Brexit - what happens next? – An Extract from the RYA end of year statement

Does it matter where my boat is lying at 11pm UTC on 31 December 2020?

Yes. The location of your boat at 11pm UTC on 31 December 2020 will determine its future VAT and customs status.

It is recommended that you obtain and retain documentation which can be used to demonstrates the vessel’s location at the time the transition period ends.

Information on what documents might be useful can be found specific to the UK and the EU further down this page. 

Note: this information must be read in conjunction with the sections taking your boat to the EU27 from 1 January 2021 and arriving in the UK from abroad from 1 January 2021, to fully understand the boat’s future status. 

- Boat lying in Great Britain at 11pm UTC on 31 December 2020

From the end of the transition period Great Britain will no longer be part of the Customs Territory of the EU. Please see the note further down the page regarding Northern Ireland.

Recreational boats lying in GB at the time the transition period ends will cease to be in free circulation in the Customs Territory of the EU. They will no longer have Union status and will be treated by the UK as ‘domestic goods’.  

In order to evidence this status of ‘domestic goods’ in the future the owner will need to continue to retain evidence of the boat’s VAT paid status and must also obtain and keep evidence to demonstrate the boat’s location at the end of the transition period. 

Information on what documents might be useful can be found in Notice 8. 

- Boat lying in Northern Ireland at 11pm UTC on 31 December 2020

The UK’s only land border with the EU is the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The UK and the EU agreed that a specific solution was needed to reconcile the different interests at play and as a result the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol formed part of the Withdrawal Agreement.

Although we know that Northern Ireland will be part of the UK customs territory, HMRC has not yet provided advice on Northern Ireland. Notice 8: sailing your pleasure craft to and from the UK, indicates in the introduction that its scope does not include movements between Northern Ireland and Great Britain and between Northern Ireland and the EU which continue to be treated as intra-community movements. The notice indicates that it is not necessary to fly the Q flag when arriving in Northern Ireland from the EU. 

It is therefore not possible at the moment for the RYA to provide definitive advice on the future status of boats lying in Northern Ireland when the transition period ends.

- Boat lying in the remaining 27 EU Member States (EU27) at 11pm UTC on 31 December 2020

A boat which is in free circulation (i.e. it has Union status and is lying in the EU27 at the time the transition period ends) will remain in free circulation for as long as it remains in the EU27, as long as it can be proven that the boat was lying in the EU27. 

It is essential that you obtain and retain documentation which demonstrates the vessel’s location at the time the transition period ends. When we asked the European Commission about the evidence an owner might need to retain to demonstrate the location of the vessel at the time the UK leaves the Union, we were advised that there is no specific document or form and that the boater should provide evidence (if requested) in such form that customs would consider appropriate in their particular situation.

This is also applicable to boats lying in the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (Cyprus) which will remain part of the customs territory of the EU after the end of the transition period. 

Please see the sections on taking your boat to the EU27 from 1 January 2021, arriving in the UK from abroad from 1 January 2021 and future validity in the EU27 of documents issued by HMRC for further information.

- Boat lying in a territory of an EU27 country which is part of the customs territory of the EU but excluded for VAT purposes at 11pm UTC on 31 December 2020

If, at the end of the transition period, a boat is lying in a territory of an EU country which is part of the Customs Territory of the EU but which is not part of the EU for VAT purposes (e.g. Canary Islands, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Réunion, Åland Islands, Mayotte, Saint-Martin – French part), its customs status of Union goods (Union status), if it was held in that territory, will be retained.

Please see the sections on taking your boat to the EU27 from 1 January 2021 and  arriving in the UK from abroad from 1 January 2021 for further information regarding VAT.

- Boat lying in a Crown Dependency at 11pm UTC on 31 December 2020

During the transition period the Crown Dependencies (Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, that is, the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey (including Guernsey and its dependencies)) are part of the customs territory of the EU. When the transition period ends the Crown Dependencies will no longer be part of the customs territory of the EU. Therefore a boat which is lying in a Crown Dependency at the end of the transition period will no longer have Union status. 

The Crown Dependencies will not be part of the UK Customs Territory after the end of the transition period. A boat lying in a Crown Dependency at the end of the transition period will not be treated by the UK as ‘domestic goods’. 

Please see the sections on taking your boat to the EU27 from 1 January 2021 and arriving in the UK from abroad from 1 January 2021 for further information.

- Boat lying outside the UK and the EU27 at 11pm UTC on 31 December 2020

In order to return to the UK or the EU27 without paying VAT and import duty, the owners of boats which have been exported from the EU before the transition period ends will need to meet the conditions for relief from VAT and import duty for the customs territory they are entering.

You will not resume Union status if you enter the UK. Similarly, you will not gain [UK] 'domestic goods’ status if you enter the EU27.

This includes boats which were lying in the British Overseas Territory (Anguilla; Bermuda; British Antarctic Territory; British Indian Ocean Territory; British Virgin Islands; Cayman Islands; Falkland Islands; Gibraltar; Montserrat; Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands; St Helena and St Helena Dependencies (Ascension and Tristan da Cunha); South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands; and The Turks & Caicos Islands) which are not part of the EU customs territory. 

Please see the sections on taking your boat to the EU27 from 1 January 2021 and arriving in the UK from abroad from 1 January 2021 for further information.