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EU Yacht Temporary Admission – Temporary Admission (Temporary Importation) for
Yachts in Europe – resetting EU VAT.
Introduction to EU Yacht Temporary Admission
It is the purpose of this guide to provide further information regarding the use of Temporary Admission relief from VAT for yachts visiting EU waters.
EU Yacht Temporary Admission (often referred to as Temporary Importation) can very simply be described as a mechanism that enables non European Union (EU) resident yacht owners to bring their yachts into Europe for a limited time, such as a holiday, and under certain conditions without having to pay VAT on the value of their yachts.
It is important that such a mechanism exists otherwise many non EU resident yacht owners would simply avoid visiting European waters as the costs of paying VAT on arrival would be prohibitive.
EU Yacht Temporary Admission – Criteria
The fundamental criteria for a yacht to qualify for Temporary Admission is that the yacht must be owned by a natural person (i.e. an individual) or a legal person (i.e. a company) who is established (i.e. resident) outside the VAT territory of the EU.
EU Yacht Temporary Admission – Time Allowed
The yacht can only be used within the EU for a maximum of eighteen months after its first arrival. Under certain conditions this time frame can be extended to a maximum of 24 months if vessel is laid up and usually bonded with the prior agreement of the authorities.
We recommend ensuring your yacht has left the EU area well before the expiry of the 18 month period allowing sufficient time for bad weather delay
Our Core Yacht Relocation Services
Coastal and Short-Range Deliveries
EU Yacht Temporary Admission – Restrictions
In practice it is not simply enough for a yacht to be owned by a natural or legal person established outside of the EU. The authorities will always look through the non-EU ownership of a particular vessel showing on its registration and look closely at how a particular vessel is being used.
This means that they would expect the principal user of the vessel, i.e. the individual or individuals who are the main users of the yacht, to themselves be established outside the VAT territory of the EU.
Principal users of yachts sailing within the EU under Temporary Admission should therefore be prepared to provide evidence to the authorities that they are genuinely not established in, or a resident in, the EU.
EU Yacht Temporary Admission – Arrival in the EU
The official EU guide to EU yacht Temporary Admission states the following:
“Just crossing the frontier of the customs territory of the Community is in general sufficient. But, you may be required to use a route specified by customs and they may require you to make an oral or written customs declaration. It is possible they may require the provision of some kind of security or guarantee to cover the payment of the customs duties and VAT that become due if the boat does not leave the EU.”
Our services include providing documentary evidence via official and port police documents issued outside the EU to prove exportation.
The key point of this message is that procedures vary from country to country and it is therefore important that a yacht owner wishing to enter the EU under Temporary Admission carefully selects their EU entry point and understands in advance what formalities are required upon arrival
These documents have been proven as sufficient to prove export with the Spanish customs.
EU Yacht Temporary Admission – Leaving the EU
Care should be taken when terminating EU yacht Temporary Admission upon departure from the EU to a non-EU port. It is important that the yacht owner understands the relevant formalities required by the authorities of the state of departure and they should also check back in case the authorities of the EU country of arrival or any countries visited in between require any proof of departure from the EU.
The official EU guide to Temporary Admission states that the following with regard to the time that a yacht has to remain outside the EU before it can return:
“Yes, you are not limited to a single period of temporary import. You can sail the yacht out of the EU and when you came back again for another holiday a new period of temporary importation can begin. The customs rules do not provide for a ‘minimum period’ during which the goods must remain outside of the customs territory of the EU.”
EU Yacht Temporary Admission – Charter
In theory EU Yacht Temporary Admission is afforded only to yacht that are operated for private pleasure use.
Certain EU member states have in recent times allowed yachts operating under Temporary Admission relief to charter but usually with the restriction that the charter guests must be non EU residents and under the proviso that the owner and vessel complies with all relevant legal and fiscal requirements.
EU Yacht Temporary Admission – Sale of Vessel
The sale of a yacht whilst lying within the EU under EU Yacht Temporary Admission would breach the conditions of the relief.
It is therefore necessary to export the yacht and complete the sale paperwork outside the EU. The process of returning the yacht to EU waters after the sale completes will restart the 18 month temporary admission period.
