Hello.
V.A.T No No - this is very interesting, please dont change channels.
I'm looking seriously at a Twister to buy. Its 79/80 and "at the moment" owners have no records of original purchase (35 years ago - so this is normal).They bought it second hand, also from a British owner. The VAT status as "paid" is difficult to prove.
Now, one one hand VAT people are saying yachts older than 1985 (or thereabouts) are deemed to have had "VAT paid on purchase. I'm presuming without original receipt. On the other hand they seem to want proof of age of yacht etc etc.
Has any one had any experience of this or had any difficulty having to prove VAT status, in this country or when abroad etc etc, ?
Malcome
hello Malcome,
Sorry we are probably way too late with this reply, as we didn't look at the forum for several months, but in case it's any help . . .
When we bought our boat (in the year 2000) the vendor provided us with a 'statutory declaration' (signed legal document) stating that the boat was built before 31/12/1994 and was in EU (actually British) territory on 31/12/1992 - 1/1/1993. These are/were the requirements for the boat to be VAT exempt or 'deemed paid', but as that was 15 years ago you should check for any subsequent changes in the law.
We have carried a copy of this document on board ever since, but cannot report on it's effectiveness with officialdom, because we have never been asked to prove payment of (or exemption from) VAT. In those 15 years we have cruised in UK, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, Denmark and Sweden.
Of course that's not to say officials in these countries will never ask for VAT proof, but I think they perhaps only bother with boats that look newer and/or more expensive than a 'vintage' Twister!
Sandi Burch and Mervyn Hilton
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