NZ customs haven't been as brutal as Oz in enforcing it.

[chris_gee]

The NZ duty and GST is 20%. It seems like you can make a saving but it depends on how good a buy you make and factoring in the travel costs. Extras such as electronics may be cheaper but yard and repair costs higher. Many of the boats that seem quite cheap have oddities like replacement motors that are way undersized. Many will also not be up to spec in terms of long distance sailing, like battery age, sails, rigging, anchors chain, liferafts, and suitable dinghies, not to mention windvanes and SSB. The few that are up to spec maybe well worn.
That said many NZ boats also need money spent, are overpriced and sit on the market for a long time.
If you have the time and know what you are doing I think you can have a wider choice and save money but it may not be as much as it first appears.

[Leighton]

I'm looking at a second hand tayana. I've got the hull number does anyone know were I can get original build and owner information?

[Pblais]

I've got the hull number does anyone know were I can get original build and owner information?

If it was a US documented boat you can get the history for a fee. It would give you names but not much else. It would be worth the report just to be sure the title is clear under the current owner. If it's not then you can be in for a lot of trouble. So at least you might get a lead and you would know how to deal with the purchase and not have a hassle closing.

[Hud3]

You can get a bit of info here:
Office of Science and Technology

[Pblais]

Hud,

That will give current ifo but not address or history. I think you can get the full listing for $25.

[Hud3]

Paul,

That's why I said "a bit" of info.

[windsaloft]

So, a related question, and just read the long thread elsewhere, but not exactly the same question:

If I (as a US Citizen) buy a good boat here on the West Coat (and do the USCG documentation) at a decent price, take a year to sail to Australia with enroute stops and look every bit the tourist, arrive in Sydney and want to put the boat on the market to sell and then fly home.........can I do so without paying the import 15%? In a perfect world, it'd be great to have a self-funded trip =-=- i.e., profit on resale covers costs of a year of cruising (about 20k). Feasible??

As they say: "the way to make a million dollars in aviation is to start with five million......." same with sailing, I think!

[Pblais]

take a year to sail to Australia with enroute stops and look every bit the tourist, arrive in Sydney and want to put the boat on the market to sell and then fly home.........can I do so without paying the import 15%?

Without paying? Think about that one a while.

[portia]

hi all iam looking at importing a house boat to australia does anyone have any details of the costs it is a usa built boat around 100 k us to buy what would it cost landed and will it comply with our laws and be compatible with aust
thanks all

[Leighton]

Windsaloft,

If you left the yacht as US registered then you would get away without paying the 15%.
If you wanted to sell as a Oz registered vessel then you would have to pay the 15% and effectively import the boat.
If the vesssel was built in the US then, as there is a free trade agreement between the US and Oz, it would not be subject to import duty and you would save 5% paying only 10% gst.


Leighton

[Weyalan]

Incidentally, it is my understanding that, when importing aboat to Australia, not only do you have to pay 5% import duty (where applicable) and 10% GST (always applicable), but that 10% GST is applied to the cost of the vessel AND the import duty. Not only that, but you have to pay additional GST on an estimated cost of getting the boat to Australia from wherever it came, and this is not what it actually cost (assuming that you bought here it yourself, on a shoestring budget), but what Her Majesty's Customs decides it ought to have cost, had they been organising the shipping themselves.

So,
5% import duty (where applicale)
10% GST on value of vessel
10% GST on import duty
10% GST on cost of importing (Customs estimate, not your actual cost)

It all adds up...