On 2004-07-13 21:34:03 +1000, "John Murfet" said:

As a resident of Australia, if I travel to USA and purchase a used yacht
then go on to cruise Europe do I pay import duty when I eventually return to
Australia? If so how is the value of the boat assessed? It will have
devalued somewhat over the 3 or 4 years.
Hope someone can help.

John,

I did this via Sunsail. I bought a boat in Tahiti and had it shipped to
Australia then registered here (Victoria). I checked with Canberra and
they will provisionally register a boat if you are brining it into the
country. This was slightly cheaper than a full registration and could
be done when the boat was out of the country. Whether you could sail it
the 'long way home' I don't know. It seems to me that there was a limit
on the time before you brought it into Aus. Also you are up for 5.3%
Duty and 10% GST (on duty paid price) as well. I doubt that you will be
able to depreciate it a lot over what you paid for it. Remeber Customs
is the sole determiner of the value of the boat.

--
Regards,
John Proctor VK3JP, VKV6789
S/V Chagall