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 Murfet" wrote in message
...
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.


Go to the Aust Customs home page. You pay 5% of the value. THEN you pay
10% GST (I kid you not).
This set of papers says......, this set of papers says that! As with any
effort to value anything for tax purposes (or duty in this case), you
probably should make it as much in your favour as possible.

--
Hoges in WA
Remove the zeds.

On Tuesday 13 July 2004 12:34 pm in rec.boats.cruising John Murfet wrote:

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.

The European rules are complex, but here is a brief summary:

If you import a boat into the EU you must pay VAT at the appropriate rate.
The current rate in .uk is 17.5%, other countries vary.
(So keep the boat under the USA flag).

If a foreign boat remains in EU waters for 6 months it is deemed to have
been imported and VAT must be paid.
(so spend a few weeks in a non-EU port every 3 or 4 months and be able to
prove it)

If you pay VAT you MUST keep the receipt. Without proof that VAT has been
paid you will pay again.

If you export a boat from the EU you can reclaim the VAT on export.
(another reason for keeping the receipt)

The above stuff applies to the boat - not to you. Make sure you have the
appropriate passports and visas for everyone on board and make sure that
you know what is in their baggage. If you are caught smuggling (especially
dope or illegal immigrants) your boat will be confiscated and you will
spend a long time in jail.


--
My real address is crn (at) netunix (dot) com
WARNING all messages containing attachments or html will be silently
deleted. Send only plain text.

"Hoges in WA" wrote in message
...
"John Murfet" wrote in message
...
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.


Go to the Aust Customs home page. You pay 5% of the value. THEN you pay
10% GST (I kid you not).
This set of papers says......, this set of papers says that! As with any
effort to value anything for tax purposes (or duty in this case), you
probably should make it as much in your favour as possible.

--
Hoges in WA
Remove the zeds.


Yep, what he said...duty plus GST

For a new boat, freighted to Australia on a ship, valuation is relatively
straightforward. For a second hand boat, sailed to Australia, valuation can
be a nightmare

Valuation will be current valuation at time of import. Original purchase
price and subsequent work done may or may not be relevant. As far as I
understand...Customs will value your boat as they see it at import, if you
disagree with it you can obtain your own valuations and slug it out with
Customs. In the courts, if need be, depending on the amount of money
involved. Some examples of some of the issues. Say you buy a boat at the
bottom of the cycle in the US, at a bargain price, at a good exchange rate,
and turn up in Australia some years later with the actual bill of sale as
proof of price paid.....Customs may or may not accept that, but are more
likely to substitute their own current valuation. GST is levied on a final
price including freight......so what if you sailed the boat to Australia at
zero freight cost, Customs are entitled to impute a freight value.

Some years back I seriously investigated importing a yacht from NZ, when
$1AUD would buy $1.30NZ, and NZ boat prices seemed to be in a trough. Duty,
GST and red tape removed a lot of the attractiveness and I did not proceed.
At the time I was looking at a Cavalier which were selling for a lot less in
NZ than Australia (for the same boat, same NZ builder). Customs would not
give me a straight answer, but I formed the view that they would value the
boat at current Australian prices, rather than the price actually paid. The
question of imputed freight was left hanging. GST had only just been
introduced then, maybe things are more settled and clearer now.

..

Thanks for the info. Is there any reason I can't leave the boat as a USA
registered vesel? Or is there a time limit for such registrations for
foreign purchasers.I'm just weighing up the options.
Thanks again

"Glendon" wrote in message
...

"Hoges in WA" wrote in message
...
"John Murfet" wrote in message
...
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.


Go to the Aust Customs home page. You pay 5% of the value. THEN you
pay
10% GST (I kid you not).
This set of papers says......, this set of papers says that! As with
any
effort to value anything for tax purposes (or duty in this case), you
probably should make it as much in your favour as possible.

--
Hoges in WA
Remove the zeds.


