CUSTOMS PROCEDURES

“NETWORK FOR YACHTING IN SPAIN” – through our Single Contact Point, can handle all your Customs Procedures through any of our offices around the Spanish coast and the Capital:

- Generally, an import situation is created when either:-

• A non EU registered and owned yacht is sold to an EU individual or company.
• An EU registered and owned yacht arrives into EU waters from outside the EU.
• A new yacht is purchased outside the EU by an EU resident or company and is delivered to an EU Port.

Each of these situations involve declaring import VAT (18% in Spain) and, if the yacht is less than 12 meters, or not apt for International Navigation, ( not built to category A or B). Import Duty at 1.7%. is also payable. If the yacht is new or not new but has just been purchased, the tax would be paid according to the amount of the commercial invoice price/purchase document. If the yacht is not new and there has been no recent change of ownership/purchase, there are several ways of arriving at a market value for import requirements and we look at each case individually.

If the importer is an EU VAT registered company and is to carry out commercial activity, the 42.00 customs procedure could be applied. Most customs authorities in Spain require a guarantee or deposit of the equivalent of the import VAT, which is returned when the procedure has been correctly completed. As each case is different, we suggest you contact us for more information.

We have offices and in-house customs agents in all major Spanish ports:-
Palma, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, Algeciras, Cadiz, Bilbao and Vigo.

Please note: all the above information has been obtained from contacts with the relevant authorities and does not constitute legal opinion.
Each customs region in Spain may have a different interpretation of the relevant customs law, and we therefore treat each case individually.
The information given is, to the best of our knowledge, correct on the day this document was prepared but is open to differing interpretations and ongoing modifications.

- Yachts in the EU under temporary admittance:

• Non EU yachts can be used for a total of 18 months in EU waters before EU tax (VAT) is due.
• To comply with temporary admittance a yacht must be non EU owned and flagged, and used exclusively by non EU residents.
• When not in use (e.g. owner not on board) the yacht may be put under customs bond and this period of time is deducted from the 18 months of use.

Please note:
All information given here is, to the best of our knowledge, correct but current requirements
should always be confirmed with us before any action is taken.