In a recent notice published by HMRC – Notice 8: sailing your pleasure craft to and from the UK boat owners are being told to carry ‘documentary evidence supporting VAT status . . . at all times’. This is because, post-Brexit, owners ‘may be asked by customs officials to provide evidence of [a] vessel’s UK VAT status’.

The evidence suggested by HMRC includes an original invoice or receipt, to show that VAT was paid on purchase. If an owner built the boat themselves, they’ll need to have invoices for materials used in the construction to hand.

But, as one boat owner expressed to MIN: “Who has that? I have no idea where I’d find that.”

HMRC is keen to point out that a registration document on its own does not prove the UK VAT status of the vessel, as there is no link in the UK between the registry of the vessel and the payment of VAT.

The HMRC notice continues with advice for buying boats post-Brexit.

‘When buying a used pleasure craft from any VAT registered business in the UK, you should make sure that the invoice shows separately any VAT that the business has charged to you on the supply of the pleasure craft,’ says HMRC. ‘If you are buying from a business that does not charge VAT on the transaction or from a private individual in the UK and the seller states that UK VAT has previously been paid on the vessel, you should obtain evidence from the seller that VAT has previously been accounted for.’

The notice also covers customs requirements for leisure owners who sail their crafts to or from the UK.

It answers questions about flying the ‘Q’ flag, notifying National Yachtline and about which goods need to be declared including prohibited and restricted ‘foodstuffs’.

More information can be found in the notice or by contacting HMRC by email.

Acknowledgement to Marine Industry News

For more information contact European Marine Services Ltd. 

     Marine Surveyors & Consultants | ADR Mediation  |  Expert Witness 
www.europeanmarinesurveys.com
Tel: (44) 01603 327 123

British Marine has released an online Manufacturer Identity Code (MIC) application and search system in preparation for the end of the Brexit transition period.

After 1 January 2021, all global boat builders, including EU-based manufacturers, will have to register their MIC on the UK register to place a vessel on the GB market.

As a requirement of the Recreational Craft Directive (RCD), a MIC code forms part of a unique serial number that every CE-marked boat must have and enables manufacturers and regulators to identify each particular vessel. It also helps others to identify the country of origin, the builder and year of build of the boat. On behalf of the leisure marine industry in the UK, British Marine is appointed by the government to administer the MIC code national register.

The online system will allow all global boatbuilders to continue to register their codes and is publicly accessible, assisting boat brokers, surveyors and second-hand boat buyers to confirm a vessel’s details.

Acknowledgement to Marine Industry News

For more information contact European Marine Services Ltd. 

     Marine Surveyors & Consultants | ADR Mediation  |  Expert Witness 
www.europeanmarinesurveys.com
Tel: (44) 01603 327 123

Sadly, we need to report the ‘Administration’ of one of Norfolk’s oldest and most respected boat builders Windboats Marine, being founded in 1920 in Wroxham.

Extract from Letter dated 1 May 2020 …

Statement by Administrators – ENSORS, Chartered Accountants, Cambridge

Windboats Marine Limited – In Administration (the Company)

” I am writing to advise you that along with my colleague David Scrivener, I was appointed Joint Administrator of the Company on 27 April 2020 and enclosed with this letter is formal notice of our appointment.
Please note that we are licensed to act as an Insolvency Practitioners by The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales and as such am bound by the Insolvency Code of Ethics when carrying out all professional work relating to an insolvency appointment.

The current position
The Company has currently ceased trading due to the restrictions of the Covid-19 Pandemic and lockdown but trading may commence in due course and in that event please note the requirements below in relation to existing and future orders.

Goods or services supplied to the Company after the date of my appointment must only be against orders which are signed by me or one of my authorised representatives, specimens of whose signatures appear below. Goods or services delivered against these orders will be paid for on normal trade terms unless otherwise agreed.

I am not necessarily adopting contracts entered into by the Company prior to my appointment and you must obtain my agreement that undelivered goods or services ordered before my appointment are still required before you deliver them. If they are required, then you should obtain a formal confirmation signed by the approved signatories specified above.

It should be noted that services provided and goods sold and delivered by the Company after my appointment must be paid for in full and no right of set off exists against any sums due to you by this Company prior to my appointment.”

For more information contact European Marine Services Ltd. 

     Marine Surveyors & Consultants | ADR Mediation  |  Expert Witness 
www.europeanmarinesurveys.com
Tel: (44) 01603 327 123