Importing a Boat to Australia

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Claverton

So let me see if I've got this correct:

1. It's highly advisable to get Australian registration before leaving the UK
2. This registration may take as long as a month?

That means that when you complete the transaction in the UK, one has no choice but to delay leaving the UK and hang around for atleast a month there twiddling thumbs, racking up living expenses and enjoying the english winter weather whilst waiting for the rego approval to come through?

I think I have noted in this thread it took us 3 months from when we arrived to when we left. That was the negotiation (3 days) to hauling for antifouling, registration at. We had 6 weeks in a dorm type accomodation at US$60 per day and 6 weeks on the boat at anchor. Fortunately we were in the Caribbean

Rego itself took 2 1/2 months of that 3 months. FedEx costs alone were $500.

So remember to build in accomodation costs in the UK... they can be expensive in London

It's highly advisable to get Australian registration before leaving the UK

You MUST get have international registration on the boat before you head to sea. As you wouldnt be elegable for UK rego and you want Australian rego anyway, then its not an 'advisable' it is a 'must'

Good luck with it

[Claverton]

Thanks for reply and info Mark. 2.5 months for rego! That's thrown my calcs out a bit. I'll give AMSA a call next week to see what they say. I had counted a month for rego, and I want to avoid sailing into Cape Town in winter (although a detour across to Brazil could be practical for the cape town timing). I think the only way I could afford such a long stay in the UK would be to find a place where I could live aboard, preferably on a mooring (with lots of baked beans) to reduce acommidation expenses.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Claverton

Thanks for reply and info Mark. 2.5 months for rego! That's thrown my calcs out a bit. I'll give AMSA a call next week to see what they say. ...I think the only way I could afford such a long stay in the UK would be to find a place where I could live aboard,

AMSA will process promptly but obtaining the documents needed, getting hold of the original builders certificate, de-flagging the boat from its current country; the brokers general admin. AMSA kept on sending back more emails saying more things we needed etc.

The accommodation thing is necessary before you are allowed on the boat. Thats after all the purchase transaction has occurred. You can't start the rego process till the purchase has been complete (though you can send prelim docs and set aside the name and pay the $799 fee)
So yes you can anchor out during the rego process, even cruise within that country, but you need to be close to your admin base

With "Marking" we had a sign writer etch the ON into a piece of aluminum and screwed it into the nav station and put epoxy in the Phillips head screw holes thus making it permanent. (Well we think its permanent! )

[ralphkluge]

hi Claverton, as far as i have understood the process, you will be charged 10% gst on the price you paid for the boat plus 5 import duty. the 10% will be calculated from, boat price + what ever it might cost to have the boat shipped to australia, depending on size, maybe between 30-50000 $, so if you boat costs 30k, add say 50k for transport = 80k, gst then would = 8k.
i cant say for sure about the add ons, but standard equipment like sails etc couldn't be included, if they are included in the sales receipt, and i am sure that would be the case for electronics, if they were on it as well, wink wink.

as to the 4 weeks, it might take that long to get all the paperwork together and sorted and then sent to OZ, then sent back approved. we have thought of making arrangements with the boat owner so that we can use the mooring ( included in sales price) and live abroad for that time, reducing costs for accommodation.

ps heavy, penalties including confiscation of boat may incur if the owner of boat hasn't registered boat in home country. do you want to take that risk??

have a look here for all the requirements, its an extensive list!! good luck

http://www.amsa.gov.au/Shipping_Regi...r_Of_Ships.asp

ralph

[Claverton]

Hi Ralph
Just a question on your calculations on the GST cost for bringing a boat into Australia. You give the example of a $30k boat bought in the UK with an $50k cost to bring it over giving an $80k taxable value = $8k GST.

I'm not sure about your $50k importation costs. I guess if the ATO views the cost as that of contracting a crew to do it, then it might be $50k or a large figure. But what if they view the import costs as simply my costs, which would be basicly food and diesel?

According to the ATO website (and other posters), the cost is from the last port (Cape Town in this example), not from the port where the yacht was purchased. So my costs are going to be from Cape Town to Fremantle are going to be about say $300 food and say $10 worth of diesel. So rather than the $50k that you suggest, I suspect my import cost will be about $300.

