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Back in the EU after years away: your yacht's VAT status and returned goods
Short answer
Bringing your own yacht back into the EU after years outside it,
you can usually re-import her as returned goods free of duty and import VAT,
provided she comes back within three years.
After that, VAT on her current value may be due.
A yacht on which VAT was paid in an EU country has the status of Union goods. Once she leaves the customs territory of the Union, for an Atlantic circuit or a few seasons in Turkey, Montenegro or the UK, her return counts at first as an import. Since Brexit that applies to British waters too, which catches out many owners who keep a boat on both sides of the Channel. The Union Customs Code has a returned goods relief for this: goods brought back within three years in an unaltered state are, on application, exempt from import duty, and import VAT is relieved in those cases as well. The period can be extended in special circumstances, but that is nothing to count on.
What matters is proof. On return you have to show that the yacht was Union goods before she left, usually with the invoice or another document showing the VAT paid, and when she left the EU. Clearance papers, marina invoices and port stamps from outside the EU all help. If you exceed the three years or cannot show her status, expect import VAT on the yacht's current value. None of this is an insurance question, but it can be an expensive surprise at the end of a long voyage, and the customs office of the country where you arrive has the final word.
Put a folder together before you leave: bill of sale, VAT evidence, registration, for example on Part 1 of the UK register or the Small Ships Register, and the insurer's confirmation of your cruising area. Keep every clearance document and marina invoice along the way, and note the date you leave the EU. Plan your return to fall within the three years, and if in doubt ask the customs authority in advance where and how to declare the yacht on arrival. At the same time, check that your policy's cruising area covers the whole route back to your home port.
Worth remembering
Back within three years
returned goods, no import VAT
Later, without evidence
VAT on today's value
On a long voyage the date you clear out matters as much as the weather.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
How long can my yacht stay outside the EU without VAT becoming due?
Under the returned goods relief of the Union Customs Code the usual limit is three years. If the yacht returns unaltered within that time, she can be relieved of import duty and import VAT on application. The customs authority decides on exceptions and details.
Does the UK count as outside the EU?
Yes. Since the UK left, a yacht sailing there leaves the customs territory of the Union. The same applies to Turkey, Montenegro and the Channel Islands, among others.
What evidence do I need on return?
Proof that the yacht was Union goods before she left, usually an invoice showing VAT, and evidence of when she left the EU, such as clearance papers and marina invoices.
Related
Not sure whether you qualify?
Whether it is “Back in the EU after years away: your yacht's VAT status and returned goods” or another question: send us your residence and the flag your boat flies. You will get a straight answer in one email; including a no, if that is the answer.
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