Boat Registration And Tax Question

[AndrewH]

Dear Sailors;

I am a newbie here, and hope to pick your collective brainsfor some information to help me in the decision making processes regardingwhere to buy a boat, register it, and where I can sail it.

Background: I am a 55 year old single male. I live in Vancouver Canada,and hold both an EU (UK) and a Canadian passport. I have among others, CYAIntermediate Cruising standard, and am a qualified instructor to CYA basiclevel (10m daysail). I have been sailing for about 15 years on 24ft boats, andhave chartered in the BVIs, along with some short haul deliveries (40ft monos).

My work situation sucks at this point, (laid-off middlemanagement-telecom engineering), and the immediate future is not so bright, somy idea is to cruise for a while. Due to my locale, experience, andshort-handedness, I think it wise to buy then sell (after use) a boat in situ,that being the MED, or Caribbean, or both.

As funds are limited, I want to make sure I am notunnecessarily funding government departments.

• Do I have to register the boat in the same country I buy itin?
• Do I have to sell the boat in the same country it isregistered?
• Do my Canadian qualifications have any bearing on where Iregister the boat, and what passport to use (EU/Cannuk)?

• If I buy a boat in say Greece,UK, or Croatia, whatcountry do I register it in, or is that at my discretion? Then which med countrywould be best? I can get a UKmailing address.
• The same question for Caribbean.Is Saint Maartin, better than BVI, or Panama etc

I also like the idea of buying a boat in Florida,and taking it down to the Caribbean. Are thereany legal issues I have to watch for?

I realize that I will have to take on crew for some of thelegs, and as I will be living on it for a while, I am partial to a smallerolder floating condo (34- 36ft cat) but finances may call for a seaworthy mono.

Regards

Andrew

[Nausikaa]

Hi,

Some answers to your questions below and in dark blue. I hope they help

Aye // Stephen

As funds are limited, I want to make sure I am notunnecessarily funding government departments.

I could not agree more but government departments have hundreds of years of experience in squeezing money out of the populace. It is always difficult to avoid this without breaking the law. Good luck!

* Do I have to register the boat in the same country I buy itin?

No. In most cases, if you are not a national of the country you purchase the boat in, you will not be able to register the boat there. However, as you are an EU citizen, you can register the boat in any EU country provided that you live there.

* Do I have to sell the boat in the same country it isregistered?

Not at all.

* Do my Canadian qualifications have any bearing on where Iregister the boat, and what passport to use (EU/Cannuk)?

Nope. However, where you register the boat may have a bearing on what qualifications are acceptable. Spain, for example, requires Spanish qualifications on a Spanish registered boat. This is probably not tested in an EU court and if it were Spain would probably loose but are you willing to go that far?

* If I buy a boat in say Greece,UK, or Croatia, whatcountry do I register it in, or is that at my discretion? Then which med countrywould be best? I can get a UKmailing address.

I would go for the British Small Craft Register (Part II) if you have a UK address. You can easily register your boat there LINKfor GBP25 without the need to provwe ownership. As an EU registered vessel you can then spend unlimited time in other EU Member States.

* The same question for Caribbean.Is Saint Maartin, better than BVI, or Panama etc

I have no knowledge of the reguilations in these places

I also like the idea of buying a boat in Florida,and taking it down to the Caribbean. Are thereany legal issues I have to watch for?

As above, I have no knowledge of the laws in this area. One thing you should however think about, as a British (EU) citizen, if you take a boat to an EU country and VAT has not been paid then you will become liable to pay VAT on the boat.

[AndrewH]

Thanks for the great reply Nausikaa.

Of course these raise new questions.





It is always difficult to avoid this without breaking the law. Good luck!

We can but try.





So; if I read it right, as a Brit, I can buy a boat in Greece, and register it in "Jolly Olde", and fly the Union Jack....from the Greek boat salesroom floor.

Plus be able to use my Canadian certifications??????

Then after a year or five, sell it in ???EU country, with no problems?????





I like that.





Is the correct?





The Med scares me a bit more than the Caribbean. Even though there are less pirates. AHarrrrrrr!!!!!

I would like to do the same in the Caribbean, after playing in the Med, or visa versa.

[Nausikaa]

Again Andrew, my replies to your questions in blue

So; if I read it right, as a Brit, I can buy a boat in Greece, and register it in "Jolly Olde", and fly the Union Jack....from the Greek boat salesroom floor.

Plus be able to use my Canadian certifications??????

Then after a year or five, sell it in ???EU country, with no problems?????

Is the correct?

More or less. You, as British, can buy a boat anywhere and register it in the UK, However, you should not fly the Union Jack (the Union Jack should really be called the Union Flag - a jack is a square flag and, in the past, ships flew their national jacks with a white boarder to indicate they needed a pilot (pilot jack) and at the jack staff - the little flag staff at the bows - when at anchor or alongside). You would, from the salesroom floor, fly a red ensign or if you have an Admiralty warrent, a blue ensign.

Otherwise, the answer is yes to all the questions.

The Med scares me a bit more than the Caribbean. Even though there are less pirates. AHarrrrrrr!!!!!

I would like to do the same in the Caribbean, after playing in the Med, or visa versa.

Why does the Med scare you? It is tideless and without hurricanes although the currents can be strong in places and the local winds take a bit of getting used to. I would not say that one is better than the other but the Med is the place to go if you are interested in culture and history. I reccomend you to our Wiki pages.

Aye // Stephen

[Nausikaa]

I should add one point - if you buy a boat outside the EU and register her within the EU then the provissions of the European Small Craft Directive will apply. Not a piece of legislation which is easy to comply with. My advice then would be to buy a boat in Europe if you are to register and use the vessel here.

Aye // Stephen

[AndrewH]

Thank you Stephen, You have given me a lot to think about.

I am not sure why the Med bothers me more than the Caribbean. I have chartered in the BVIs, but only dived the Med.

I don't seem to think much about the tide, as it is only a mere 5 meters here in Vancouver. It squirts you out, or shoots you in, but basically it is what it is, and you deal with it.

You load the boat at high tide, so the boat ramp is not so steep.

An 8kn current through a narrow pass does require some attention though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B3sd...eature=related

It seems that as long as I buy a boat that has had the VAT paid, I would have no problems. That being said; I suppose when negotiating the purchace price, one could deduct the VAT from the purchase price.

Thanks again for your advice.

Andrew

[Gama]

Hi sailors,

I am in a similar situation: I am portuguese, living and paying taxes in Portugal and I want to buy a new boat. I am considering a Delphia, a boat from Poland (they don´t have dealers in Portugal nor Spain). My plan is to buy it in Poland or in Germany and keep it in Scandinavia for a few years, but I don´t know the implications in terms of VAT and registration. Maybe Stephen can give me a hint or two.

Regards,

Pedro

[stxflyer]

I am a U.S. citizen. I just bought a U.K. registered 10 meter sail boat.

Is it possible to retain the U.K. registration as it will be primarily used there and in European waters? Someone mentioned It might be possible for a U.K. citizen to act as an agent for me in this process.

If so what is the process?

Any thoughts on a Belgium registration?