But I'm not sure if the ATO adds a labour cost to sail it over or not. Any clues? I can't find any reference to this bit on the ATO website.
Regards Claverton


Regards Claverton

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Claverton

b$80k taxable value = $8k GST.

Plus 5% duty on the $88k

[Claverton]

Hi Mark
My whole point in previous post is that GST is not paid on $80k, but it is only paid on the cost of the yacht + baked beans needed from capetown = $30,300 is it not?

Ralph is putting a $50k cost for importing the boat + $30k to buy it. I'm saying hell no, it's not $50k just $300 for tucker. So rather than paying an $8k GST I'm paying a $3.3K GST. Get my drift? How did the ATO value the import cost on your boat???
Claverton

[Claverton]

Sorry Mike my last post was confusing; let me put it another way:

Ralph is saying that GST is payable on:
Cost of boat $30k + Cost of import $50k = $80k therefore you pay $8k GST

I'm saying
Cost of boat $30k + Cost of import $300 = $30.3k therefore you pay $3,300 GST. Kapish?

Regards Claverton

[rustyrusty]

I have a boat lined up in Palm Cast and can ship it from West Palm Beach The owner I hope will come with me to bring it to West Palm beach. It is to be shiped to Brisbane, Is there State texes in Florida and can we get around that by doing the deal at sea. Transit insurance is covered on the ship but not while coming down the coast. Maybe we can do the deal at Weast Palm beach and his insurance will cover us to the ship. any one done a private deal Ill get a survey at Palm Beach to make sure there isnt any big problems. We should be able to deregister it at West Palm beach what if he has a bank morgage on the boat how do i ensure that has been discharged is that part of the coast guard registration. Any help would be apreciated.

[Claverton]

Hi Forum
I'm not sure if anyone will know the answer to this one but I'll try. It's highly probable that I'll need to purchase a fair amount of gear in the UK to prepare boat to bring back to Ozz. I'll need to purchase and install a windvane, SSB, modem, AIS etc etc, and the VAT bill (@17.5%) will be well over 1,000 english pounds, so it's a fair whack.

Recovering the VAT if you are flying out looks to be fairly straightforward. According to Mr Google, you need to purchase from retail outlet who is set up to re-imburse the VAT, need to leave the country within 90 days of buying the kit, and have necessary receipt/paperwork stamped by customs when you exit. Then you pass on the paperwork to the retail outlet or an agent (that specialises in this sort of stuff) and bingo you get your VAT back.

In theory the same should apply when leaving UK (or anywhere in Europe) on a yacht with kit that you have bought there and taking with you. But I'm not sure how customs would view the situation when the said kit is out of its box and screwed into the station or whatever and in use, as apposed to being carried as hand luggage onto a plane. Has anyone had any experience in this area?

I'm not too concerned about VAT on the boat itself, because as I understand it there's no VAT paid on boats built before 1985, and my potential purchase certainly will fall into that category.
Kind Regards
Claverton

[Chickenlips]

Hi Ralph,
Looking at doing the same thing as soon as someone buys my house, lots of boats on offer and looking forward to the Pacific. Thanks for your info so far..will stay in touch...this is my first post.

Jase

[IanMc]

Also looking into buying in Australia but a friend suggested buying in NZ instead, since we are planning on sailing around SE Asia and South Pacific and then selling a little over a year later. Any thoughts which country is better to buy and sell in (looking to minimize depreciation over a the year we'll be sailing)? An initial look shows more variety in Australia and only slightly higher prices.

[Claverton]

are you kiwi looking to buy in oz, or an oz looking to buy in kiwi?

[IanMc]

Originally Posted by Claverton

are you kiwi looking to buy in oz, or an oz looking to buy in kiwi?

We are Americans looking to buy anywhere, use it for a little over a year to cruise around SE Asia and S Pacific, and then sell it again.

[Claverton]

Registration could complicate issues a tad. I think when you check out of an australian port for a foreign port, the yacht will need to be registered, and most boats on the market aren't registered simply because there's no need. If the boat you are looking at has already been doing international cruising, then it's likely to be registered. If you are applying for an Australian registration it takes a couple of months and close to a grand to get it through...lots of paperwork. I've no idea if an American national can register a yacht as australian. Or you could buy on US West coast...nice passage across the pacific?