Yep, what he said...duty plus GST

For a new boat, freighted to Australia on a ship, valuation is relatively
straightforward. For a second hand boat, sailed to Australia, valuation
can
be a nightmare

Valuation will be current valuation at time of import. Original purchase
price and subsequent work done may or may not be relevant. As far as I
understand...Customs will value your boat as they see it at import, if you
disagree with it you can obtain your own valuations and slug it out with
Customs. In the courts, if need be, depending on the amount of money
involved. Some examples of some of the issues. Say you buy a boat at the
bottom of the cycle in the US, at a bargain price, at a good exchange
rate,
and turn up in Australia some years later with the actual bill of sale as
proof of price paid.....Customs may or may not accept that, but are more
likely to substitute their own current valuation. GST is levied on a final
price including freight......so what if you sailed the boat to Australia
at
zero freight cost, Customs are entitled to impute a freight value.

Some years back I seriously investigated importing a yacht from NZ, when
$1AUD would buy $1.30NZ, and NZ boat prices seemed to be in a trough.
Duty,
GST and red tape removed a lot of the attractiveness and I did not
proceed.
At the time I was looking at a Cavalier which were selling for a lot less
in
NZ than Australia (for the same boat, same NZ builder). Customs would not
give me a straight answer, but I formed the view that they would value the
boat at current Australian prices, rather than the price actually paid.
The
question of imputed freight was left hanging. GST had only just been
introduced then, maybe things are more settled and clearer now.

.

Thanks Chris
Moving around a bit would fit my plans but getting the boat back to
Australia might be tricky. I suspect the 6 month rule may apply here too.
Thanks for your help

"Chris Newport" wrote in message
news:2521416.HUGfbt6StI@callisto...
On Tuesday 13 July 2004 12:34 pm in rec.boats.cruising John Murfet wrote:

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.

The European rules are complex, but here is a brief summary:

If you import a boat into the EU you must pay VAT at the appropriate rate.
The current rate in .uk is 17.5%, other countries vary.
(So keep the boat under the USA flag).

If a foreign boat remains in EU waters for 6 months it is deemed to have
been imported and VAT must be paid.
(so spend a few weeks in a non-EU port every 3 or 4 months and be able
to
prove it)

If you pay VAT you MUST keep the receipt. Without proof that VAT has been
paid you will pay again.

If you export a boat from the EU you can reclaim the VAT on export.
(another reason for keeping the receipt)

The above stuff applies to the boat - not to you. Make sure you have the
appropriate passports and visas for everyone on board and make sure that
you know what is in their baggage. If you are caught smuggling (especially
dope or illegal immigrants) your boat will be confiscated and you will
spend a long time in jail.


--
My real address is crn (at) netunix (dot) com
WARNING all messages containing attachments or html will be silently
deleted. Send only plain text.

You can't get a U.S. registration if you are not a U.S. citizen. You can get
a State one, but doubt that would do you any good out of the U.S. When one
sells a federally registered boat, they have to surrender the documentation
papers to the USCG. The new owner must obtain his own registration.

--


Keith
__
A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.
"JohnM" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the info. Is there any reason I can't leave the boat as a USA
registered vesel? Or is there a time limit for such registrations for
foreign purchasers.I'm just weighing up the options.
Thanks again

US Registered aircraft and boat fleets are limited to US citizens.
People who are not, set up US corporations for the purpose.
A US corporation costs $250 on up.

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

On Sun, 18 Jul 2004 21:38:32 +1000, "JohnM"
wrote:

..... Is there any reason I can't leave the boat as a USA
registered vesel? Or is there a time limit for such registrations for
foreign purchasers.I'm just weighing up the options.
Thanks again

"JohnM" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the info. Is there any reason I can't leave the boat as a USA
registered vesel? Or is there a time limit for such registrations for
foreign purchasers.I'm just weighing up the options.
Thanks again

I believe foreign registered vessels can remain in Australia for up to 12
months before duty + GST become applicable. However, a bond (cash or bank
guarantee) may apply.

When I did my investigations, I could register a vessel as Australian in the
country of purchase......provided that there was the relevant paper trail on
origin, ownership, etc.. In which case Duty + GST became payable on arrival
in Australia.

If you are serious about this, I suggest you try to strike up a dialogue
with some appropriate person in Customs. Might take a little digging to find
the right person, but they are really professional and helpful, in my
experience. Best to get information that is current and direct from the
relevant authority.

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